Boosting Locomotive Productivity Through Operational Excellence in a Major Rail Terminal

Client Context

A leading national freight railroad company sought to improve the performance and throughput of one of its busiest mechanical terminals in Waycross, Georgia. As part of a broader strategy to increase volume through key hubs, ensuring locomotives were service- and inspection-ready became mission-critical. Mechanical leadership needed a rapid improvement in locomotive availability to meet growing demand.

Key Challenges

• The Waycross terminal was experiencing performance bottlenecks and variability in servicing and inspection throughput.
• Labor productivity was below target, resulting in delays in locomotive releases.
• Leadership lacked a standardized approach for workflow execution and performance measurement.
• Safety and quality incidents suggested gaps in frontline execution and operational discipline.
• There was no existing Professional Operating Playbook or structured frontline leadership development framework.

Approach & Key Success Factors

EFESO implemented its transportation-specific Operational Excellence model to rapidly improve throughput and productivity. Key components of the approach included:

• Data-Driven Diagnostics: Conducted a thorough preliminary data analysis to identify variances in performance and uncover root causes of delays in servicing and inspection workflows.

• On-Site Validation: Engaged in field-based process observations and interviews with local leaders and staff, guided by industrial engineering principles, to confirm the analysis and operational understanding.

• Frontline Leadership Enablement: Designed and deployed a hands-on, engaging implementation plan to equip frontline leaders with the tools and mindset for high-performance execution.

• Operational Excellence Execution: Rolled out a tailored workflow model that leveraged business intelligence to drive performance rigor, elevate leadership behaviors, and standardize work practices.

• Playbook Development: Created and embedded a Professional Operating Playbook to sustain improvements, clarify expectations, and ensure repeatable success.

Results

82 → 59 hours

Locomotive inspection labor hours reduced

100% 

Improvement in safety performance

17%

Reduction in 10-day Line of Road failures

13.6%

Daily locomotive releases increased productivity

$1.8M

Labor productivity savings in the same year

$6.8M

Projected annualized savings

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