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Mechanical Summer Training Report (Railways)
Mechanical Summer Training Report (Railways)
Introduction:Materials Management covers a much wider field. The Materials Management is concerned with the
entire range of functions which effect the flow, conservation and utilization, and the quality and the cost
of materials. It is that aspect which is concerned with the activities involved in the acquisition and
storage of all material directly and indirectly employed in the production of the finished product. These
activities include material planning, programming, purchasing, inventory control, receiving, ware
housing, stores keeping, transportation, material handling and disposal of scrap. Another function is
value analysis, which is concerned with ascertaining whether the material purchased are of the greatest
possible value in return for the money spent.
Materials Management covers the entire cycle of supplies, and in modern and progressive organization
like the Indian Railways complete control on the Materials is vested in the Stores Department under the
Controller of stores directly responsible to the General Manager.
The field of Material Management covers the functions:Material Planning and Programming of Procurements and Supplies
Purchasing
Inventory Control
Store Keeping and Ware Housing
Material Handling and Transportation
Codification and standardization
Value Analysis
Identification, Disposal of surplus, obsolete and scrap materials.
Stores Organisation and Functions :The Inventory Management in Indian Railways is very complex function as the management has to
deal with from common consumable stores to most complicated items such as parts of sophisticated
rolling stalk, signaling and tele-communication equipment etc .The fundamental Principle of Inventory
Management is to see that right quality of material in right quality is brought at the right price and at the
right time. from the right source. The organization for inventory Management thus involve planning and
programming for purchases ,procurement ,inspection ,storage, handling of materials inside the works
and affective control over inventory.
The administration and control of stores of railways is conducted by the stores department under the
Supervision of a Controller of Stores who is the Principal Officer of the stores department. This
department is centrally controlled from head quarters. He is assisted by one or two chief materials
managers(normally general, sales and construction), Junior Administrative Officers, Senior Scales
Officers, Junior Scales Officers and compliment of non-gazetted staff for handling the inventory
management competently and efficiently.
Delegation of Powers :Purchase is one of the vital functions of the Controller of Stores as it effects the Capital and Cash flow
of Railways it should be ensured that there should be no blockage of capital for which a definite rate of
dividend is payable to General Revenues. In order to reduce the Capital-at -Charge thus saving ultimately
the payment of dividend and also to ensure efficient quick and smooth working of Railways, the railway
board ,have delegated certain powers to the General Manager in the matter of purchases, sales etc. of
stores. Subject to safeguard railways interest, the General Manager may re-delegate these
powers(within specified limits) to COS/CMM and other officers subordinate to them. In consultation
with the FA & CAO, excepting those where a level of delegation have been fixed by railway board.
While exercising these powers the finance branch of the FA & CAO office shall be consulted and the
vetting shall be obtained before commitments or incurring any expenditure. The need of such
delegations is, to make every stores officer responsible for the job interested and the responsibility fixed
for the limits of spending, to avoid wastage, unnecessary blocking of capital and smooth cash flow as per
device of Exchequer control.
Standards /Canons of Financial Propriety :In regards to powers delegated to the controllers of the stores, he should pay strict regard to the
standards /canons of financial propriety among which are the following1. The expenditure should not prima facie be more than the occasion demands, and that every
government servant should exercise the same vigilance in respect of expenditure incurred from
public moneys as a person of ordinary prudence would exercise in respect of the expenditure of
his own money
2. No authority should exercise its powers of sanctioning expenditures to pass an order which will
be directly or indirectly to its own advantages
3. Public money should not be utilized for the benefit of a particular person or section of the
community, unlessa) the amount of expenditure involved is insignificant, or
b) a claim for the amount could be enforced in court of law, or
c) the expenditure is in pursuance of a recognized policy or custom.
Inventory Control :Inventory means the sum of items of stores held in stock at various Stores Depots under Stores
Department. Inventory Stores more comprehensively known as material management is one of the four
M of the management viz., men, material, machines and money.
