Operation Management - History of Freight Trains - Case Study Example

History of Freight Trains History of Freight Trains Freight trains was a series of documentary made by the modern marvels and was released on 2006 in the USA. The plot for this documentary was written by Kristina Djokic. INTRODUCTION TO THE FREIGHT TRAINS The Union Pacific’s bailey yard is the largest yard in the world which is approximately 3500 acres and is about 8 miles long and 2 miles wide. The rail yard serves as the hub of rail road operations where the freight cars are accumulated, categorized and then reassigned so that they may proceed to their next destination. The entire operation consists of a systematic operation management that helps to achieve the desired results. The rail road industry also offers craft production for its customers as it allows the shipping of various products such as wine, cheese, television, automobiles or basically anything that any one wants. The primary task of the rail road company is to offer its customers cost effective and efficient method of transporting goods that are imported from Asian countries or even the goods that are produced within the United States. The Union pacific’s bailey yard is situated at the very centre of the union pacific rail network. The yard is so big that the entire area cannot be seen at a glance. But this is possible for those sitting in front of the computer screens monitoring the activity of the entire area. The Bailey Command Centre also known as the BCC coordinates the movement of about 130 -180 trains each day using the latest computers based control centers that has the capacity to monitor all 315 miles of track. The entire operation is managed by a division of labor that process about 10,000 freight cards each day. The core competencies of the railway system is the efficiency with which it operates smoothly and with speed that no other transport system can match HUMP YARD The entire hump yard section has it’s design specification which can be easily replicated if wanted. The hump yard is also known as the classification yard. The areas also consists work breakdown structure in such a way that the carts that come from the north are at first assessed and then the next stage pulls them apart. These carts are then sorted based on their destination points The hump itself is a three story human made hill that has the capacity to roll approximately 4 carts per minute. The process also has the natural force in the form of gravity which helps t pull these carts off the hill. The computer notes the weight of the cart which goes over to the scale rails. The carts then enter a system of retractors which is computerized and functions to apply break by pinching the wheels as they pass them by. This helps to slow the cart. Apart from this, it also helps to calculate the distance left in the rail. It has the capacity to slow the cart from 12 miles/ hour to 1 mile/hour, This slowing of speed allows the safe handling of the freight which is present inside the carts. The computer is fed with the information about the destination of the cart which automatically switches the track and the cart rolls to its designated rail all by itself. At the end of this whole process is a pit crew and the principle of division of labor also applies here whereby the workers put the trains back together. This hump station served as the centre point where the traffic from pretty much all over the country entered and left in the same fashion, the only thing that changed for certain carts was that some of them entered whole and left in the same manner. The other types of freight trains known as the Unit freight trains don’t go through the process of pulling apart and putting back together because they do not have to be reassigned according to their destinations. The Nascar pit team consists of five men and women that assess, analyze and mechanically inspect all the locomotives and trains that enter the area. The team also refuels the locomotives. All of this is done through division of labor, which perform each of their tasks with maximum level of expertise. The goal is to service the entire train in a cycle time of 45 minutes. Apart from these stations, the hump yard also contains a locomotive repair centre which performs preventive maintenance on the locomotive regularly on semiannual, annual and tri annual basis. However, this centre is not for heavy duty repair. The rail cards can be service at the yard as well which offer some flexibility to the entire process. The main problem that occurs in these trains the failure of wheel or the axel so special attention is provided to the wheel and axel when they enter the centre for maintenance. 50 to 60 wheels are changed on a daily basis in the repair centre and it has the capacity to inspect 30,000 freight cars daily who are on job round the clock just to keep everything in flow. The process is not affected by any weather variations whether it be rains or blizzards because if the production is not being met then the lines will be backed up. The entire infrastructure of this railway industry is worth 40 billion dollars per year. The system is expanded to every corner of the country and houses 22000 locomotives and 2.3 million freight carts and 10 train carts and it was because of the transportation through these freight carts that lead to the development of railroads. HISTORY OF FREIGHT TRAINS The entire railway progress and enhancement throughout the course of history is under the concept of kaizen which points towards the