Transcript Slide 1
How Does Technology
Affect Railcar Maintenance
Advanced Technology Safety Initiative
(ATSI)
Ken Henman
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
1
Advanced Technology Safety Initiative – ATSI
Overview
AAR initiative to make the overall freight
interchange system safer and more efficient
Utilize new technology that facilitates more
sophisticated assessment of the condition of inservice equipment
Provides immediate, reliable indicators of
vehicle performance in a dynamic operating
environment
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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Advanced Technology Safety Initiative – ATSI
Overview
Creates opportunities for proactive predictive
maintenance intervention
Reduces reliance on manual inspection that only
identifies component failure or excessive worn
conditions
Results are enhanced performance and safety
with a net reduction in overall system costs
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
3
ATSI- Background
In the past Class I railroads have been able to
optimize maintenance spending between rail
infrastructure and railcars
The railroads concern for equity interests and
financial liabilities had to be balanced against
railroad operating efficiencies and/or capital
improvements
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
4
ATSI- Background
Over time, the percentage of the U.S. freight
car fleet owned by Class I railroads has
declined
35.3%
Class I's
55.7%
Other Railroads
Private Car
Owners
9%
2006 U.S. Freight Railroad Statistics
Freight Car Ownership
Canadian ownership is excluded,
TTX included in PCO
May 22, 2008
Source AAR Policy and Economics Department
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
5
ATSI - Background
Class I railroads now have less direct control
over maintenance spending on railcars
Class I railroads are concerned about safety and
damage to track structure
Poorly performing cars introduce unnecessary
high cost
Reactive based maintenance is to risky and costly
Direct effect resulting in high car maintenance costs
Direct effect on track infrastructure maintenance costs
Indirect effect on system capacity and car availability
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
6
ATSI - Background
Class I railroads don’t want to maintain other
people’s railcars
Costs to perform manual inspections for failed
components is prohibitively expensive
*2005 Interchange repair and maintenance cost $332
Million
*Interchange inspection costs $270 Million
*Source: Wheel Rail Interaction,
TTCI Presentation May 2006
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI - Background
Class I railroads/AAR saw need to reduce direct
costs through:
Reduced physical inspection
Planned maintenance (predictive data driven
scheduling, not time based)
Focused maintenance (efficient repair of only what is
necessary)
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
8
ATSI – Common Terminology
TTCI- Transportation Technology Center, Inc
SRI- Strategic Research Initiative
TDTI-Technology Driven Train Inspection Initiative
FACTIS- Fully Automated Car and Train Inspection
Systems
EHMS- Equipment Health Management System
InteRRIS- Integrated Railway Remote Information
Service
WILD- Wheel Impact Load Detectors
TADS- Trackside Acoustic Detection System
ABD- Acoustic Bearing Detectors
THD- Truck Hunting Detectors
TPD- Truck Performance Detectors
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
9
ATSI - Strategic Research Initiative (SRI)
TTCI was assigned the task of developing
mechanisms to reduce manual inspections while
improving inspection quality
Technology Driven Train Inspection Initiative
(TDTI)
Present focus is to evaluate and implement
various combinations of automated equipment to
meet a full complement of pre-departure train
inspection requirements
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
10
ATSI- Fully Automated Car and Train Inspection System
(FACTIS)
Designed to initiate and capture data providing
analysis of equipment from moving trains
The goal is to improve interchange and predeparture inspection efficiency and accuracy
while building interpretive databases
Focus is on approximately 40 of the key
inspections required by CFR 49 Parts 215, 231
and 232
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
11
ATSI- Fully Automated Car and Train Inspection System
(FACTIS)
Current modules of the ATSI system
Wheel tread surface condition
Bearing internal component acoustic signatures
Truck hunting and performance
Future?
