Training services

Tender description

Provision is required for specialist training to supplement the Design For Reliability (DFR) Network Rail initiative mandated in NR/L2/RSE/0005 where internal skills, capability and capacity are not available to deliver it. A suite of training courses are required on specific tools that are introduced during the high level ‘Introduction to DFR’ course that must be taken first and is run internally to introduce the rationale, philosophy, common language, process underpinning DFR and shows how the tools are linked. Requirements Planning (3 day course) Reliability can be negatively affected if key product requirements are not met. This module provides capability in setting customer requirements and translating requirements, specifications and technical specifications for interoperability into engineering characteristics which are confirmed with Network Rail. They are then translated into design characteristics, process parameters and control methods. At each stage, priority is given to items that are new, important or difficult. This takes delegates all the way through the design process and gives an understanding of how the other tools may be utilised. This provides capability in a structured process to analyse designs and processes including installation and operation. It starts with a block diagram or process diagram to scope the study, identifies desired functions and how they may potentially fail to be met. This leads to identification of both resulting effects (Rated for ‘Severity’) and potential causes (Rated for ‘Occurrence’). The controls to avoid these are listed and rated for ‘Detection’. Actions are then identified and taken to address prioritised risks. This also helps identify what tests should be run to verify the design. The tool also captures knowledge of prior failures to prevent recurrence. This module also covers FMECA, a similar tool using criticality analysis and how it is used to optimise maintenance regimes. This provides capability in DOE, which is a very powerful method for efficient testing, by allowing multiple factors to be changed simultaneously, whilst still understanding the effect of each. It also focuses heavily on interactions where two or more factors are required at a given level to give a significant effect. It is the basis of investigating ‘robustness’ which is why it must be attended first. This module also covers Gauge R&R studies which verify that test equipment does not vary excessively when used to take multiple readings or by different operators. It also covers other elements of Measurement Systems Analysis including Accuracy, Bias, Consistency, Discrimination, Linearity, Precision, Repeatability, Reproducibility, Resolution, Performance, Sensitivity, Stability (drift) and Uniformity. This module moves past asset design and into manufacturing, but is also applicable to railway processes. Capability is provided in how key characteristics identified by the earlier tools can be measured effectively using tools that are able to differentiate between random variation that should be ignored and ‘special causes’ that need to be addressed. It also outlines expectations for how a process should be documented and stored. This gives capability in DRACAS reporting and where to obtain failure data, followed by explanation of how to choose the most effective problem solving tool for the issue being faced. Trainers having undergone Kepner Tregoe's ‘train the trainer’ programme will show how to use one of the most powerful problem solving tools which is only applicable where a single ‘root’ cause is suspected, along with approaches for other situations. This gives capability in the DMAIC methodology to address situations where multiple factors are causing excess variation of a key variable.