Freight Car Building: Manufacturer Efficiency VS Customer Safety

Safety Beyond the Enterprise: Why a Railcar Manufacturer Thinks About Customer Risks

A modern approach to occupational safety requires stepping outside the usual processes within a company. Ilya Kobzar, HSE Director at RM Rail, raises an important issue in his presentation: how technical solutions at the design and production stage of freight rolling stock can reduce risks for the employees of consumer companies.

The speaker emphasizes that incidents often occur because a person finds themselves in an imperfect environment. Even with a high level of safety culture and regular dialogues with personnel, if the infrastructure or equipment is not well thought out, the risk remains. In railcar building, this problem is particularly acute, as the operation of railcars involves a number of specific hazards.

Integration of Brake Shoes into the Railcar Design

One of the frequent incidents on enterprise railway tracks is the unintended rollback of a railcar. Investigations of such cases often show that the brake shoe was not installed in time. The speaker analyzes the root causes of this problem: shoes are usually stored on special stands on the station territory. To install the stop, the train compiler needs to walk to it, exposing themselves to fall risks (especially in winter on slippery tracks), and the human factor and psychological state can lead to the worker simply forgetting or not having time to do it.

As a solution, it is proposed to adopt the experience of the automotive industry, where brake stops are a mandatory element of the freight transport design. Integrating the brake shoe directly into the railcar design will allow:

• Significantly increase the probability of timely installation of the stop under the wheel.
• Reduce the need for the train compiler to move through hazardous areas of the station.
• Minimize the risks of falls and injuries to personnel during shunting operations.

Managing Fall Risks During Railcar Maintenance

The second serious problem that the speaker examines in detail is the risk of falling from a height when climbing onto a railcar (for example, a tank car). Existing guardrails on many railcars do not provide adequate protection, and their height is often insufficient.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that when working outside stationary trestles, the worker needs to use fall protection systems. However, as the expert notes, current railcar designs lack calculated structural anchors. Railcar elements that workers might try to attach to (e.g., handrails) are not designed for the dynamic load that occurs when a human body falls, and do not take into account the pendulum factor (the risk of hitting the railcar body).

To solve this problem, the manufacturer proposes integrating certified attachment elements for safety systems directly into the rolling stock design. This will give consumers confidence in the protection of workers during operations outside stationary workplaces and reduce administrative risks during inspections by supervisory authorities.

Changing Industry Standards: The Path to Safe Railcars

The implementation of such innovations requires not only technical solutions but also changes to the regulatory framework. During the Q&A session, the problem of unification is discussed: even if one company orders safe railcars, standard railcars of other owners will continue to circulate in the network.

The speaker explains that the manufacturer's initiative is aimed at changing industry regulations and standards for the production of freight rolling stock through specialized public associations. According to the expert's estimates, the horizon for implementing such fundamental changes, taking into account bureaucratic procedures and certification tests, is about 5 years.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• Why traditional risk control measures when working with railcars often prove insufficient?
• How does the integration of a brake shoe into the railcar design reduce injuries among train compilers?
• Why do existing guardrails on railcars not protect against falls, and how to properly organize anchor points?
• How can a consumer company influence the safety of purchased rolling stock?
• How long will it take to change industry safety standards in railcar building?