Wheel profile
Wheel and bearing temperature
Wheel and axle crack detection
Brake shoe condition
Assess bearing adapter position
Spring nest height and condition
Draft gear position
Safety appliance condition
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
12
ATSI- Summary
Automatic wayside inspection equipment makes
it easier to determine railcar condition
Car health can be monitored resulting in opportunities
for planned maintenance
Reduced out of service time with predetermined
maintenance planning
Data accumulation and sharing lends to root cause
analysis
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
13
ATSI- Summary
Data supplied by AAR so car owners can better
manage maintenance on their cars
Identifies problem railcars across the Interchange
system
Data serves as a means for root cause analysis
Allows opportunities for car owners to proactively
manage maintenance on their cars
AAR revising rules improving maintenance
standards for cars
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
14
ATSI- Phase I
Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD)
implemented October 1, 2004
Measures impact load of wheels upon track structure
KIPs is a unit of weight equal to 1000 lbs
Identifies out-of-round wheels
Four levels of alerts
Window Opening 65-80 KIPs
Window of Opportunity 80-90 KIPs, why made 61
AAR condemning 90-140 KIPs, why made 65
Final alert 140+ KIPs
Car owners receive notification prompting the
opportunity to intervene and schedule the wheel for
replacement
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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KIP Wheel
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Phase I Results to Date
AAR data, first 20 months of ATSI
Train accidents caused by rail or wheel failures, down
17%
TTCI data, 33 months prior to and after WILD
Broken wheels down 16.2%
Broken rails down 5.2%
Combined 7.3% improvement
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
17
ATSI- Phase I Results to Date
Monthly activity, InteRRIS hits in excess of 90
KIPs
High- February 2004 of 4824
Low- July 2007 of 672
Greater record keeping requirements
Management of Alerts/KIPs data
Auditing wheel repairs to check for open alerts,
duplicate repairs
Repair shop access, open alerts and reporting
closings
Repair history, documentation of remediation of alerts
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
18
ATSI- Phase II Truck Hunting Detectors (THD)
Implemented July 1, 2006
Performance-based metrics to detect truck hunting
Measures lateral instability of trucks (Hunting Index)
AAR condemning criteria
Car to be home shopped for truck inspection and repaired per
AAR Field Manual
Initial, any single read of .65 or any two reads at .50
Reduced 7/1/07 any single read of .55 or any two reads at .4
Window opened
May 22, 2008
Open-Opportunistic at any read in excess of.2
When in shop car is to be inspected and repaired per AAR
Field Manual
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
19
ATSI- Phase II Truck Hunting Detectors (THD)
Results to date
AAR condemning levels, InteRRIS events per 1000
trucks
June 2007- 184
July 2007- 691
September 2007- 889
June- July net increase multiplied by 3.75 times
June- September net increase multiplied by 4.8 times
Proposed future reductions
July 2008, any single read of .45 or any two reads at .3
July 2009, any single read of .35 or any two reads at .2
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Phase III
Acoustic Bearing Detectors (ABD)
Bearing acoustic signature identifying bearing defects
as cause for attention
AAR condemning only level
To be handled in accordance with AAR Rule 36
EHMS implemented January 2008
InteRRIS events per 1000 bearings for 2008
January- 99
February- 113
Truck Performance Detectors
May 22, 2008
EHMS implemented March 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Next
Wheel Profile Detectors
Bearing temperature trending
Overload- load imbalance
Wheel Temperature Detectors
Axle/Wheel Crack Detectors
Vision Systems
More?
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Recommendations for Car Owners
Make sure the party responsible for
maintenance on your cars is getting the ATSI
information needed
Make sure that inspection and repairs are
reported to EHMS
Keep accurate records of inspections, repairs
and reporting to EHMS
Audit maintenance history for repeat and/or
duplicate inspections and repairs
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Recommendations for Car Owners
Understand and embrace the technology
Acquire data and manage it for trending analysis
Utilize data within your overall maintenance plan
and scope of work for shop repairs
Continuously measure effectiveness of the
predictive/preventative maintenance program
Periodically review EHMS alerts for real time
data of fleet condition and exposure
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Recommendations for Car Owners
Stay Current of Ongoing Issues
Stay informed about implementation of additional
elements of ATSI
Monitor revisions to EHMS
Stay informed of AAR Rule changes
Be involved in root cause analysis
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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ATSI- Summary
Maintenance is changing with the rapid
development of technology
Technology is influencing maintenance
philosophies and positively affecting car
reliability
Manage what’s being measured and provided to
you
May 22, 2008
DTE Rail Services, Inc.
Maintenance Management Seminar
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