Derailment Cause Finding & Prevention
Training

Derailments are unsafe, unnecessary and expensive. Determining the root cause of derailments can be a perplexing task for all levels of management. This seminar is designed to provide the rail industry with the specific knowledge and tools to understand the mechanics of a derailment.

The course provides:

● A systematic procedure for derailment investigation

● The analytical tools for determining root cause(s)

● A plan for preventing the recurrence of derailments

This seminar has an intense, action-packed curriculum that covers all phases of derailment investigations in an easy-to-understand manner. The seminar is especially designed for a multi-discipline cross-section of students. Whether your personnel have an engineering, mechanical, operations or business background, they will gain the necessary tools to make a structured derailment investigation.

The Derailment Cause Finding and Prevention Seminar begins by reviewing the basic areas of railroad operation including engineering, mechanical and train operations. The instructor then discusses how to analyze these three major components of rai operation in order to find the root cause(s) of a derailment.


General Topics Covered:

Derailment Investigation

Philosophy of Root Cause Analysis
Site Investigation Procedures

Track

FRA Track Safety Standards
Basic Track Structure
Rail Rollover
Wide Gage
Crosslevel and Twist
Track Buckle
Split Switch Derailments
Broken Rail

Mechanical

AAR Freight Car Standards
Freight Car Three-Piece Truck
L/V Ratio
Curving Mechanics
Vehicle Bounce
Wheel Climb and Wheel Lift
Truck Hunting
Harmonic Rock and Roll
New Car Syndrome
Stiff Truck
Doublestack Phenomenon

Train Operation

Train Dynamics
Train Make-up
Human Factor Causes
Stringlining

12 Steps of Derailment Investigation

Safety at Site
Drug and Alcohol Testing
Train Documentation
Crew Interview
Photos/Videos
Metallurgical Specimen Handling
Event Recorder Data
Finding the POD
Using Rail Marks as Investigative Tool Finding First Wheel to Derail Car/Mechanical Measurements Track/Engineering Measurements


For a detailed syllabus click here.