Posted December 2, 2013 14:33:50 CST

2014 BMWE Gang Scheduling

by M. McClure

As the year is ending, much planning and design has already taken place to determine the schedules of many Engineering gangs for 2014. Every year a group comprised of Engineering, Harriman, Network Planning, Marketing and Sales, Operations and other departments utilize the Quality System Process 202 (QSP202) to create gang schedules for the upcoming year. The objective of the QSP202 is to provide interdepartmental planning and coordination of maintenance, rehabilitation and construction activities, ensuring minimum disruption of scheduled transportation services while maximizing track and time for these efforts.  

There are three categories of gangs for which QSP202 schedules are built. (1)Track and Bridge Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Construction; (2) Rail Testing, Rail Grinding and In-Track Welding (3) Signal System Maintenance and Construction.

During the process the group determines whether curfews or windows are needed and where.

·  Curfews: a period of time the mainline is taken out of service that is greater than 4 hours for a duration of consecutive days

·  Windows: a period of time the mainline is taken out of service for less than 4 hours and not used more than 4 days running

The group looks at a multitude of factors such as impact to customers, velocity goals, safety/environmental considerations, volume profiles, lane restrictions and other factors (weather, seasonal peak and holiday traffic etc.) as they build schedules.

These schedules are not only utilized by the railroad for planning material and resources, but are also helpful to employees when determining where they may want to work during the calendar year. However, the schedules are continually reviewed and may be changed due to unanticipated emergencies, operating problems, or additional business demands.  Click on the link to access 2014 Gang Schedules.

• Projected 2014 Schedules