Inventories of raw materials, stores and spare parts, and the value of unfinished jobs as work in progress
in Railway workshop represent essential, but unproductive capital investment. Efficient Inventory
management requires lowest stock levels with highest service levels. The objective is secured through
budgeting for inventories after careful scheduling of deliveries against purchases and regular monitoring
of the changing needs of indenters.
There is acute shortage of resources for even renewals and replacements of considerably large number
of assets like Rolling Stock, Track, Signaling equipments etc. The location of resources for expansion,
development and modernization is gaining secondary priority. Due to such accumulation of arrears there
is no possibility to reduce the cost of service and generate resources. Inventory control is one of such
vital management tools, where even a marginal reduction could be considered, reduction in cost of
service.
Inventories on Railways are:1. Cost of physical stock of stores held at various Stores Depots together with balances outstanding
under Stores Suspense Account.
2. Work in progress in various Railway Workshops, Production Units i.e. value of unfinished jobs.
3. Value of Stores advanced for fabrication of loans of materials to others.
Objectives of Inventory Control :The objects of Inventory control are as under:To avoid blocking of Capital;
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
To achieve the above objectives, some of the measures adopted for inventory control on Indian Railways
are as under:(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
Modern Techniques of Inventory Control Inventory Control Consist of the following modern techniques :(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
ABC Analysis
VED Analysis
FSN Analysis
Variety Reduction
This is accost based analysis, the Items are classified according to their cost. High value Items are
grouped in A category, medium value Items are groups in B category and low value Items are
grouped in C- category. The classification is as under:-
Category
A
B
C
To have effective control, The Railway Board have classified the Stores and fixed ceilings as under :A 1 Category
A 2 Category
B 1 Category
B 2 Category
C
Category
Category
By scrutiny of Stores Balances, it is possible to disposes Surplus Stores which are not required and
unnecessary blocking capital. The disposal of surplus stores and scrap shall be made as per extant policy
of railways.
(b) V.E.D Analysis :-
VED means Vital, Essential and Desirable. This is a device to measure Service Level and to avoid the
stock out cost, under which the items of stores are classified as Vital, Essential and Desirable. Under
the VED analysis the working of equipment is given priority to achieve the higher service level.
Vital :- Vital items are such without which the equipment stop working and there is no time left for
procurement of such items for example a Diesel engine cannot work without petrol.
Essential :- Essential items are such without which the equipment may work but with less efficiency
and there is time left for procurement of such items for example grease and oil.
Desirable :- Desirable items are such without which the equipment can work. For example additional
facilities provided in the trains.
The above is analysis is adopted to keep the stocks at optimum level and normally is based on Annual
Consumption Value of items. The position of these items is reviewed periodically at Depot and Headquarters
level.
Provision of Buffer Stock :Board have fixed the Buffer Stock Limit of (3) three months for indigenous items and (6) six
months for imported WTA items.
Board have decided that buffer stock limit for other items may be decided by the COS in
consultation with finance. However, it should be ensured that vital and safety items should be
available at the level of one month stock requirement all the time and at the same time inventory
balances should remain within the laid down targets.
Surplus Stores
The stores which have not been issued for long time only, can be considered Surplus to the
requirements of the Railway. Even amongst such items there may be some it is known could be utilized
for the purpose of the Railway in the near future. Purely temporary excesses over immediate or
estimated requirements are not really surpluses so long as they can be issued over a comparatively short
period of time.
The Surplus Stores could be due to the following reasons:
(a) Stock which have not been issued for a long time.
(b) Stock not required by the Railway due to change in design of Plants, Equipments, and Rolling
Stock.
(c) Introduction of new Standard and Design.
(d) Spares become obsolete due to scrapping the main machinery such as Rolling Stock and Plants.
(e) Accumulation of non-standard items.
(f) Materials no longer required by the Railway.
An essential prerequisite condition to declare any items of stores as Surplus stock on Railway is
that such items have not been issued for railway consumption for a period of two years. Such Surplus
stock should be classified under two heads, viz.
