U.S. patent application number 09/725614 was filed with the patent office on 2002-08-01 for railcar maintenance management system.
Invention is credited to Barich, Daniel M., Barich, David J., Donahue, Timothy P..
Application Number | 20020101361 09/725614 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24915283 |
Filed Date | 2002-08-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020101361 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barich, David J. ; et
al. |
August 1, 2002 |
Railcar maintenance management system
Abstract
The present invention relates to a system and a method for
managing the repairing, cleaning, painting, or otherwise
maintaining of railcars within a railcar maintenance facility.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a railcar
maintenance management system and method for maintaining railcars
within a facility wherein the facility has an inbound track, an
outbound track, and a plurality of maintenance stations for moving
a railcar in and out of the facility and for repairing, cleaning,
or painting the same. Further, the railcar maintenance management
system and method allows for efficient movement of railcars through
the facility by queueing the railcars at strategic locations within
the railcar facility.
Inventors: |
Barich, David J.;
(Frankfort, IL) ; Barich, Daniel M.; (Frankfort,
IL) ; Donahue, Timothy P.; (Wheaton, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Stephen T. Scherrer, Esq.
Margaret M. Duncan, Esq.
McDERMOTT, WILL & EMERY
227 West Monroe Street
Chicago
IL
60606-5096
US
|
Family ID: |
24915283 |
Appl. No.: |
09/725614 |
Filed: |
November 29, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/907 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B08B 9/08 20130101; G06Q
10/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/907 |
International
Class: |
G08G 001/095 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A Railcar Maintenance Facility Management System comprising: a
railcar maintenance facility having a plurality of maintenance
stations; a first communication means associated with at least one
of the maintenance stations wherein the first communication means
signals to an operator of the maintenance facility whether the
associated maintenance stations are available or unavailable to
accept a first railcar and further if unavailable, then the first
railcar is not released into the railcar maintenance facility.
2. The systems of claim 1 further comprising: a second
communication means associated with each maintenance station for
signaling whether each maintenance station is available or
unavailable to accept railcars requiring services of each
maintenance station.
3. The system of claim 1 further comprising: an inspection area for
sorting railcars by their type and maintenance needs.
4. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a first queue area
wherein the first queue area stores railcars waiting for a first
maintenance station to become available.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first maintenance station is
an interior blast station for removing interior linings from the
railcars.
6. The system of claim 1 further comprising: an inbound queue area
connected to the inbound railway for holding railcars prior to
entering the maintenance facility.
7. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of bays
within the first maintenance system for holding a plurality of
railcars requiring the services of the first maintenance station
wherein the first communication means communicates whether the bays
are available or unavailable to accept railcars.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first communication means
comprises a red light and green light.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein the green light communicates that
the particular maintenance station is available to accept
railcars.
10. The system of claim 8 wherein the red light communicates that
the particular maintenance station is unavailable to accept
railcars.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein the maintenance stations comprise
a first set of repair stations wherein railcars may be repaired and
a second set of stations wherein a railcar may be painted.
12. The system of claim 1 wherein the first communication means
comprises a red light and a green light wherein the red light
indicates that railcars requiring the services of the associated
maintenance station should not be released into the maintenance
facility and further wherein the green light indicates that the
associated maintenance station is available to accept railcars.
13. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a designation
removably attached to the railcars to communicate the maintenance
needs of the railcars.
14. A railcar maintenance facility management system comprising: a
railcar maintenance facility comprising an inbound railway, an
inbound queue area, a transfer area, a first set of maintenance
stations, a second set of maintenance stations and an outbound
railway; a first communication means connected to each maintenance
station within the first set of maintenance stations wherein the
first communication means communicates whether each maintenance
station within the first set of maintenance stations is available
to receive a railcar requiring services of the first set of
maintenance station; and a second communication means connected to
the second set of maintenance stations wherein the second
communication means communicates whether the second set of
maintenance stations is available receive a railcar requiring
services of the second set of maintenance stations and further
wherein the second communication means communicates to an operator
of the maintenance facility whether the railcar requiring the
services of the second set of maintenance stations should be
accepted into the maintenance facility.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for managing the
repairing, cleaning, painting, or other maintenance of railcars
within a railcar maintenance facility. Specifically, the present
invention relates to a system for managing the maintenance of
railcars within a facility wherein the facility has an inbound
track, an outbound track, and a plurality of repair stations for
moving a railcar in and out of the facility and for repairing,
cleaning, or painting the same. Moreover, the invention relates to
a management system that has a plurality of communication devices
for signaling the availability of maintenance stations within the
maintenance facility. Further, the railcar repair process allows
for efficient movement of railcars through the facility by queuing
the railcars at strategic locations within the railcar
facility.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The railcar industry presently suffers from high costs
associated with railcar repair. Regularly scheduled repair and
maintenance, along with the inevitable number of wrecks and bad
orders, cause some percentage of each fleet of railcars to be out
of service at any given time. While out of service for repair, a
railcar is unable to generate income for the owner of the railcar.
Thus, it is desirable to minimize the throughput time of a repair
facility and maximize the efficiency of the railcar's service time.
Additionally, decreasing the throughput time for repair facilities
allows the industry to rely on smaller fleets, as fewer backup
railcars are needed. Furthermore, it is desirable to minimize the
variability of a repair facility's throughput time to promote
accurate estimates of when railcars will return to service.
Accurate estimates of throughput time decrease costs to the
industry by reducing the need for redundant planning.