continuous improvement in any process. The railroad business was initiated with the horse drawn carts that were driven over rails and coal mine in the year 1820. In order to reduce the coefficient of frictions hence requiring less power to pull and hence the public started using horses to transport public goods. After the year 1830, the steam engine was made which eventually proved that steam was more reliable and more required less power as compared to the use of horse. Hence, the horses and mules were soon replaced by these newly built steam engines and it was then that the American freight business owners focused on the railroad operation in terms of business. However this business was limited by the East coast canal. But the railroad could easily overcome the canal transportation business since the rail roads could be built next to these canals, and they could transport goods in a more quick and efficient way as compare to the canal boats. The infrastructure of the rail road kept improving and expanding with the help of the labors that worked day and night and eventually linked the union pacific and the central pacific railroad at a common point of Utah, this lead to the completion of transcontinental rail road. The rail road business was on its way to success because of its expansion and its capacity to earn profits. The rail road business also created new opportunities for the general public. It lead to the formation of new towns along the rail road which supplied them with goods to build the towns and other necessary products such as the crops from the East. People could also get clothes of new fashion all the way from Hollywood and New York City. The railroad business in the 20th century was completely based on competition because all the rail road enterprises were owned by private organization each having their own rail system and no common flow of information existed. It was during the First World War that the government took over these individually owned enterprises in order to meet the demand and it was undertaken by the US railway administration. The government strategy was to collaboratively plan the operating procedures in order to make them more efficient. But soon after the war, the freight system was on its verge of collapse due to the the emergence of the truck transportation system which seemed to be a better alternative due to the development of better highway systems and so the rail way enterprises had to go against an external competition. The railroads reacted by merging and upgrading and modernizing their performances and hence there level of standardization was leveled up a notch. The problem in the steam locomotive engine was to find the perfect balance between the cylinder, boiler, driver and also the linkage mechanism. Hence John Bull came up with the first heat driven locomotive in 1831 which used to run by burning of wood but a certain drawback to this locomotive was the absence of trees in certain areas. The early 20th century locomotives were smaller in size and powerful than their previous ancestors. These locomotives used pressurized steam that rotated the wheels. The steam locomotives were used during the Second World War. The year 1920 saw the emergence of the locomotives that were run on diesel that were not considered efficient enough as the level of carbon prints they produced were quite high. One steam engine was replaced by two units of diesel engines which had the capacity of 350 Horse power each. The steam locomotives also had their limitations because they were labor intensive and extra care was needed in their maintenance. Whereas the Diesel engines were completely automatic but they worked on a different mechanics which consisted of a cylinder fuel air which was mixed with compressed by the engine. An explosion caused the piston to move down hence pushing the crank shaft, and an alternator converts the motion of this shaft in to power. The traction motor on each axle turns the wheels of the engine. No matter how many units were added together, only the activity of one man is needed to operate it. The Cajon pass is an uphill journey and is considered as one of the most treacherous railroads of the US. The entire journey up the hill requires 600 tons of power and a two man operation; the conductor and a driver. A second engineer with two locomotives hooks on to the rear. The traction control system sprays the wheels with compressed air which allows fluent movement of the wheel. An automated system known as the alerter functions to keep the driver awake after certain interval of time. The driver then pushes the alerter reset to turn the alarm off. The train is stopped at the summit and the helper engines are then removed. The dynamic breaking turns traction motor to resistor which takes the power from the wheels and diffuses it in the form of heat. This offers resistance to the wheels and hence slowing the trains. HAND BRAKE SYSTEMS The earliest brake system consisted of hand brake lever which was a wooden block against the wheel. This was then modified to stem winder that tightens the chains of iron shoes against the wheels by the driver. Each of the carts had a brake man which applied the brakes. In 1873, the auto brake system was invented which transferred compressed air from locomotive, the air reservoir fills and trips the brakes. The entire system is poka-yoke i.e., it is a fail safe design which prevents any incidents from occurring. Another concurrent design utilized the dynamic braking system which supplemented the air