AR for Multimodal Transportation

Challenge

The confluence of increasing downtime costs and further reduction of locomotive electrician and mechanical talent, have put intense pressure on locomotive commissioning processes and knowledge capture.

These issues coupled with global supply chain and market conditions have increased operating costs and impacted profitability. The impact of locomotives not pulling freight has left farmers, ranchers and manufactures unable to get products to market. The economic impact is so severe that the Service Transportation Board has increased its inspections of maintenance operations across all modal sectors and is requiring railroads to change their practices.

Recent studies of intermodal transportation systems in the United States have shown that downtime costs range from $1,050 per hour, to over $2,400 per hour (Levitt et al, 2021). This situation has been exacerbated by the acute and continuing shortages of journeyman and master technicians whose hands-on expertise is often required to resolve complex electro-mechanical problems and improve mean time to repair (MTTR).