Supply Side: ENSCO, NYAB, Wabtec

Brazilian mining company VALE S.A. has selected ENSCO Rail for track inspection systems and software. In addition, New York Air Brake (NYAB) has earned TTX Company’s SECO (Supplier Evaluation Committee) Award; and Wabtec Corp.’s locomotive plant in Marhowrah, Bihar has received an award for its learning and skill development program.

Over the next 12 months, ENSCO Rail will deliver to Vale an Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System (ATGMS; pictured, top right), which will be installed on a Vale locomotive to provide automated exception identification and reporting; and a Vehicle/Track Interaction Monitor (V/TI; pictured, top left), which will be installed on a second Vale locomotive to measure ride quality, wheel/rail impacts and short-chord track surface conditions.

ENSCO’s Automated Maintenance Advisor software will process the ATGMS and V/TI data to recommend maintenance work for Vale, which is among the world’s largest mining companies and operates an approximately 1,250-mile rail network.

“ENSCO is excited about this new partnership with Vale,” ENSCO President Boris Nejikovsky said. “This is an outstanding opportunity to collaborate with one of the country’s largest companies and to provide solutions that will improve safety, efficiency and effectiveness for the Vale rail network in the short and long terms.”

For the second consecutive year, NYAB has received TTX’s Excellent Supplier designation for its “commitment to helping TTX exceed customer expectations for quality, cost, on-time delivery, service excellence, plus finance and administration.”

NYAB in 2020 was evaluated in three categories: OE brakes, Rail Services (repair centers) and Friction (ABS). All categories must achieve an “A” rating and a SECO cumulative rating of no less than 92.0 to qualify for the “Excellent Supplier” designation.

A TTX committee whose members are directly involved in railcar component purchasing and product performance has been selecting the annual honorees for more than 30 years.

“Surpassing customer expectations and manufacturing world-class systems and components requires open communication and a team committed to excellence in all parts of our operation,” NYAB President and CEO Ulisses Camilo said. “TTX expects suppliers to reach a superior level of service, performance, reliability, quality and responsiveness, and we are well-prepared to deliver. We are truly honored to have earned this distinction.” 

Wabtec’s locomotive plant in Marhowrah, Bihar was recognized for the Best Skill Development Program at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS)-Leapvault CLO Awards India.

The 500,000-square foot Marhowrah factory began operations in September 2018, and has since delivered more than 350 locomotives to Indian Railways.

“It is an honor to be ranked by this respected authority on workplace and employee development,” said Sajid Iqbal, Wabtec’s Vice President of Human Resources in India. “Wabtec’s success starts with our people. We are committed to empowering our workforce through robust learning and development opportunities that help all employees reach their full potential.”

“The [skill development] program is improving the team’s performance on the factory floor,” said Shankar Dhar, Vice President of Operations at Wabtec’s Marhowrah plant. “We are seeing a 31% improvement in the skill level of employees since the plant began operations in 2018. More important, this results-oriented training [based on a “teaming” approach] is driving customer satisfaction, expanding the capabilities of our factory, and enabling our employees to grow in their careers.”