Rail Group On Air

Rail Group On Air shines a spotlight on railroad policing during Rail Safety Week 2023 in this podcast with CN Chief Security Officer and Chief of CN Police Service, North America Stephen Covey. This long-time law enforcement professional shares his insights on the complex job of overseeing public safety and security at a Class I railroad whose territory stretches thousands of miles across Canada and the United States with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono.

This edition of Rail Group on Air spotlights the recently released change management book, Change Questions, by noted executive D. Lynn Kelley Ph.D. with prominent internationally known Lean Management expert John Shook. The pace of organizational change has been increasing. Unfortunately, most change activities fail to deliver anticipated results and those that do often fail to sustain. The Change Questions book addresses these critical issues by providing a proven process with a strong record of sustainment that can be used by anyone responsible for implementing organizational change. The book includes a case study with examples and stories of transformation at Union Pacific Railroad during an eight-year period. Using the Change Questions resulted in a dramatic increase in operational performance and a 96% sustainment rate over hundreds of change initiatives. Lynn Kelley and Railway Age Contributing Editor Sonia Bot, Chief Executive of the BOT Consulting Group Inc., join Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono for this podcast.

John Orr, EVP and Chief Transformation Officer of Canadian Pacific Kansas City, discusses their transnational operating plan and challenges of integrating national requirements. They explore opportunities in lithium battery production and supply chain management, as well as the integration of sales and marketing at CPKC.

n this conclusion of a two-part series, Jim Hoecker and Steve Griffith of the Rail Electrification Council talk about the transition away from fossil fuels, as well the national electrical grid’s need to expand to handle rapidly increasing demand. What are the opportunities for using railroad rights-of-way to support high-voltage transmission lines? How could this be a viable source of revenue for railroads? How do ESG goals figure here? Hoecker and Griffith discuss these and other topics with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono.

Is electrification—or re-electrification—a viable means of rail propulsion, particularly for North American freight? In this first of a two-part series, Jim Hoecker and Steve Griffith of the Rail Electrification Council describe the organization’s mission and objectives, and discuss what’s happening with respect to the broader electric grid. How will its transition away from fossil fuels affect the railroads? What are the potential effects of electrification on the railroads? Why should railroads plan to electrify? Are there lessons to be learned from rail electrification in Europe and the Far East? Is there a current example of a rail road right-of-way being used to support transmission development? What is the the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in transmission planning and siting? Are there any policies or funding that can prompt the railroads to electrify? Hoecker and Griffith discuss these questions with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono.

This is Part 3, “Essential Success Factors,” of a three-part series based upon the new book, Dynamic Multi-Level Decisioning Architecture: Making the Right Decisions at the Right Time, With the Right Authority for Sustained Competitiveness and Relevance, by Sonia Bot, Sheppard Narkier and David Sherr. “It’s about how all industries, including the rail industry, its partners and adjacent competitors, are evolving in the throes of digital disruption and other external forces, and the role people play in decision-making at all levels of an organization,” say the authors. “Decision-making needs to flow better upwards and downwards, tying the boardroom to the railroad yards, transloading facilities, tracks—the whole rail network and transportation ecosystem. “The bigger story is about each stakeholder needing a better understanding of how to make the right decision at the right time with better, more-focused knowledge, applying hard-earned wisdom to make better decisions with better and traceable outcomes. It’s about the convergence of two long-standing silos, OT (operational technology) and IT (information technology), becoming the cornerstone of effective innovation in large, complex firms like railroads, which need to meet the increasing impact of disruptive forces. The need to address this convergence affects a wide range of disciplines to unveil a much broader scale of end-to-end systems—from the sensors in the field to the boardroom. Out-of-date, isolated data that lacks context causes major paralysis.” Bot, Narkier and Sherr discuss these concepts with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono.