[0003] Traditionally, railcar repair facilities, as well as many
other manufacturing operations, release product into the facility
as soon as it arrives regardless of the state of the production
system. Railcar repair facilities traditionally consist of a series
of maintenance stations located sequentially along a continuous
track. The assembly-line repair method and repair facility design
may be appropriate when working with a standardized product that
requires uniform treatment at each stage of the assembly-line
procedure. However, pushing railcars with individual repair process
requirements through an assembly-line repair facility leads to
inconsistent throughput performance with large backlogs, increased
work-in-process levels, and increased cycle times having high
levels of variation. If a single railcar is delayed due to lengthy
repair work or a shortage of necessary materials, every railcar in
the facility behind the delayed railcar may also be delayed. Thus,
a single railcar can create a work-in-process bottleneck effecting
the entire repair production system. These bottlenecks may cause
the high throughput times and the equally high variability of
throughput times of traditional railcar repair facilities.
Moreover, typical maintenance processes fail to identify the
process bottleneck, thereby leading to solutions that fail to
provide constant work to the bottleneck. Failure to identify the
process bottleneck may lead to inefficiencies, otherwise known as
"bottleneck starving."
[0004] A major limitation of the assembly-line process is the
inability to implement any form of bottleneck planning. In a
traditional railcar repair facility, high levels of work-in-process
hide the bottleneck operation preventing the facility from running
at its highest efficiency. One key to improving a maintenance
facility's efficiency is to identify the bottleneck operation and
ensure that process is in continuous operation.
[0005] Accordingly, it would be desirable to improve the efficiency
and predictability of railcar repair by identifying a facility
layout capable of eliminating unnecessary work-in-process
bottlenecks. Further, it is desirable to implement a railcar
maintenance facility having a plurality of stations to service a
plurality of types of railcars having a plurality of maintenance
needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention relates to a railcar maintenance
management system. More specifically, the present invention relates
to a system and a method for managing the repairing, cleaning,
painting, or otherwise maintaining of railcars within a railcar
maintenance facility. Further, the railcar repair process allows
for efficient movement of railcars through the facility by queuing
the railcars at strategic locations within the railcar
facility.
[0007] Therefore, it is an advantage of the present invention to
utilize a process layout facility to optimize both efficiency and
predictability of railcar repair.
[0008] It is an additional advantage of the present invention to
employ customized routing patterns through the maintenance facility
based on the individual maintenance needs of each railcar.
[0009] And it is an additional advantage of the present invention
to optimize workstation efficiency by eliminating work-in-process
bottlenecks within the railcar maintenance facility.
[0010] Still further, it is an advatnage of the present invention
to increase workstation utilization within the railcar maintenance
facility by providing workstations capable of servicing multiple
product types.
[0011] And it is an additional advantage of the present invention
to prevent the identified bottleneck process from starving.
[0012] It is a further advantage of the present invention to
provide a railcar maintenance facility that utilizes a system of
queues to efficiently move railcars that need maintenance through
the facility.
[0013] These and other advantages of the present invention will
become apparent upon examining the drawings and figures together
with the accompanying written description thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention will be hereafter described by way of
example with reference to the following drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 represents a plan view of the railcar maintenance
facility having inbound and outbound rails, queues, transfer
tables, and maintenance stations in an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an interior blast
workstation in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart for a tank car that requires
specific maintenance performed thereto in an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart for a bad order tank car that
requires specific maintenance performed thereon in another
embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart for a hopper railcar in an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart for a wrecked hopper railcar
requiring specific maintenance in an embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] The present invention relates to a railcar maintenance
management system for cleaning, repairing, painting, and/or
otherwise maintaining railcars. Specifically, the present invention
relates to a management system for maintaining railcars that allows
for efficient movement of railcars through a maintenance facility
by queuing the railcars at strategic locations and by communicating
the availability of maintenance stations within the railcar
maintenance facility.
[0022] Railcar Maintenance Facility
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention
showing a railcar maintenance facility 10 for maintaining a
plurality of railcars. Railcars may include hoppers, pressurized
storage and/or transport tanks and/or any other means for holding,
storing and/or transporting goods via railway. For example, a
typical railcar serviced by the railcar maintenance facility 10 may
be a tank car having a lining therein for transporting corn syrup,
citric acid, starches and/or ethanol.
[0024] In FIG. 1, the railcar maintenance facility 10 may include
inbound railways 12a, 12b leading to a series of railways acting as
inbound queues 14a-14d. Railcars entering the facility 10 may enter
via a single railway (not shown) and may be sorted at an inspection
station (not shown) based on particular types of railcars and
particular types of maintenance to be completed on the railcars.
For example, maintenance may include cleaning the railcar or
components thereof, repairing, painting, and/or any other
maintenance activity apparent to those skilled in the art.
[0025] An inspector within the inspection facility may direct each
inbound railcar to the proper inbound queue 14a-14d based on the
type of railcar and/or the type of work to be performed thereon.
Moreover, the inspector may label the inbound railcars with
maintenance facility routing schedules (not shown) according to
each railcar's product type and maintenance requirements. For
example, the inspector may prepare a color coded magnetic routing
schedule and adhere the schedule on each railcar to indicate the
routing pattern the railcar will take through the maintenance
facility 10. The schedule may further include a list of required
operations having a check box located adjacent to each operation
listed. Upon completion of each operation, the corresponding check
box may be marked and signed thereby initiating the next operation
on the schedule.
[0026] A railcar entering the facility 10 may be classified, for
example, as either "light" or "heavy" based on the amount of work
to be performed thereon. "Light" maintenance may refer to exterior
or interior cleaning, exterior painting, minor repair, and/or any
other maintenance apparent to those skilled in the art as being
"light". Alternatively, "heavy" maintenance may refer to major
repair and/or any other maintenance apparent to those skilled in
the art.
[0027] A railcar designated as "light" may be routed to the
facility 10 via the inbound railway 12a. Moreover, inbound queues
14a, 14b may be utilized to hold railcars until the facility 10 has
the capabilities to have the work performed thereon. Further,
railcars designated as needing "heavy" maintenance work thereto may
be routed to the facility via the inbound railway 12b. A railcar
may be queued in inbound queues 14c,14d. The inbound queues 14a-14d
may hold and/or store railcars until stations are free within the
facility that may be necessary to carry out the required
maintenance on the railcars.
