On behalf of a major commuter railway, we performed a systematic study to discover the root causes of project schedule delays associated with three major Capital Projects: upgrade of a wayside signal system on an entire line, installation of passenger area cameras in a locomotive-hauled fleet, and renewal of all overhead line equipment for catenary electrification in one area. In this project, we worked on-site directly with craft personnel responsible for the work, as well as their foremen and managers, to understand their concerns with the work process, project plan, support environment, and resource assignments. For the signal project, delays were attributed to front-loaded project task sequencing, low priority assigned during the early phases, and inspection issues involving contractors, all resolved by work resequencing and more detailed project progress tracking and reporting. In the camera project, the diversity of coaching stock designs and accumulated modifications were issues, requiring multiple prototypes and steep learning curves, which were resolved with instituting periodic technical project meetings and adding more engineering staff. The catenary electrification renewal project was delayed due to contractor personnel shortage and insufficient work windows, which required the most complex solution—involving planning regular mid-week work windows and re-prioritizing more disruptive upgrade work to the weekend when longer track outages were available. In all three cases, the project managers committed to more aggressive completion schedules based on their own process improvements and resource reallocation, integrating our recommendations.
Related Publications/Presentations:
Power Off! Challenges in Planning and Executing Power Isolations on Shared-Use Electrified Railways
