What are the important Performance Indices of a Diesel Shed?

Explain briefly their significance

and method of compilation. What steps would you initiate to achieve the targets for these indices?

The performance of a Diesel Loco Shed can be judged with the help of following parameters or indices:-
1. Indices of Reliability: Failures, Loss of punctuality, Loco time losses.
2. Indices of Safety: Accidents, derailments, fire incidences, hanging parts cases etc.
3. Indices of capacity utilization: Outage, Ineffective percentage, Total Kilometers earned per loco
per day, Light running of locomotive, average speed of freight trains, GTKM (Gross Ton Kilo
Meter).
4. Indices of Performance Standards: Overdue Schedules, Number and type of schedules completed,
SFC, LOC (Lube Oil Consumption), Cost of Repairs.
5. Staff related indices: Absenteeism, Overtime, TA (Travelling Allowances) payment.

1. Indices of Reliability:
 Failures include Statistical and Non Statistical Failures. This parameter gives an
indication of failure rate of the locomotives of a shed and can be found out in a number
of ways:
 Total number of failures.
 Number of failures per 100 loco holding per month.
 Number of failures per 100 mail link per month.
 Loss of punctuality cases include all those cases of loco failures resulting in the
punctuality loss of the train and can be monitored as :
 Total number of punctuality cases
 Number of failures per 100 mail link per month.
 Loco time losses cases include all those cases where the loco has lost time due
to any reason, whether resulting in punctuality loss of train or not. T

These indices can be improved by taking following steps:

 Proper failure analysis identifying exact cause and then to make an action plan to arrest
those failure prone areas. The analysis can be made sub assembly wise, loco wise, gang
wise, schedule wise, etc.
 Dissemination the information to the staff in comprehensive manner through seminars,
quiz competitions, proper technical library cum reading room, monthly magazine etc.
 Training to staff regarding correct maintenance practices.
 Quality audits to check whether proper maintenance are followed or not.
 Regular interaction with other fields units.
 Encouragement of staff to problem solving approach.

2. Indices of safety:
 Number of accidents per year, in which locomotive of the shed involved.
 Number of derailments per year, including mainline and yard derailments, for which
defective loco was responsible.
 Number of fire incidents in loco as well as in shed premises.
 Number of cases of under gear parts hanging / missing during run, which could have
been a potential disaster.
Following measures should be taken:
 Proper failure analysis to pin point exact cause.
 To imbibe (digest) safety consciousness among staff.
 Quality audits of weaker areas.
  Staff training and dissemination (wide publicity) of information.
 Proper Material management.
 Filling up of vacancies timely.
3. Indices of capacity utilization:
 Outage gives an indication of the availability of locomotives for traffic use. A positive
outage means that the shed is performing better.
 Ineffective percentage indicates the locomotive being not used for traffic due to
schedule, overhauling or repairs. More ineffective means less availability of
locomotives and more under repairs. Less ineffective means that the schedules are
skipped.
 Total kilometers earned per loco per day tell us about the utilization of loco. Less light
running of locomotive should be there for proper utilization of locos for traffic use.
 Average speeds of freight trains and GTKM per loco are some of the other parameters
telling about capacity utilization.
Following steps should be taken to improve above indices:
 Overhauling of subassemblies as per schedule.
 No overdue running of stock.
 Proper action on failure prone areas.
 Proper monitoring of locomotives running.
4. Indices of Performance Standards :
 Overdue schedules- No overdue schedules be allowed as far as possible. Schedules
should be completed in specified time limit.
 SFC (Specific Fuel Consumption) and LOC (Lube Oil Consumption) of the
locomotives of the shed give an indication of the health of the locomotive.
 Cost of repairs – Cost of repairs in each schedule and the money spent per loco per year
give an indication of the efficiency of the unit.
Following steps should be taken to improve above indices:
 Monitoring of overdue and due schedules of all the locomotives.
 Steps should be taken to improve LOC and SFC of locos. High LOC and SFC locos to
be paid special attention.
 Detailed analysis to be done for cost of repairs and how to reduce it further.
 More attention on preventive repairs than breakdown repairs.
5. Staff related Indices :
 Absenteeism – It gives an indication of the utilization of costliest resource in the
maintenance in the maintenance activities.
 Overtime and TA payment increases the cost of repairs and also overstretching the
manpower resources.
Following steps can be taken to improve above indices:
 Take disciplinary action against habitual offenders.
 Discourage unnecessary TA payments.
 Limit overtime to minimum.