[0028] In an alternate embodiment of the invention illustrated in
FIG. 1, there may be four inbound queues 14a-14d. One queue, such
as, for example, 14b, may be designated for railcars requiring only
repair service. A second queue, such as, for example, 14a, may be
designated for railcars requiring only repair service but are
waiting for the arrival of repair parts to the repair facility 10,
as noted above. A third queue, such as, for example, 14d, may be
designated for railcars requiring repair service and lining
service. A fourth queue, such as, for example, 14c, may be
designated for railcars requiring repair service and lining service
but are waiting for the arrival of repair parts to the repair
facility 10. As specified above, these queues may be utilized to
hold railcars before the railcars enter the railcar maintenance
facility 10 for specific types of maintenance. However, the types
of maintenance should not be limited as noted above. Any type of
maintenance may be carried out within the railcar maintenance
facility 10. Further, it should be noted that the queues may be
utilized for any purpose apparent to those skilled in the art and
should not be limited as herein described.
[0029] The inbound queues 14a-14d for the sorted railcars may
terminate at a transfer area 18 that may be used to transfer
railcars throughout the railcar maintenance facility 10 based on
the type of maintenance needed. A primary transfer table 20 may be
located within the transfer area 18 and may operate along a length
of track 22 that may be adjacent to maintenance stations, described
below. The primary transfer table 20 may facilitate the movement of
railcars between the inbound queues 14 and the maintenance stations
24. The maintenance stations may include, but may not be limited
to: repair stations 28a-28e, an interior blast station 30, an
exterior blast station 32, an exterior paint station 34, interior
paint stations 35a-35c, cure stations 36a-36c, and an assembly and
test station 37.
[0030] A secondary transfer table 38 may be located within the
transfer area 18 and may also operate along track 22. The secondary
transfer table 38 may facilitate movement between the inbound
queues 14a-14d, a cleaning facility 42 and/or the outbound railway
44. Although the primary transfer table 20 and the secondary
transfer table 38 may have dedicated responsibilities as noted
above, either transfer table may be capable of maintaining the
entire transfer of railcars in the event of equipment breakdown or
for any other reason.
[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the primary transfer table 20 and
the secondary transfer table 38 may be identical in size, shape,
and performance. The tables 20,38 may be disposed on the track 22
within a shallow pit. The primary transfer table 20 and secondary
transfer table 38 may be approximately sixteen feet wide by eighty
feet long with a maximum capacity of sixty tons. However, any size
and shape may be implemented that may be apparent to those skilled
in the art. A motor, preferably a forty horsepower variable
frequency electric driven motor (not shown), may drive each
transfer table 20,38 at a plurality of speeds, preferably between
about thirty and one hundred and fifty feet per minute.
Additionally, the transfer tables 20, 38 may be capable of soft
starts, electric braking, and loading and unloading railcars via a
mounted railcar mover (not shown) thus eliminating the need for
track mobiles and similar equipment. Further, railcars may be
loaded and unloaded from either side of the transfer tables 20,38.
It should be noted, however, that any system for moving the tables
20,38 and/or loading and unloading mounted railcars may be utilized
and this invention is not meant to be limited as herein
described.
[0032] Although the maintenance facility 10 may be designed in any
manner apparent to those skilled in the art, the maintenance
facility 10 may preferably have two rectangular buildings located
on opposite sides of the track 22. On a first side 13 of the track
22, the maintenance facility 10 may include a series of the repair
stations 28a-28e that may be equipped to process any type of
railcar, such as, for example, tank cars and hoppers. On the
opposite side 15 of the track 22, the maintenance facility 10 may
include series of stations (as described below) that may be
required to perform interior and exterior paint operations and
cleaning. However, any type of station may be located on either
side, or in any other location, as may be apparent to those skilled
in the art. Generally, the design of the maintenance facility 10
and the placement of the maintenance stations therein allow for
efficient movement of railcars therethrough.
[0033] The repair stations 28a-28e may preferably be located
adjacent to the transfer table area 18 or in any other location
apparent to those having skill in the art. Maximum efficiency and
utility may be gained by equipping each repair workstation 28a-28e
with general-purpose railcar maintenance equipment that may be
capable of servicing a plurality of types of railcars serviced by
the maintenance facility 10. For example, equipment located in each
repair workstation 42 may include: cranes, welding equipment,
jacks, and/or other various mechanical tools apparent to a person
having ordinary skill in the art of maintaining railcars. Railcars
having damage or damaged parts may be repaired in the repair
stations 28a-28e.
[0034] Additionally, the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1
may preferably include an administrative building 43 having offices
therein and a service parts inventory storage area 45 located
adjacent to the repair stations 28a-28e. The service parts
inventory storage area 45 may contain a plurality of parts useful
for repairing or otherwise maintaining railcars. Generally, a
repair station worker may retrieve parts from within the service
parts inventory storage area 45 to repair railcars within the
repair stations 28a-28e. Moreover, a maintenance area 48 may be
provided that may house equipment for repairing specific parts on
the railcars, or for any other purpose that may be apparent to
those skilled in the art. For example, damaged valves on tank cars
may be repaired by being removed from the tank cars in one of the
repair stations 28a-28e. The valve may then be taken to the
maintenance area 46 for repair.
[0035] The present invention may further include a cleaning station
42 adjacent to the transfer table area. The cleaning facility 42
may be capable of cleaning any type of railcar serviced by the
maintenance facility 10. Generally, the cleaning station 42 may
include a plurality of bays for servicing a plurality of railcars
at any one time. The cleaning station 42 typically contains
equipment necessary to implement the cleaning of any type of
railcar, such as, for example, solvents, detergents, water hoses,
vacuums, drains and/or any other equipment apparent to those
skilled in the art.
