When work is performed on something as intricate as a railcar which has many different machine systems, it is important to consider the entire process in advance to avoid wasted time and mistakes. Merely disassembling and reassembling the units is not enough. In order to ensure efficiency of operation during the inspection procedure it is imperative to devise a plan and order of operations.
Even railcars of the same series can have widely varied compositions from model to model. Different railcar types are used at the same time. It is not rare for all of the railcars that come in one day to be of different types. Therefore, this inspection work involves many different types of processes carried out in small volumes.
Furthermore, inspection operations may involve the entire disassembly of a railcar, inspection involving disassembly and replacements of the inner components of the rigging apparatus, and the main motor as well as repainting and refitting of entire sections. In order to perform all of these processes smoothly, it is important to devise a plan that will avoid waste in the assembly of each section based on long years of experience, scientific analysis and actual involvement in the particular operations.
Therefore we see that as we conduct a variety of inspections ranging from overhauls to repainting individual components of railcars that come into the workshop on a daily basis it becomes possible to determine the repair processes involved in handling the individual units and restoring them to operational condition as well as the time, labor, materials and components involved.
(b) Standard processes
As shown in the above, the operational scale of each factory, the form of work (special work, night work etc.), the ability of facilities (including the actual building) designed to carry out inspection and repair work, the degree of mechanization of the operations and the repair technicians determine the standard procedures used during inspections and allow for stability in planning and management. Standard processes should be determined for each railcar type and should include specifications for work performed in a general scope as well as individual operations on components. Fig. 1-6 is one example of the overall process of a general inspection.
