Our team

OUR TEAM

HOW WE BEGAN

We are the smallest team of developers and the oldest division of Scheidt & Bachmann Slovensko. Our first employees were Ing. Róbert Kulla and Ing. Ján Krúpa, current Managing Directors. Gradually, they were joined by other graduates of the University of Žilina, who wrote their diploma theses at the company in Mönchengladbach. Among them, there were Ing. Štefan Maga and Ing. František Talapka. Both have been working here to this day. František is head of division and Štefan is one of our team leaders. Together they started the development of the first Windows application for railway crossing diagnostics in the new C++ programming language. Thanks to it they became the pioneers in our company (everything had been coded in C programming until then).

WHO WE ARE

Today, our team consist of 16 employees, including 4 women. Almost all of us are graduates of the University of Žilina. The natural turnover of employees also happened at the division, but only minimally. What is our recipe for high loyalty to the company? We are the best department on the floor! You can find among us bachelors and parents with children, too (small or adults), active athletes and entertainers, introverts and clever housewives. Thanks to this mix, we always work in pleasant atmosphere.

How we work together

"Just like that," laughs František, head of the division. We are divided into 4 teams (Software Design & Verification, Command & Control Systems, FAM, Communication / Diagnosis). We cooperate on projects or each team solve their own project. At work they use an internal ticketing system called Redmine. Project tasks are divided by head of the division, team leaders and colleagues from Germany or ourselves. The developer programs their part of software, tests it, writes the necessary technical documentation and then he or she sends software to a tester for a comprehensive test.

What we care about

Definitely, we like our team breakfast (if the world has not been hit by a pandemic)! Every month, two of us prepare a breakfast for the others. While tasting the various titbits, we discuss about the life inside and outside the division and solve our pleasure, but also even the smallest problems, because none can be left unexplained.

The team compensate the maximum concentration with various jokes during the software development. Laughter heals, so we regularly make sure that we are all healthy.

OUR TECHNOLOGY

What newcomers say

"All beginnings are difficult, but our colleagues and head of the division helped us a lot. They did not put pressure on us, they gave us the necessary time to get to know each other and join the team, which is great! There is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, too."

Šimon Hajtó

Tester

“Every day I am surprised by something new, another idea of what is connected with something or why it works that way. Every project is a challenge that forces me to constantly think and improve myself. And the fact that the projects are applied to the railways is the icing on the cake – it is an interesting industry that is very useful for the society.”

Tibor Šroba

Software developer

“After I had become part of the Signalling Systems team, I started to notice the railways technologies more. Now, I often find myself explaining in detail what, how and why it works on the railway to my friends."

Matúš Halička

Software developer

OUR PROJECTS

Railway crossing diagnostics

It is an application for the Windows operating system running on a computer located in the interlocking. It is fully automated and used to monitor the status of individual elements of the railway crossing and the interlocking. If there is detected an error or malfunction, the application will report it to the relevant railway dispatching. Alerts come to another application (Diagnostic Centre) or to a dispatcher by SMS, e-mail. It is used in Germany, Austria, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Israel, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Slovakia.

Diagnostic Centre

It is a Windows application used by railway dispatching. Its task is to monitor the conditions of the whole line or several lines, which include railway crossings and interlockings. Each of them is equipped with separate diagnostics, which report errors or malfunctions to the control panel. The dispatchers assign the amendment to individual technicians according to the type of the error. They will find instructions in the application how to eliminate the problem, and then they will fix it.

Electronic interlocking with control panel

The interlocking is a security device used for the safe operation of trains (correct setting of switches, signals...). It consists of a complex of hardware (switches, signals) and software components. The control panel is a Windows application used by a dispatcher, who organizes the operation at the railway station – it determines what is the right track for incoming passenger train, which switches should be used by the freight train when leaving the station and many other functions. This electronic interlocking system has been used by railways in Germany, Austria and Poland for several years.

Safety Level of the Interlocking

It is a type of software which task is to control safe movement of trains on railway tracks. This intelligent program checks the entire railway line which is set by a dispatcher for passenger or freight trains. It examines whether another train is not situated on the selected line or whether there is a risk of a collision with a scheduled ride of another train. It also checks whether a failure or other technical problem has been reported somewhere on the line. If everything is allright, the software sets up the switches and other necessary track-side equipment. If this process also goes right, the program will turn a green light on the signal.

Meet colleagues

“I have the great colleagues! Although they sometimes pretend they don't want to or don't know, in the end they always come and give me some advice. They also know how to perfectly improve a mood and I often learn a lot of useful information from them.”

Eva Huťková

Software developer

“Each of us contributes to the projects by its piece of work and I'm proud that our cooperation works as it should. I am grateful for everything what we have achieved so far. I thank to my colleagues in Slovakia and Germany for perfect cooperation and the company for the provided conditions."

Štefan Maga

Team leader

"I am proud of my team. Everyone brings something different to it and I consider this fact as a benefit."

František Talapka

Head of division

"There is a friendly atmosphere in our team. A proactive willingness to work and think in a team spirit prevails. I perceive that working together on projects brings us not only a sense of satisfaction, satisfaction with the work done, but also better results in the form of stable software."

Martina Knapcová

Software tester

Where you can find us

If you want to get to know our team in person, you will find us at the headquarter of Scheidt & Bachmann Slovensko in Žilina on Priemyselná Street. We have occupied all the offices in the Building A (the building on the right side of the entrance gate) on the 2^nd floor. Everyone is welcomed!