[0036] In a preferred embodiment, the cleaning facility 42 may be a
simultaneous cleaning facility capable of cleaning a plurality of
railcars at the same time. The cleaning facility 42 may include a
plurality of high-pressure hot water cleaning systems. Each system
may be equipped with a high-pressure hot water injector having
pressure gauges, steam and water supply inlets, air compressors,
discharge piping and/or any other equipment that may be apparent to
those skilled in the art. An overhead mezzanine (not shown) may
allow easy and safe access to the railcars for access to the tops
of the railcars and to any hatches that may be contained on the
railcars. A crane may be installed on the mezzanine for the easy
removal of cover plates, valves, hatch covers or any other part or
component of the railcar.
[0037] The cleaning facility 42 of the preferred embodiment may be
controlled by a central programmable logic control ("PLC") system
(not shown). The PLC system may be capable of automatically routing
wastewater and rinse water into and/or away from the cleaning
facility 42. Further, the PLC system may monitor temperature and
flow rate of the water, and may electronically record the
individual railcar cleaning time periods. Therefore, efficiency may
be maximized and data relating to various parameters, such as, for
example, amount of water used, time period for cleaning and/or
other parameters may be measured and recorded.
[0038] Furthermore, the cleaning facility 42 of the preferred
embodiment may include a cleaning pad (not shown) that may have
suitable grating to allow for easy discharge of wastewater to an
underground drainage system (not shown). The drainage system may be
provided beneath the four railroad tracks at the cleaning station
to convey the wastewater and/or rinse water to a sump by gravity
flow and for discharge according to safe environmental practices.
For example, the repair facility 10 may include an onsite
wastewater treatment plant (not shown) for treating the wastewater
generated by the cleaning facility 42. Alternatively, the cleaning
facility 42 may tie into an existing wastewater system such as, for
example, a municipal wastewater treatment facility.
[0039] Still referring to FIG. 1, the interior blast station 30 may
be utilized to strip the interior of a railcar. The blast station
30 may send a powerful jet of steam, water, metal grit, sand or
other material into the interior of the railcar to remove any
material therein and/or remove any protective coatings adhered to
the walls and/or other components of the railcar. Specifically, the
blast station 30 may be utilized to remove liners that have been
coated to the interior of the railcar that may be damaged or
otherwise unfit for use within the railcar.
[0040] For example, FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the
interior blast station 30. The interior blast station 30 may
include a plurality of railcar bays 100-104 having railcars 110-114
therein. The railcar bays 100-104 may provide space for blasting
one railcar while cleaning another railcar that may already have
been blasted. A blasting operation may be performed to remove a
faulty lining of a railcar before a new lining may be applied. The
blasting operation may be accomplished by any means obvious to one
with skill in the art, such as, for example, metal pellet or metal
grit blasting. As noted, a preferred embodiment of the interior
blast station 30 may include a plurality of railcar bays 100-104.
More preferably, a robotic blast arm 106 in a first railcar bay 100
may enter the railcar and perform a blast cycle, preferably for
about two hours, in a first railcar while a high powered vacuum in
a second railcar bay 102 (not shown) may perform a cleaning cycle,
preferably for about four hours, in a second railcar. A third
railcar bay 104 may be used for transferring railcars into and out
of the interior blast station 30.
[0041] The robotic blast arm 106 may be moveably mounted within a
truss system 108 that may allow the robotic blast system 106 to
service all three railcar bays 100-104. The moveably mounted
robotic blast arm 106 may allow each of the bays within the
interior blast station 30 to be used for prepping, blasting, and/or
cleaning, thereby eliminating the need to transfer the railcars
between bays within the interior blast station 30.
[0042] In a preferred embodiment, the robotic blast arm 106 may be
any type of cleaning arm that may be designed to enter the top
hatch of a tank car or via any other hatch, door or opening. The
arm 106 may be hinged at various locations to allow the arm to gain
access to the interior of the railcar. Further, the arm 106 may
telescope forward to reach a specified distance within the railcar.
In a preferred embodiment, the arm 106 may reach an entirety of the
interior of the railcar or may come within a specified distance,
such as within eighty inches or any other distance, of the far ends
of the tank car. The arm 106 may be equipped with two blast nozzles
that may operate at a specified pressure.
[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the arm 106 may include 5/8"
blast nozzles that may operate at about 150 psi, however any size
nozzle and pressure may be implemented according to this invention.
The arm 106 may be capable of rotating ninety degrees while
oscillating the blast nozzles to ensure a thorough and even
coverage of the blast within the railcar. The process time may be
any time period that may fully and efficiently blast and clean the
interior of the railcar. As noted in the preferred embodiment, the
estimated process time of the interior blast operation may be about
two hours, followed by about a four-hour clean period. The cleaning
operation may be completed using a high powered vacuum (not shown)
to remove the blasting material, such as metal grit, sand or water,
and any residue that has been blasted from the interior of the
railcar.
[0044] Referring again to FIG. 1, the exterior blast station 32 is
illustrated and may be used to prepare railcars for an exterior
paint or coating operation. Generally, the exterior blast station
32 may contain any equipment useful for removing a coating and/or
any other residual material from the exterior of a railcar. In a
preferred embodiment, the exterior blast station 32 may have space
for two railcars. A first bay (not shown) within the exterior blast
station 32 may be utilized for the blasting of the exterior of the
railcar. Moreover, a second bay (not shown) within the exterior
blast station 32 may be utilized to provide light repair to the
railcar prior to or after the blasting of the railcar. The second
bay may allow repairs to be made to the railcar without using one
of the repair stations 28a-28e. This may prevent delays that may
occur when a mechanical defect is discovered on a railcar that has
been loaded into the exterior blast station 32. If a railcar loaded
into the exterior blast station 50 requires mechanical repair prior
to the exterior blasting operation, the railcar can be transferred
forward into the second bay for mechanical repair allowing the
first bay to continue the blasting operation without a delay.
