ENSCO, Inc. Continues to Lead the Railroad Supplier Industry in Advanced Technology for Safety
Springfield, Va., July 1, 2004 – ENSCO, Inc., a diversified research, development and information technology company, continues to lead the railroad supplier industry in advanced technology for safety. ENSCO has successfully implemented the TrackIT™ system for CN. The new product provides a Web-based database enterprise system which integrates a variety of track data sources including track inventory, track geometry, rail condition, rail flaw data, track quality, work programs and certain visual inspection data.
CN, like most Class 1 railroads, has a number of track inspection systems and track-related databases, with different origins and primary applications. ENSCO's Track IT technology will enable CN to manage their track assets more effectively. All CN track asset stakeholders will be provided with rapid data access and power display and reporting tools, including historical data comparison supporting track degradation analysis. ENSCO has been providing system-wide automated track assessment for U.S. railroads and is now offering the Track IT services package internationally. CN is the first international installation of Track IT.
Track IT can manage all types of track data to be used for applications including:
- Monitoring and analyzing current track condition
- Quality assessment
- Viewing historical data on track inspections and exceptions
Canadian National Railway Company spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
ENSCO's expertise in track geometry data collection and management is what prompted CN to award the contract for Track IT to the company.
"We needed a way to integrate data from quite a number of sources, including track geometry, rail wear, asset inventory and work programs," said Glenn Chafe, system manager, engineering systems for CN. "Track IT offers the ability to bring in data sources using Internet-based state-of-the-art technology."
ENSCO currently offers three levels of service with the Track IT package. The company can provide data to railroads that has been collected by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) track inspection vehicles. Alternatively or in addition, ENSCO can take data that the railroad has collected and use Track IT to organize and manage the results. ENSCO also offers inspection services and PDA's with GPS for inspectors in the field. This comprehensive solution enables railroads to plan all of their track geometry monitoring, inspection and maintenance through one system, rather than keeping track of several disparate databases.
Future enhancements to the package include capabilities to project track conditions and plan maintenance. ENSCO will roll out enhancements over to next two years to make Track IT a complete asset management system, including inspection scheduling and work order reporting. ENSCO is also working with the FRA to provide Track IT customers access to data collected by FRA track inspectors.
ENSCO has thirty years of experience in railroad instrumentation, data communications, Global Positioning System integration, Geographic Information Systems, Web-based applications, and other critical rail technologies. Many ENSCO systems have been developed with direct support from the FRA.
About ENSCO, Inc.
ENSCO, Inc. provides engineering, science and advanced technology solutions for the defense, security, transportation, environment, aerospace and intelligent automation industries. Founded in 1969, ENSCO is a $90 million, 750-person privately-owned corporation. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., ENSCO has major offices in Springfield, Va., Endicott, N.Y., Melbourne and Cocoa Beach, Fla., and field offices around the United States and in Beijing, China.
More about ENSCO
Media Contact:
Susan Williams
Public Relations Director
Phone: (703) 321-4405
Fax: (703) 321-4529
E-mail: williams.susan@ensco.com
Business Development Contact:
Kevin Kesler, Deputy Manager
Applied Technology and Engineering Division
Phone: (703) 321-4444
E-mail: kesler@ensco.com
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