Electro-Motive Diesel contracted Fishbone to review the Class 66 C1 to 4 exam regime, benchmark the process as currently conducted, and produce recommendations for optimisation. Fishbone were then contracted to implement two key areas for improvement, tooling provision and identification within Vehicle Maintenance Instructions and improvement of exam task sequencing.
Fishbone improved the Class 66 exam process by:
- Carrying out time and motion studies for each exam type at each of the subject depots to pinpoint where time is lost in the conduct of exams
- Identifying correct tooling for tasks and where this should be located and referenced in the instructions
- Understanding how tasks were selected by staff, what sequence they were completed in, and what dependencies there were between tasks. This informed a revision of the exam task ordering to optimise the sequence in which they were carried out and increase efficiency
- Standardisation of the exam sequence for common tasks across C1/2 and C3/4 exams was also introduced to eliminate duplication of work and confusion between exam types
- Introduction of an exam sequencing timeline that tracks exam task completion, timings, and percentage complete against the new baseline for instant exam progress visibility
- Fishbone also made further recommendations for the digitisation of exam reporting that the new sequencing and process can enable. This is expected to be enacted in the near future and will bring greater clarity in reporting and control of assets