[0045] An air compressor area 33 may be disposed adjacent to both
the interior blast station 30 and the exterior blast station 32.
The air compressor area 33 may contain an air compressor (not
shown) and any other equipment for providing the requisite air
pressure necessary for the blasting equipment.
[0046] An exterior paint station 34 may be provided within the
facility 10 for providing an external coating of paint or other
material to the railcar. Typically, a railcar will receive an
external coating after blasting has removed a previous coating. Of
course, railcars may be coated within the exterior paint station 34
without being blasted in the exterior blast station 32. The
exterior paint station 34 may contain equipment and any other
materials apparent to those skilled in the art for providing
external coatings to railcars. In a preferred embodiment, the
exterior paint station 34 may have an open ceiling having a filter
therein to facilitate direct airflow through the entire length of
the exterior paint station 34. The exterior paint station may
further have a plurality of pneumatic lifts to enable a painter
access to most, if not all, of the exterior of the railcar without
using ladders and/or catwalks.
[0047] Internal paint stations 35a-35c may also be provided to
allow liners and/or coatings to be administered to the interiors of
the railcars that may cycle through the facility 10. Typically, a
railcar may receive an internal coating of paint after having been
blasted and cleaned in the interior blast station 30. Of course,
the railcar may receive a liner or a coating of paint without being
blasted in the interior blast station 30; it is not necessary,
however, it is preferable, for a railcar to be blasted and cleaned
first. Further, any number of internal paint stations may be
constructed depending on the particular needs of the facility 10
and the invention should not be limited as herein described.
[0048] A paint kitchen 37 may be disposed adjacent both the
exterior paint station 34 and the interior paint stations 35a-35c.
The paint kitchen 37 may contain any equipment and materials
necessary to allow an individual to develop desirable coating
materials for placement of the coating materials onto or within the
railcars.
[0049] Paint cure stations 36a-36c may be provided for allowing
railcars having been coated in the exterior paint stations 34 or
the interior paint stations 35a-35c to be cured thereby setting the
coatings on the railcars. The cure stations 36a-36c may contain any
equipment or other materials necessary to provide a suitable cure
for the coatings. For example, the cure stations 36a-36c may
contain an air circulation system (not shown) for circulating air,
such as, for example, heated air, within and around the railcar to
aid in curing the coating of paint or other materials onto the
railcar.
[0050] Still referring to FIG. 1, the lining queue area 26 may be
provided to prevent works-in-process from draining the efficiency
of the repair workstations 28a-28e. It has been determined that the
interior blasting operation that may be implemented within the
interior blast station 30 may cause a bottleneck within the
maintenance facility 10 since it the time period required to
complete the interior blasting operation is relatively longer than
any other operation implemented in any other maintenance station.
Railcars requiring service from the interior blast station 30 may
be stored within a set of tracks within the lining queue area 26
prior to blasting so that the railcars do not delay the services
of, for example, one of the repair stations 28a-28e. Further,
holding the railcars within the lining queue area 26 may allow a
railcar to enter the interior blast station 30 in a quick and
efficient manner due to the proximity of the railcar to the
interior blast station 30 and also because a railcar would be
readily available to enter the interior blast station 30
immediately. Moreover, after the railcar has been blasted in the
interior blast station 30, painted and cured, the railcar may be
stored within the cure queue area 27. These queue stations 26,27
may allow a railcar to be stored and therefore not take up space
within one of the stations that may be utilized for another
railcar.
[0051] In a preferred embodiment, the lining queue area 26 and/or
the cure queue area 27 may have space for any number of railcars
within the queues. When a railcar is transferred from the lining
queue area 26 to the interior blast station 30, the available space
in the lining queue area 26 may be filled by transferring a railcar
from the inbound queues 14a-14d or one of the repair workstations
28a-28e to the lining queue area 26 or any other station within the
facility 10 on a first come, first serve basis. Moreover, when a
railcar is transferred from the cure queue area 27 to one of the
cures stations 36a-36c, the available space within the cure queue
area 27 may be filled by transferring a railcar from the exterior
paint station 34 and/or the interior paint stations 35a-35c.
[0052] There may be other queue areas provided within the facility
10 as may be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art.
Typically, the queue areas are designed to provide areas for
storing railcars so that the railcars do not take up space within
the maintenance stations within the facility, thereby allowing
railcars to quickly and efficiently move through the facility
10.
[0053] The assembly and test station 37 may be utilized to
reassemble railcars after repair, cleaning, painting, coating,
lining and/or any other type of maintenance that may have been
performed on the railcar. Further the assembly and test station 37
may be utilized to test the railcars to verify that the maintenance
to the railcars was successful. For example, if a lining was coated
to the interior of a railcar, then the lining may be tested to
ensure that the lining has been properly applied. Generally,
testers may determine whether the railcar has, in fact, received
the maintenance required. Further, testers may determine whether
the maintenance performed on the railcars meets predefined
standards of acceptability. Standards may include internal company
standards or may be specified by governmental bodies or agencies or
other governing bodies.
[0054] In the preferred embodiment of the repair facility 10,
safety may be enhanced through the use of video equipment designed
to monitor all processes that may require a person to be inside
railcar. Such operations may include the interior cleaning process
that follows the interior blast operation and the interior paint
operation. Remote video may provide full visual contact for all
areas of the interior tank and may allow a human observer, who has
limited sight access, to be deployed to another operation within
the repair facility 10.
