Employee Log-In Solutions Why Us? About Us Careers Contact RAILCAR AVAILABILITY, MAXIMIZED Safe, Reliable Railcar Inspection, Service & Repair Railcar Services When railcars are out of service, you lose time and money. Road & Rail Services specializes in Field Maintenance Operations (FMO) to safely optimize the mechanical condition and velocity of your rolling stock assets. With field inspections, service and repairs, we keep your railcars compliant, in service and out of the shop. While our team of skilled mechanics typically provides these services in our plant and terminal operations, we can also offer response services through Mobile Repair Operations (MRO) to deliver a comprehensive solution for your fleet. Why Choose Us? Road & Rail Services is an industry leader in railcar services through our strategic investment in the best equipment and technology; an emphasis on recruiting and retaining the top talent in the industry; an unwavering focus on safety first and always; a scope of services that covers the entire range of railcar inspection and repair; and a reputation for reliability in completing repairs, eliminating downtime and providing quality results. Those qualities combine to make Road & Rail Services the cost-effective choice as your railcar services provider. Equipped for Success We employ advanced information technology to facilitate maintenance processes and analyze service statistics and repair trends, in an effort to continually optimize equipment condition. Comprehensive Services We inspect and repair all railcar types for every Class I railroads and most private car owners, including: Auto Racks Boxcars Covered Hoppers Flatcars Open top hoppers Gondolas Our services encompass: Inspections (including extended haul and air brake testing) Information interface with industry early warning and maintenance advisory processes Pre-Trip and Pre-Trip Repairs Railcar Cleaning Preventative Maintenance with Scheduled Fleet Repairs Program Work AAR compliance repairs inclusive of electronic AAR billing The Benefits of Predictive, Preventative Maintenance Managing railcar maintenance effectively offers a number of benefits: It improves rolling stock reliability It increases equipment availability It increases operational productivity It allows for a lower spare vehicle ratio It reduces overall railcar maintenance costs through Better allocation of resources More efficient and effective processes It sustains the useful life of equipment It reduces long-term capital cost Ineffective railcar maintenance can result in an expensive downward spiral into a “find and fix” mentality instead of proactively addressing maintenance issues before impact reliability and operations. Challenges to Effective Railcar Maintenance Knowledge Base As seasoned maintenance workers leave or retire, there is an ongoing risk of losing critical maintenance knowledge and experience. Successors might not understand why certain procedures are in place, how to use maintenance management IT tools, or how to manage inventory for critical parts. Technology As railcar technology evolves, maintenance practices have to change accordingly. New railcar procurement has to be planned to ensure that the maintenance team is prepared to properly maintain new equipment upon its arrival. Stagnant Maintenance Practices As railcars age and are replaced, maintenance needs to continually evolve. Effective performance improvement programs are needed to respond to new challenges as they arise and ensure railcar maintenance meets its lifecycle management and performance targets. Deferred Maintenance Deferred maintenance and investment due to demands on capital and operations and maintenance funds lead to deteriorating reliability and a less safe, more stressful environment focused on managing rising levels of corrective maintenance and difficulty in meeting railcar availability requirements. Optimal railcar maintenance management is about having effective planning, information, and improvement processes in place to elevate railcar reliability, maintainability, availability, and quality of service and reduce railcar lifecycle cost. Maintenance Strategies There are a variety of strategies for maintaining rail equipment, but most fall into one of these five categories: No Maintenance / Run-to-Failure This approach only makes sense when equipment is either highly reliable or it is not critical to operations and its replacement cost is low relative to the cost of maintenance or repair. Reactive Maintenance Reactive or corrective maintenance that is triggered by a fault or functional failure is only warranted when equipment failure is rare and random, the time and effort to repair are minimal, or the equipment has minimal impact on overall service delivery. Scheduled Maintenance Maintenance occurs at set intervals to reduce the likelihood of an in-service failure, based on time, mileage or the original equipment manufacturers specifications. Taking into account past failures and industry practices, it provides for the regular replacement, overhaul or remanufacture of components to reestablish their performance and reliability. Predictive Maintenance Applying condition and performance data for prognostics and scheduling, predictive maintenance can result in better timing of preventive maintenance while maintaining reliability. Any additional costs from inspection, testing and ongoing data analysis are more than offset by reductions in unnecessary maintenance and in-service failures resulting in downtime and added costs. Proactive Maintenance Built around continuous process improvement, proactive maintenance focuses on quality assurance and quality control measures, modifying maintenance and operating procedures to mitigate conditions that lead to wear and failure. A more intensive preventive maintenance approach, it usually focuses on critical assets that consume maintenance resources disproportionately. Integrating data and technology with proven practices, continuous improvement, ongoing training and a deep reservoir of experience, Road & Rail Services emphasizes a predictive/proactive approach to maintenance that maximizes safety and railcar condition, minimizes downtime and reduces the cost of operations. 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