Case study · Logistics
Railcar lessor ships 43% more cars from its maintenance shops
Rising demand and strict federal rules had slowed railcar servicing for an international lessor. USC prepared car files before arrival, improved material flow and built a management operating system, then was retained for three more engagements.
Results
43%
increase in cars shipped
23%
reduction in hours per car
20%
improvement in crossover labor
Results held across three follow-on engagements.
The situation
Rising fuel costs drove demand for the lessor's tank cars, hoppers and flatbeds, and strict federally mandated procedures added to servicing time, so inspection, cleaning, repair, lining and painting all took too long.
What the assessment found
- Direct labor spending time on indirect activities
- Material not ready before repairs began
- Car files prepared only after cars arrived
How the work was done
Prep: ready before arrival
Moved car file preparation, cleaning, inspection and estimating ahead of the inbound date, speeding cars through the shop.
23%
reduction in hours per car
Flow: material at the repair
Prototyped employee-suggested changes that improved material availability and flow before repairs, plus better shift startup and car switch planning.
20%
improvement in crossover labor
System: show the variances
Installed process monitors and area performance boards, reviewed variances in daily shift meetings, and built delay tracking and root cause analysis into the operating system.
43%
increase in cars shipped
“There was no comparison. You guys were our benchmark that the others couldn’t measure up to.”
Lasting impact
Based on the pilot's success, the lessor retained USC for three more engagements to roll the practices out to its other North American service centers, with equally strong results.
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