[0055] After a railcar has had maintenance performed thereon and
has been tested and/or reassembled in the assembly and test station
37, the railcars may exit the railcar maintenance facility 10 via
an outbound railway 44. The outbound railway 44 may be connected
with the assembly and test station 37 or may otherwise be connected
to the transfer area 18, as shown in FIG. 1. The transfer tables
20,38 may transport a railcar to the outbound tracks 44 for exiting
of the railcar from the railcar maintenance facility 10.
[0056] Routing Patterns Within the Maintenance Facility
[0057] Generally, the routing of railcars through the maintenance
facility 10 is dependent on the type of railcar, the product type
within the railcar, and the maintenance work that may be necessary
for the railcar. For example, types of railcars may include tanks,
pressurized tanks, hoppers and/or any other type of railcar
apparent to those skilled in the art. The railcars may carry a
plurality of different product types such as, for example, food
grade commodities such as corn syrup sweeteners, citric acid,
starches and ethanol. Moreover, the railcars may carry hazardous
materials such as products for oil refining industries. Railcars
may be routed through the maintenance facility based on whether the
railcars require repairs, such as heavy repairs for railcars that
are highly damaged, or light repairs, internal blasting, external
blasting, cleaning material, painting, external painting and
paint.
[0058] FIGS. 3-6 illustrate particular routing patterns that may be
implemented for particular types of railcars that may have
particular maintenance requirements. It should be noted, however,
that any type of railcar may be serviced by the maintenance
facility 10 in any routing pattern that may be apparent to those
skilled in the art. The invention should not be limited as herein
described with respect to the particular routing patterns.
[0059] FIG. 3 illustrates a routing pattern 200 for a tank car 202.
The tank car 202 may be any type of tank, such as pressurized or
unpressurized tank cars, attached to a set of trucks for
transporting the tank on a set of rails. Moreover, the tank car 202
may require heavy repair or light repair and may further require
internal and/or external paint or lining.
[0060] The tank car 202 may enter the maintenance facility 10 via
the set of rails 12a or 12b. The tank car may have been inspected
via an inspection step 204 at an inspection station (not shown).
Preferably, the railcars may enter the inspection facility via a
single railway (not shown). After the railcars are inspected at the
inspection station, then the railcars may be transferred to the
particular set of rails 12a or 12b based on the results of the
inspection. If the tank car 202 requires "heavy" repair, due to
large amounts of damage to the tank car 202, then the tank car 202
may be routed via inbound railway 12b and may further be queued in
inbound queue 14c, 14d until one of the repair stations 28a-28e
opens to allow entry of the tank car 202 thereinto.
[0061] Moreover, if the tank car 202 requires "light" maintenance,
the tank car 202 may be routed to the maintenance facility 10 via
the inbound railway 12a where the tank car 202 may be queued in
queues 14a, 14b until one of the repair stations 28a-28e that may
be capable of handling the light repair becomes vacant. It should
be noted that repair stations 28a-28e may be specifically
designated either for "heavy" or "light" maintenance depending on
the volume of railcars being served at the maintenance facility 10.
Alternatively, and in a preferred embodiment, each of the repair
stations 28a-28e may be capable of handling any type of railcar
having any type of repair designation.
[0062] Moreover, tank cars may enter the maintenance facility 10 in
a wrecked state and may receive a "wrecked" designation via the
inspection step 204. The "wrecked" designation may indicate that
the tank car requires a thorough cleaning and major repairs,
interior blasting and painting, exterior blasting and painting, and
assembly/testing, as will be discussed more fully below.
[0063] Generally, a determination as to whether the tank car 202
requires "heavy" or "light" repair, interior lining and/or exterior
painting may be made at the inspection step 204. This determination
sets the tank car 202 on a particular path through the maintenance
facility where the entirety of the required maintenance may be
performed thereon. The determination allows inspectors to assign a
designation to the tank car 202 based on the particular routing
pattern necessary prior to entering the maintenance facility
10.
[0064] The particular designation may determine the precise routing
pattern that is necessary for the tank car 202 to receive the
necessary maintenance. The routing pattern designation may be
marked on the tank car 202 to be seen by railcar handlers
throughout the maintenance facility 10 so that the tank car 202 is
routed to the proper maintenance stations. The designation may be
removably attached to the tank car 202 with magnets or may
constitute any other designation device apparent to those skilled
in the art. Hence, a railcar maintenance worker within the railcar
maintenance facility 10 may see the designation and the required
maintenance steps and route the railcar accordingly through the
maintenance facility 10.
[0065] If only "light" repair is necessary, then the tank car 202
may be routed via the "fast track" repair pattern 208. The fast
track repair pattern 208 merely requires that the tank car 202
enter one of the repair stations 28a-28e and be visually inspected
for minor damage such as if the tank car 202 requires replacement
parts for valves and/or the like. The tank car 202 may then be
repaired. Moreover, the tank car 202 is then cleaned via step 210.
It should take a relatively short period of time for the tank car
202 to enter and exit a repair station 28a-28e for fast track
repair.
[0066] If "heavy" repair is required, then the tank car 202 may be
cleaned via step 212 and further may be fully repaired via step
214. The "full repair" step 214 may require various parts of the
tank car 202 to be disassembled. Moreover, major pieces of the tank
car 202 may be repaired and/or replaced depending on the type of
damage done. The time period may be significantly longer than with
fast track repair.
[0067] After the tank car 202 is repaired via the fast track repair
step 208 or the full repair 214, then the tank car 202 may be
removed from the repair station 28a-28e. If the tank car 202 does
not require interior or exterior painting (as noted below) then the
tank car 202 may proceed directly to an "assembly and test" step
216 whereby the tank car 202 may enter the assembly and test
station 37. After the tank car 202 is reassembled and/or tested the
tank car 202 may be removed from the assembly and test station 37
via one of the transfer tables 20,38 and may exit the maintenance
facility 10 via step 218 on the outbound railway 44.
