Metrolink peer review report - Ventura County Star

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METROLINK COMMUTER RAIL SAFETY PEER REVIEW PANEL Final Report – January 5, 2009 b. Vehicle Equipment Maintenance Issue Papers Observations SCRRA has contracted out the maintenance of the rolling stock. The contractor is an experienced firm in the industry and has qualified staff assigned to the program. Both Metrolink and the contractor have recognized and incorporated the necessary engineering standards and FRA regulatory standards into the Mechanical department function. • Metrolink assumes a large oversight function and must staff accordingly. The Metrolink mechanical department senior management staff (two positions) is not located at the Central Maintenance Facility (CMF). • The vehicle operators may not be receiving the necessary equipment training to accurately identify “in service” equipment failures to a QMP. • It was not clear to the Panel how rolling stock equipment failures are tracked and analyzed. It appears that the data exists but that the comprehensive analysis of trends may be done in isolated fragments. • The document control process incorporated by the contractor needs review. The Panel recommends that a document control procedure be implemented, and that the vehicle number and date of inspection/maintenance be entered on all pages of the document. In addition, it is recommended that all documents be placed into electronic format (PDF or other) and archived. • The Panel observed concerns that a key position (Manager – Central Maintenance Facility) will not be filled. The Panel’s concern is that the position is currently occupied by one of the Maintenance Coordinators, reducing the oversight over the maintenance contractor. In addition, this maintenance coordinator is managing the CMF and is also involved in the oversight of the new locomotive program. We believe that a staffing assessment of the SCRRA Mechanical Department is necessary to ensure that adequate staffing and skills are available to manage all of the responsibilities under its span of control. The Manager who was responsible for the oversight and management of CMF operations has been reassigned to 700 S. Flower St. and the responsibility has been reassigned to one of only two Maintenance Compliance Officers who is also overseeing the new locomotive program. Recommendations Rail Vehicle Equipment Maintenance a. Designate a site manager with clear responsibility over all aspects of operations within the CMF. b. Perform a staffing analysis and hire additional personnel as needed. This be done in a timely fashion as the size of the Metrolink fleet will increase dramatically as the new car and locomotive orders are delivered and the opening of the Eastern Maintenance Facility will place further stress on current staff. c. Establish a Qualified Maintenance Person for the dispatching center. d. Fully integrate the Mechanical department into the system-wide risk management analysis effort. e. Conduct a staffing analysis of the impact of increasing the fleet prior to its introduction. 44
METROLINK COMMUTER RAIL SAFETY PEER REVIEW PANEL Final Report – January 5, 2009 f. Conduct training for train operators on equipment troubleshooting. g. Improve inter-departmental coordination. h. Strengthen the contractor’s document control policies. Issue Papers Background A major duty of the Metrolink maintenance staff is to oversee the activities of the vehicle maintenance contractor. In this capacity, the staff oversees compliance with FRA observations by reviewing testing procedures, analyzing the results, and performing vehicle inspections for confirmation of compliance with the contract. Additional responsibilities of the equipment department include: • Maintenance of Metrolink facilities, • Locomotive fueling, and • Non-revenue equipment maintenance. Facility maintenance includes the • Central maintenance facility (CMF) • Union station platforms • The SCRRA main offices (except for electrical) • The outlying vehicle maintenance facilities • The Metrolink Operations Center • The MOW facility • The signal warehouse. Non-revenue equipment maintenance involves the fleet of 135 road vehicles used by transportation, maintenance of way, and other departments. In addition to facility and non-revenue fleet maintenance and the oversight of the vehicle maintenance contractor, the equipment department staff is administering a new car procurement program; managing 18 current capital programs and determining consists of individual trains based on equipment availability and on the ridership numbers provided by the Communications and Development department. The Metrolink operation includes 155 commuter rail cars, including 16 leased from other commuter railroads, and 38 locomotives. There is a procurement of 117 new commuter cars, with an option for 20 additional cars, and 15 new locomotives underway. SCRRA is also going to lease 14 rail cars from New Jersey Transit and 10 from Utah Transit. The 12 cars currently leased from Sound Transit will be returned. With new equipment and locomotives, and with options exercised, the fleet would include 304 commuter coaches and 53 locomotives, a 96% and 39% increase respectively. Each staff member assigned to the equipment department appears to have specific duties as defined within the organization chart. However, there is no overall site manager at the CMF. This task is currently performed by one of the two maintenance compliance officers assigned to oversee the performance of the rail vehicle contractor. In addition, the individual who is assuming these responsibilities is also responsible for contractor compliance. The individual previously responsible for management of the CMF was transferred to the SCRRA main office and a replacement has yet to be designated. The Panel recommends that this position be filled. 45
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Metrolink peer review report - Ventura County Star

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