Supply Side: Blume Global/Run Rail, Duos, TÜV Rheinland
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Pleasanton, Calif.-based Blume Global is delivering a program “that will track Run Rail’s private 53-foot fleet containers at all times, while also providing the ability for IMCs to reserve and bill for Run Rail's equipment.”
Run Rail selects Blume Global to supply a rail billing program plus container management services. Also, Duos Technologies reports that its machine vision system can be tailored to meet railcar inspection requirements; and TÜV Rheinland receives Standards Council of Canada accreditation as an independent safety assessor for rail projects.
Blume Global on Feb. 28 reported that it is adding Run Rail, a wholesale railroad equipment provider, to its customer roster. It said it will deliver a program “that will track Run Rail’s private 53-foot fleet containers at all times, while also providing the ability for IMCs to reserve and bill for Run Rail’s equipment.”
Run Rail’s goals for this program include: posting containers in the domestic container marketplace where IMCs look for capacity; streamlining the communication of empty booking to the IMC, trucker and container yard; enabling IMCs to use Run Rail or its customer’s line haul rates and create rail bills using these rates; leveraging Blume Global’s billing, invoicing and collection process; and giving customers “access to a simple dispute process,” according to Blume Global.
Duos Technologies’ on March 1 issued a statement highlighting how its Railcar Inspection Portal (“rip® or RIP) can be customized to address specific applications for rail operators:
“Safety is the highest priority of the railroad industry,” Duos said. “Railcars contain hundreds of parts and critical components that must be inspected frequently to ensure safe and reliable operations. Duos works with its customers to understand their priorities and designs its systems to address key inspection points. There are 13 Duos RIPs currently deployed in North America, which can inspect from 25 to over 90 different views depending on how they are configured.”
According to Duos, the “RIP architecture is modular and can be customized to include AI [artificial intelligence] pre-detection capabilities to identify a wide variety of defects. The professionally developed AI detections help streamline inspections to a highly automated process that automatically targets and identifies a wide variety of railcar defects” or potential defects before they escalate. Mechanical inspectors, the company said, are provided with real-time alerts and notifications to mitigate what it called “preventable mechanical factor derailments.”
In a related development, CSX on Feb. 28 reported opening its third Duos inspection portal, which is inspecting up to 20 trains per day on the busy main line at Walthourville, Ga., northeast of the Waycross terminal.
TÜV Rheinland on Feb. 27 reported receiving accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 from the Standards Council of Canada as part of the Inspection Body Accreditation Program to be an independent safety assessor (ISA) for rail and transit projects in Canada.
“This significant addition to our global accreditation portfolio showcases our commitment to our customers, allowing us to provide guidance and technical knowledge to help assure they operate in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner,” said Jeff Twombly, North American Regional Manager for Rail at TÜV Rheinland, a technical assurance and testing service provider.
“This accreditation, as an ISA for rail and transit projects in Canada, represents a significant milestone in the continued growth of TÜV Rheinland’s global operation, as it will allow us to extend our leadership in the region in providing Signaling, Rolling Stock and Infrastructure safety assessment services for the benefit of rail projects in Canada,” said Kenneth Jackson, Rail Safety Engineer Principal at TÜV Rheinland North America.