This is Part 2, “The Business Environment as a Service Platform,” of a three-part series based upon the new book, Dynamic Multi-Level Decisioning Architecture: Making the Right Decisions at the Right Time, With the Right Authority for Sustained Competitiveness and Relevance, by Sonia Bot, Sheppard Narkier and David Sherr. “It’s about how all industries, including the rail industry, its partners and adjacent competitors, are evolving in the throes of digital disruption and other external forces, and the role people play in decision-making at all levels of an organization,” say the authors. “Decision-making needs to flow better upwards and downwards, tying the boardroom to the railroad yards, transloading facilities, tracks—the whole rail network and transportation ecosystem. “The bigger story is about each stakeholder needing a better understanding of how to make the right decision at the right time with better, more-focused knowledge, applying hard-earned wisdom to make better decisions with better and traceable outcomes. It’s about the convergence of two long-standing silos, OT (operational technology) and IT (information technology), becoming the cornerstone of effective innovation in large, complex firms like railroads, which need to meet the increasing impact of disruptive forces. The need to address this convergence affects a wide range of disciplines to unveil a much broader scale of end-to-end systems—from the sensors in the field to the boardroom. Out-of-date, isolated data that lacks context causes major paralysis.” Bot, Narkier and Sherr discuss these concepts with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono

This is Part 1, “From Sensors to the Boardroom,” of a three-part series based upon the new book, Dynamic Multi-Level Decisioning Architecture: Making the Right Decisions at the Right Time, With the Right Authority for Sustained Competitiveness and Relevance, by Sonia Bot, Sheppard Narkier and David Sherr. “It’s about how all industries, including the rail industry, its partners and adjacent competitors, are evolving in the throes of digital disruption and other external forces, and the role people play in decision-making at all levels of an organization,” say the authors. “Decision-making needs to flow better upwards and downwards, tying the boardroom to the railroad yards, transloading facilities, tracks—the whole rail network and transportation ecosystem. “The bigger story is about each stakeholder needing a better understanding of how to make the right decision at the right time with better, more-focused knowledge, applying hard-earned wisdom to make better decisions with better and traceable outcomes. It’s about the convergence of two long-standing silos, OT (operational technology) and IT (information technology), becoming the cornerstone of effective innovation in large, complex firms like railroads, which need to meet the increasing impact of disruptive forces. The need to address this convergence affects a wide range of disciplines to unveil a much broader scale of end-to-end systems—from the sensors in the field to the boardroom. Out-of-date, isolated data that lacks context causes major paralysis.” Bot, Narkier and Sherr discuss these concepts with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono

Duos Technologies is one of the leaders of artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, machine vision and other advanced technologies the railroads are increasingly leveraging. Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Necciai and Duos Board Member Ed Harris, former CSX Executive Vice President Operations, join Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono to discuss how Duos is helping the rail industry improve safety, service quality and equipment utilization.

The RAD Torque Systems B-RAD Series of battery-powered torque wrenches, which currently includes B-RAD S, B-RAD Select, Digital B-RAD and B-RAD Select Offset tools, now includes the new B-RAD X and B-RAD EGX-R, a tool customized specifically for the rail industry. The B-RAD EGX-R, which is designed for track bolts, features an extension that eliminates the need for operators to bend or squat down to secure them—a very ergonomic adaptation for track workers. Product Manager Brian Warmerdam, the company’s go-to product expert with 11 years of experience and a former product training specialist, describes these new torque tools to Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. RAD Torque Systems, sponsor of this podcast, is the leading manufacturer of pneumatic, battery-powered and electronic pistol grip torque wrenches. With more than 25 years of gearbox engineering, a RAD Torque wrench is stronger, lighter and faster than others on the market. The company was founded by Dan Provost more than 25 years ago and has quickly grown to be known as the tool of choice for industrial bolting applications around the world. In addition to the B-RAD Series, the company offers several other torque wrench series, including the RAD Pneumatic and E-RAD BLU and V-RAD electronic tools; as well as calibration equipment.