VitalRail: A Continental Freight Rail Growth Initiative/Rail Technology Adoption IntelliConference: Difference between revisions
From OnTrackNorthAmerica
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# How do the following aspects of the railroad business benefit from technological advances and improvements, and are there others that need to be identified? | # How do the following aspects of the railroad business benefit from technological advances and improvements, and are there others that need to be identified? | ||
# | #* Managing the complexity of multiple thousands of origin-destination pairs in service design. | ||
# | #* Improvements to locomotive power, cost, flexibility, and maintainability. | ||
# | #* Improvements to rolling stock efficiency, capacity, load/unload cost, and safety. | ||
# | #* Safe train control and location awareness for: | ||
# | #** Train speeds beyond what a human locomotive engineer can manage alone. | ||
# | #** Operation of longer and heavier trains over demanding grade and curvature profiles. | ||
# | #** Expanding a dispatcher’s ability to control greater volumes with variable priorities effectively. | ||
# | #** Shipment tracking and schedule adherence. | ||
# | #* Improvements to track load bearing, longevity, rolling friction, safe operating speed, and maintainability. | ||
# What are the most important aspects of technological capability and change that influence decisions to fund, deploy, and refine post-deployment? | # What are the most important aspects of technological capability and change that influence decisions to fund, deploy, and refine post-deployment? | ||
# | #* Timing relative to the technology’s maturity curve | ||
# | #* Expected effectiveness of the improvement | ||
# | #* Minimum effectiveness level to be deployed at scale | ||
# | #* Identification of unintended consequences and functionality gaps that lead to further refinements | ||
# How are projects to correct intentional or accidental functionality gaps to already adopted technologies identified and funded? | # How are projects to correct intentional or accidental functionality gaps to already adopted technologies identified and funded? | ||
# How does the technology adoption lifecycle from inception to obsolescence differ when: | # How does the technology adoption lifecycle from inception to obsolescence differ when: | ||
# | #* Mandated by regulation? | ||
# | #* Driven by cost reduction? | ||
# | #* Driven by train service improvements and revenue growth? | ||
# How does the technology adoption lifecycle from inception to obsolescence differ for: | # How does the technology adoption lifecycle from inception to obsolescence differ for: | ||
# | #* Information and communications technologies applied to railroad operating and business processes such as (but are not limited to): | ||
# | #** Train service planning | ||
# | #** Train consist makeup and terminal automation | ||
# | #** Power assignment to train services | ||
# | #** Crew and yard personnel assignment | ||
# | #** Train dispatching location detection, conflict prevention, and operating authority communication | ||
# | #** Mechanical defect detection | ||
# | #** Locomotive operating health management and telematics | ||
# | #** Locomotive throttle and braking management | ||
# | #** Car and shipment location tracking | ||
# | #** Other railcar telematics such as location, health, load stability, and temperature | ||
# | #** Billing | ||
# | #* Locomotive energy cost efficiency, emissions management, maintainability, or operational flexibility? | ||
# | #* Railcar capacity, weight, aerodynamics, maintainability, or ease of loading/unloading? | ||
# | #* Locomotive and railcar air brake performance improvements? | ||
# | #* Trackage friction, stability, longevity improvements? | ||
# How is technological obsolescence identified and corrected? | # How is technological obsolescence identified and corrected? | ||
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# In order for adopted technologies to achieve promised benefits, how can stakeholders more effectively evaluate the need for improvements? | # In order for adopted technologies to achieve promised benefits, how can stakeholders more effectively evaluate the need for improvements? | ||
# How are different technological solutions prioritized, given finite funding and implementation resources: | # How are different technological solutions prioritized, given finite funding and implementation resources: | ||
# | #* Among solutions that address the same problem domain? | ||
#* | #* Among solutions whose problem domains partially overlap? | ||
# | #* Among solutions where one solution is a subset of another? Is there a “minimum viable solution” that implies a more comprehensive one? | ||
# | #* Among solutions to completely different problems? | ||
# How does the technology adoption lifecycle from inception to obsolescence differ when: | # How does the technology adoption lifecycle from inception to obsolescence differ when: | ||
# | #* Obtained from an outside vendor? | ||
# | #* Designed and implemented in-house? | ||
# When considering the adoption of information and communication-based technologies, to what degree do components of those solutions satisfy multiple higher-level goals or functions (e.g., precise and timely train, locomotive, car location tracking, or train consist makeup)? | # When considering the adoption of information and communication-based technologies, to what degree do components of those solutions satisfy multiple higher-level goals or functions (e.g., precise and timely train, locomotive, car location tracking, or train consist makeup)? | ||
# | #* Should these components be sharable and integrated into a common system architecture to: | ||
# | #** Guarantee consistent behavior across functions? | ||
# | #** Reduce testing, modification, or procurement costs? | ||
# | #** Provide a “single source of data truth” such that contradictory answers or system responses do not result from inconsistent behavior? | ||
# | #* When do varying quality-of-service requirements or the lifecycles of already adopted technologies drive separately implemented components that perform the same general function? | ||
== Round Three Questions == | == Round Three Questions == |