Part 3 of 3 - Applying Project Management to Rail Transit Rolling Stock Projects

 

This article is collaboration between Lamont Ward, Senior Electrical Engineer at National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), and Henry Hattenrath, Senior Technical Consultant – Parsons Transportation Group.    It was started with a simple question and answer to a posted article on Converting the Design-Bid-Build Contract Model for Design Build Delivery in the rail transit domain – see https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/converting-design-bid-build-contract-model-design-build-hattenrath/.  Or https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/47557/Converting-the-Design-Bid-Build-Contract-Model-for-Design-Build-Delivery

This part continues to highlight the differences in project characteristics between construction and rail transit rolling stock purchases.  The characteristics are relative to a project management view as opposed to presenting the program Model showing the processes and life-cycle for development and production of rail transit vehicles.

Q15.    Does the Seller provide an operator cab mock-up for training by simulator?

A15.    Yes - If required by contract scope.    Most rolling stock Buyers have detailed curriculum for training and qualifying train operating engineers and train crews on the operation of the rolling stock, including passenger cars and locomotives.    For Buyers operating in North America, the regulatory agency-Federal Railroad Administration requires comprehensive training for employees.    Without an operating cab simulator, the training period can be lengthy until the employees learn the equipment operations and the performance characteristics of the rolling stock along the railroad right-of-way.   A cab simulator allows employees to be trained faster than the historic approach to ride the rails along each branch of the system network under supervision of a qualified employee.  

Q16.    In managing the contract, are there unique inputs the Buyer needs to coordinate with the Seller?

A16.    Since the Seller is completing the detailed design for the rolling stock, there are performance requirements that will be discussed and amplified to assure the Buyer’s expectations are satisfied.   In addition to tracking all Buyer inputs to Seller, the Buyer should provide the Seller with as much information on the existing operations and how the contract deliverables will be integrated as production deliveries commence.   The information may include: A) Braking performance of existing equipment and signal blocks in the wayside signal system.  B) Clearances and shop equipment locations in inspection and maintenance facilities and storage yards.  C) Planned vehicle arrangement used for customer exiting/loading at platforms for station stops.   D)  Drawings/samples of existing ADA bridge plates and amenities.   E)  Operator and vehicle data on handling performance on existing vehicles to train schedule.   F)  List of heavy shop equipment used to service and maintain exiting vehicles and to support on-board component changeouts.   

Q17.    How are costs of spare parts managed as part of the contract negotiations?   

A17.    Spare part requirements are normally defined by the Buyer in the contract.   During the contract acquisition, the Buyer and Seller will establish the anticipated spare part quantities  and costs to maintain the fleet over a defined period of time.    However, Buyer’s requirements may be limited in the spare parts that can be purchased as part of a contract with government funding or by Buyer’s internal funding requirements that may define a minimum value to qualify material as a spare part.   

Whether in the base contract or by a separate maintenance contract, the Buyer will need an inventory of major components for performing running repair within the capacity of equipment and throughput of the shop facilities.   Some of the components that will need to be inventoried include:   tracks, wheel sets, traction motors,  air compressors, batteries, AC/DC convertors, air condition evaporators, and air conditioning condensers.

Q18.    If a particular part is found unreliable and the railroad finds an alternative source how does the railroad recoup any losses for the poor performance of the part from the manufacture?  

A18.    The Buyer’s contract will define the metrics for monitoring and measuring the reliability of equipment during the initial testing of initial train sets  as well as the testing and operation of production sets.   Systems and components with failures that fall outside the baseline requirements, such as  Mean Time Between Failures or Mean  Miles Between Failures, are subject to corrective action and potential re-design and replacement by the Seller.  Based on the severity of the failures on performance, the Seller may be obligated to perform a re-call for implementing change-out of the system/components on the entire fleet of vehicles.   

The contract will identify the percentage of failures on in-service rolling stock, and the specific processes and remedies the Seller will follow throughout contract period and any Options for extended periods for performance monitoring and warranty.  

Q19.    How are reliability metrics determined and negotiated?   

A19.    The reliability metrics are developed by the Buyer based on the known range of performance data from manufacturers and equipment suppliers, and the Buyer’s internal Subject Matter Experts (SME)  and/or the Buyer’s contracted Engineer of Record (EOR).   The SME and EOR will prepare the drawings and specifications, which define the technical requirements in the contract documents.   The reliability metrics serve as the basis for evaluating the Sellers’ offerings pre-award and for verifying compliance with requirements post award.    

Q20.    If the vehicle manufacturer has a particular vendor in mind for a system, but the railroad wants to use a vendor of their choosing, how is this worked out between the two parties?

A20.    If the Buyer has known vendors with proven records, the requirements in the contract should identify the vendors that have demonstrated the ability to qualitatively meet the technical specifications.   The specifications do not need to identify detailed product information, but they do need to update quality requirement in the technical specifications to include the vendors used by the Buyer such as Vendor A, Vendor B or  Buyer’s approved equal.   

If the Seller uses other vendors with products equal in quality and with proven performance in the industry, the “or equal”  provides a mechanism for persuading the Buyer to accept or decline the Seller’s vendor.   If declined after the contract is awarded and underway, the Buyer will need to provide objective reasons for not finding the vendor is equal.   

Q21.    Great topic, but what about systems?

A21.    Rolling stock/vehicle project deliverables, as well as the corresponding fixed assets for their operation, are comprised a series of integrated systems.  Project management principles can be equally applied to systems in construction and product manufacturing.  Systems can cross the entire sphere of consumer and industrial project deliverables used world-wide, including air transport and auto transport.   The systems required for these deliverables include passenger/operator compartments, power, propulsion, safety, supervisory and control, suspension/vibration control/energy absorption, HVAC, communications, fire protection, energy conservation and security.