(a) movable surplus, and
(b) Dead surplus.
Movable Surplus:
Movable surplus stores comprise items of stores which have not been issued for a period of 24
months, it is anticipated, will be issued in the near future. Such items should be marked in the price list.
Dead Surplus:
Dead Surplus Stores comprises items of stores which have not been issued for 24 months and which,
it is considered, are not likely to be utilized on any railway within next two years. No item may, however.
Be classified as dead surplus unless it has been duly inspected by a Survey Committee and declare as
such. Such items should be marked in the Price List.
This type of defect originate at the sub-surface of tread resulting in fatigue initiation which further
progresses circumferentially and when the fatigue crack gets connected with tread surface, a chunk of
metal is dislodged from tread. Other defects in wheel can be written as sharp corner at rim edge, wheel
flat, spread rim, thinning of flange, punch mark at wheel rim etc.
II. AXLE
Railway axles are one of the most highly stressed components of the various rolling stocks in use. The safety and
reliability of these axles are therefore of paramount importance. The following discussion is about defects, which
are observed on them.
A) STEEL MAKING
The steels are required for manufacture of axles can be made in open hearth furnace, basic oxygen process or a
combination of these processes. The steel so manufactured is required to be of killed quality in order to have
maximum fatigue strength under condition of dynamic loading. The steel required to have a maximum of 0.007%
of nitrogen and 2ppm of hydrogen if produced by basic oxygen processes. These two elements have the tendency to
develop crack/brittleness during subsequent manufacturing operations or service. In order to obtain the desired
mechanical properties and freedom from hot shortness and cold shortness, sulphur and phosphorous contents should
not exceed 0.05%. The steel so produced are in the form of ingots which is further worked down to obtain the final
product. In order to ensure freedom from undesirable piping and harmful segregation, sufficient discard is
necessary from the ingot.
B) AXLE FORGING
The ingots so produced are converted in the form of blooms in a blooming mill and the finished shape of the forged
axle is obtained by forging the bloom in a press or a forging hammer. The reduction ratio from ingot to axle should
not be generally less than 4:1. The forged axles are allowed to cool slowly after forging. The forged blanks are
thereafter suitably heat treated (normalized or quenched and tempered) to obtain the desirable micro structure and
mechanical properties.
During the process of manufacture of steel and also during subsequent mechanical working operations for
producing the final shape of axle, it is essential to ensure freedom from defects e.g. pipe, segregation, cracks,
flakes, laps, seam, etc. These defects are undesirable as their presence leads to failure of axles in service. Sufficient
control of heat treatment process is essential to obtain the desired mechanical property and avoid undesirable micro
structure (e.g. overheated or burnt structures).
C) MACHINING
The forged and heat treated blocks are thereafter machined to drawing dimensions providing generally 60 included
angle for lathe centers. Utmost care is essential in maintaining the specified surface finish especially on the journals
and wheel seat areas. The fillet radii at each change of section has to be a gradual transition and of correct
dimension. Sharp changes in section, tool marks, dent marks, machining marks etc. on the surface of the axle are
undesirable. The fatigue properties on the axles are highly sensitive to the surface imperfections. It is only logical,
therefore, that the handling of the machined axles also warrants due care to prevent surface damage.
D) DEFECT OBSERVED ON THE AXLES AND THEIR ORIGIN
The defects arising on the axle are therefore primarily due to short comings during manufacture and also during
manufacture and also due to a variety of service conditions to which they are subjected.
The sources of various defects are
a) steel-making and shaping operation b) Machining operation
c) Heat-treatment operation d) assembly operation
e) Repair practice f) maintenance practice and g) corrosion.
The defects encountered during steel-making and subsequent shaping operations are piping, segregation, slag
inclusions, cracks, laps, seams, rokes etc. The defects in the heat treatment operation could be non-uniform micro
structure, overheated or burnt structure, decarburization, surface defects etc. Machining if not carried out properly
can lead to rough turning marks, tool marks, insufficient fillet radii etc.