brake. This reduced the wear and tear on the air brake shoes and also reduced the maintenance cost. These are interchangeable parts in order to ensure maximum output THE ADVANCEMENTS IN FREIGHT TRAINS In order to maintain the freight trains as number one method of transporting goods the freight trains had to be modernized according to the 21st century. The entire product design of the process is mentioned in order to maintain the standardization of the end product. The future of the locomotives is built in the General Electric’s building. The new locomotive has also been simplified as this locomotive consists of 12 cylinders as compared to the 16 cylinders that the old locomotives has. The new locomotive engines are fuel efficient and use up to 210,000 less amount of fuel. It weighs 208 tons and has the capacity of 4400 hp. The entire engine takes 26 days to build whereas the last 12 days are used to assemble the parts. The facility layout consists of four stations. The assembly chart is divided on the basis of this facility layout. The first station puts the sensitive electrical equipments and piping to the under carriage. The second station serves as a staging area for pre built components which are ready to get installed, the third stations places the individual components on the platforms whereas the final station is where the wheels are assembles. The entire process is continuous production as it utilizes a fully automated system of assembly. It is called as a huge air hockey because of the latest technique used in order to lift the heavy locomotive. The process is also a mass production centre for various locomotive industries and various engines are produced under one roof at various times. The locomotives also offer Mass customization as the paint jobs done on the final engines are specific to the clients who placed the order. The locomotive engine is an order qualifier because the engines being produced here are one of a kind and define the revolution of the freight trains. MODIFICATION IN CARTS The carts were also modified according to the requirements of the goods being transported. These containers were made of a robust design and were designed to bear any sort of environmental or operation variation and also offered flexibility in design and operation. The containers revitalized the rail road industry. The containers used intermodal transportation in order to transport the products with ease. 50 trains which consist of 220 containers each pass through the rail way each day. The 20 mile corridor expressway also known as trench reduced the journey of 2 hours to 45 minutes. The intermodal freight is the number one revenue generator. One freight car is fitted on top of another container this reduces height and lowers the centre of gravity and is cost effective. The earliest freight carts were wheels with simple platforms, the gondola had walls in it and then box cart was made. This offered as a rolling billboard. These carts were then modified with open slats on the sides for transporting cattle, and some provided them with insulation called the refer which were practically ice boxes on wheels. These were then replaced with mechanical refrigerator which were powered by small diesel engine. The above process added value to the products by transporting goods in their original form which means that the entire process is based on the concept of value chain. TRACKING OF FREIGHT TRAINS The technological advancements in the train lead to the discontinuation of Caboose, a cabin which was present at the end of the train and was replaced by Flashing rear end device (FRED) which was also of two types Dumb FRED and Smart FRED. The entire rail road system utilizes cutting edge information which are equipped with thousands of sensors and intersection of paths. The system consists of dispatchers which are located at various operation centers. Dispatchers are also termed as the rulers of the rail road and no move is made without their authorization. The BNSF command central is the largest command centre for railroads of America and houses 225 employees and consists of 94 different dispatching work stations which is spread over 200 -500 miles and the planning horizon is 2 to 3 hours ahead. The screen in front of every dispatcher shows the computer track layout which direct the movement of train by point and click which selects the path of the train. The dispatchers work with Jidoka which gives them the authority to stops the entire operation if they find any problem in it. There exist two different tracing which works on the mechanism of signal system of electrical current of the rails and wirelessly transmits the signal from the trains. AEI readers energize the readers and the information is available within seconds. The verbal information is converted to computer data and is available within nine seconds on the main frame and serves as the line of support and line of interaction whereby the customers interact with the personnel by viewing the information made available on the website. Handheld computers help the dispatchers to see where and how and what the processes the trains have undergone. The train systems are modifying themselves by incorporation WiFi and GPS systems in order to increase rail road safety. An ETMS slows down the train or stops it if the train goes through any unauthorized step taken by the driver. References Documentary History of Freight Trains. (2014). Russell, R., & Taylor, B. (2009). Operations management. 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