[0068] However, in many instances, the tank car 202 may need
interior painting or lining. The determination of whether the tank
car 202 needs interior painting or lining may be made via the
inspection step 204. If the tank car 202 requires interior painting
or lining then the tank car 202 may be transferred to the interior
blast station 30 where the interior of the tank car 202 may be
blasted via an interior blast step 222 by metal grit, pellets, sand
or any other material apparent to those skilled in the art for
stripping any paint or lining that may be adhered to the interior
of the tank car 202. Moreover, the interior may then be cleaned via
the vacuum. It should be noted that a plurality of tank cars may be
located within the interior blast station 30. For example, as noted
above with reference to FIG. 2, a tank car may be blasted in the
first bay 100, a second tank car may be cleaned in the second bay
102, and the third bay 104 may be used to transfer tank cars into
and out of the interior blast station 30.
[0069] If there is no bay available to conduct the interior blast
via step 222, then the tank car 202 may be held in the lining queue
area 26 (as shown in FIG. 1). The lining queue area 26 may hold and
store the tank car until a bay in the interior blast station
becomes available. This may allow the tank car 202 to be removed
from its repair station 28a-28e and held without effectively
blocking the repair station 28a-28d from being used for other
railcars. Therefore, railcars may move through the maintenance
facility 10 without being bottlenecked at the interior blast
station 30.
[0070] After the interior of the tank car 202 is blasted and
cleaned, the tank car 202 may be transferred to an interior paint
station 35a-35c where a first coat of a lining may be coated via
step 224. After the interior coating or lining is painted, the tank
car 202 may be cured in one of the cure stations 36a-36c.
[0071] After the tank car 202 has been cured via the interior cure
step 226, the tank car 202 may be transferred back to one of the
interior paint stations 35a-35c for a second application of paint
via step 228. However, if no interior paint station 35a-35c is
available to take the tank car 202 for a second coat, then the tank
car 202 may be held within the cure queue area 27 until an interior
paint station 35a-35c becomes available. This may allow tank cars
to be removed from the cure stations 36a-36c and not block the use
of the cure stations 36a-36c. After the second application of paint
is applied to the interior of the tank car 202, the tank car 202
may be cured a second time via a second interior cure step 230 via
one of the cure stations 36a-36c.
[0072] If needed, the tank car 202 may have painted on its exterior
an application of paint. The determination as to whether the tank
car 202 needs exterior paint may be made via the inspection step
204. If a tank car 202 requires exterior paint, then the tank car
202 may be transferred to the exterior blast station 32 where the
tank car 202 may be blasted via step 234 by metal grit, pellets,
sand or any other material that may remove the previous painted
coating on the exterior of the tank car 202. A vacuum may then be
utilized to clean the exterior of the tank car 202 thereby removing
the residual metal grit, pellets, sand or other material and any
paint that may have been removed from the tank car 202. Then, the
tank car 202 may be transferred to the exterior paint station 34
for a first exterior paint application step 236. The first exterior
paint application may then be cured via an exterior cure step 238,
whereupon a second exterior paint coat may be applied via step 240.
The second exterior paint coat may be cured via step 242.
[0073] After the exterior has been painted, then the tank car 202
may proceed to the "assembly and test" step 216 to be reassembled,
if necessary, and tested to verify that the required repairs have
been accomplished and that the internal lining or coating
adequately holds product without leakage, as noted above with
reference to FIG. 1. After the tank car 202 has been reassembled
and/or tested via the "assembly and test" step 216, then the tank
car 202 may be transferred to the outbound railway 44 via the
"exit" step 218.
[0074] It should be noted that tank cars requiring a plurality of
services may be routed through the maintenance facility 10 via the
routing pattern illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, as noted above,
tank cars requiring light or heavy services may be routed via
routing pattern 200. However, tank cars that have been wrecked
through train accidents or that may have extremely serious damage
may also be routed via the routing pattern 200.
[0075] A "bad order" tank car may refer to a newly produced tank
car that may have minor defects in parts on the tank car and
therefore may require minor maintenance. A "Bad Order" tank car
routing pattern 250 is illustrated in FIG. 4. A bad order tank car
252 may be inspected via step 254 to determine its routing pattern
through the maintenance facility 10. However, since a bad order
tank car 252 is newly produced and only requires minor maintenance,
then the bad order tank car 252 may be automatically designated for
fast track repair via step 256. Moreover, cleaning may be required
as determined by the inspection step 254. If cleaning is required,
then the bad order tank car 252 may be cleaned via step 258 at the
cleaning station 42. The bad order tank car 252 may then exit the
facility via step 260 on the outbound railway 44.
[0076] Hopper railcars may also be serviced by the maintenance
facility 10, as illustrated by the routing pattern 300 illustrated
in FIG. 5. A hopper railcar 302 may be inspected via an inspection
step 304 prior to entering the maintenance facility 10. As before
with the tank cars noted above with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4, the
hopper 302 may be inspected for a determination as to whether
"heavy" repairs or "light" repairs are necessary. If "light"
repairs are necessary, then the hopper may be designated to a fast
track repair route via a "fast track" repair step 308. The hopper
railcar 302 may then exit the facility via step 310 by being
transferred to the outbound railway 44 via the transfer tables
20,38.
[0077] If the hopper railcar is not designated for fast track
repair, then the hopper railcar may have "heavy" maintenance
performed thereon via a "full repair" step 312. Further, after the
full repair step 312, the hopper 302 may require cleaning via step
316. After the cleaning, the hopper 302 may exit the maintenance
facility 10 via step 310 by being transferred to the outbound
railway 44 by one of the transfer tables 20,38.
[0078] FIG. 6 illustrates a routing pattern 350 for a hopper
railcar 352 that may be wrecked due to, for example, a train crash.
An inspection step 354 may indicate what maintenance needs are
required. Generally, wrecked hoppers require full repair via a full
repair step 356. If the hopper railcar 352 requires an exterior
painting then the exterior of the hopper railcar 352 may be blasted
via step 360. The hopper railcar 352 may then be painted via step
362 and cured via step 364. As noted above with respect to FIG. 2,
the hopper railcar 352 may be transferred via the transfer tables
20,38 to the exterior blast station 32, the exterior paint station
34 and one of the cure stations 36a-36c. The hopper railcar 352 may
further be reassembled and tested via step 366 and may exit the
maintenance facility 10 via step 368 via the outbound railway
44.
[0079] Maintenance Facility Management
[0080] The railcars described herein may be released into the
maintenance facility 10 at a rate that maintains a constant level
of work-in-process. In other words, there are certain stations
within the maintenance facility that may cause "bottlenecks" if not
managed properly. For example, the interior lining operation of
tank cars, specifically, the interior blasting operation, carried
out in the interior blasting station 30, may cause bottlenecks
because many tank cars require this operation and it may take a
relatively longer period of time to complete this operation as
other operations, such as repairing and cleaning. Therefore, the
introduction of railcars into the maintenance facility 10 must be
monitored closely to ensure that tank cars awaiting interior lining
are not causing delays in other areas of the maintenance facility
10. However, any maintenance station within the maintenance
facility 10 may cause a bottleneck and this invention should not be
limited as herein described.
[0081] To implement this system, the maintenance facility 10 may
utilize a hybrid Constant Work-In-Process ("ConWIP") and kanban
system. The ConWIP may be implemented at a bottleneck source within
the maintenance facility, such as before the interior blast station
30 at the lining queue area 26. However, it should be noted that
the ConWIP may be located at any maintenance station apparent to
those skilled in the art as causing bottlenecks within the
maintenance facility 10. Moreover, it should be noted that a
plurality of ConWIPs may be utilized and implemented within the
maintenance facility 10 at any maintenance station that may cause a
bottleneck. Specifically, the ConWIP may be located at the lining
queue area 26. As noted above, in a system such as the one
described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, bottlenecks may
occur most frequently at the interior blast station 30. By placing
the ConWIP system at the lining queue area 26, the interior blast
station 30 may be efficiently managed to prevent tank cars from
delaying other processes within the maintenance facility 10.
[0082] Generally, the ConWIP may be implemented to monitor the
status of the bays 100-104 within the interior blast station 30
and/or the lining queue area 26. When the bays 100-104 and the
lining queue area 26 are filled with tank cars either being
blasted, cleaned or awaiting process, then the ConWIP may
communicate to the inbound railways 12a, 12b and/or inbound queues
14a-14d to not release any tank cars requiring a lining operation
into the maintenance facility 10. Therefore, since the tank cars
requiring the lining operation may also require repairing at a
repair station 28a-28e, cleaning via the cleaning stations 42,
and/or exterior painting via the exterior paint station 32, then
the tank car will not be released into maintenance facility 10
thereby allowing the repair stations 28a-28e, the cleaning stations
42 and/or the exterior paint station 32 to remain free of these
railcars and open to other types of railcars thereby eliminating
the bottleneck.
[0083] As a complement to the ConWIP card "pull" and monitoring
system noted above, kanbans may be used to prevent the transfer
tables 20,38 from bringing railcars into the maintenance facility
when no maintenance station is available. Each maintenance station
may have a kanban to communicate whether a railcar may be
transported thereto and loaded thereinto. For example, if the
repair station 28a is filled with a railcar, then the kanban system
may communicate to the inbound railways 12a, 12b that no further
railcar should be released to the repair stations 28a. The operator
of the transfer tables 20,38 may then look for the next available
repair station 28b-28e as indicated by the kanban system. If no
repair station is available, then the railcar may remain in the
inbound queue 14a-14d until a repair station 28a-28e is
available.
[0084] Both the ConWIP and kanban systems may use any type of
communication system apparent to those having ordinary skill in the
art. However, a preferred embodiment may be a green light/red light
communication system to communicate whether a railcar should be
released into the maintenance facility 10. For example, at the
bottleneck process (at the interior blasting station 30), the
ConWIP may communicate, via a red light, that all bays and the
lining queue area 26 are filled with waiting or in-process tank
cars. Therefore, an operator at the inbound railways 12a, 12b would
know not to release a tank car requiring, specifically, a lining
operation among other operations into any maintenance station
within the maintenance facility 10. If the ConWIP is green, then
the operator at the inbound railways may check the kanbans at any
individual stations to determine where he should route the railcar.
Further, if a kanban shows red, then the operator at the inbound
railways 12a, 12b would know not to release a railcar to that
particular station. In an alternate embodiment of the ConWIP and
kanban systems, there may be a lighted board or a computer screen
showing the ConWIP and kanban systems and whether railcars may be
released into the maintenance facility 10 and/or to any particular
maintenance station.
[0085] An operator at the inbound railways 12a,12b would need to
know how to route a railcar through the maintenance facility 10.
Therefore, the operator would note the color of the attached
routing schedule to move the railcars to the proper maintenance
station. Further, it should be noted that any communication system
may be utilized to indicate to a operator whether railcars should
be released into the maintenance facility 10. Moreover, the ConWIP
system may be implemented at any stage within the maintenance
facility 10 as may be apparent to those skilled in the art for
relieving the maintenance facility 10 of bottlenecks and other
delays that may occur within the maintenance facility 10.
[0086] It should be noted that various changes and modifications to
the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be
apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and
modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention and without diminishing its
attendant advantages. It is, therefore, intended that such changes
and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
* * * * *