Railway Track & Structures - September 2007 - (Page 35) “As a whole, work equipment is getting better, safer and more productive,” Domski of UP said. “Increases in the costs of these machines and maintenance are outpacing the derived benefits from the improvements.” Sources of information Do you still rely on traditional sources for information such as trade journals, sales representatives, trade shows and so on? Do you get more and more of your information over the Internet? Is there any type of information about m/w equipment you have trouble finding? 10. “We rely on the traditional sources such as trade journals and trade shows, along with the vendors themselves,” Upward of BNSF said. “There is some information on the Internet, but this is one area vendors could improve on.” “We still rely on trade shows and railway best practices meetings as our primary source of information on the equipment available to us,” noted Vern Graham of CPR. “There is nothing better than seeing new equipment in a production environment. The Internet is also a great place to find new equipment and get in contact with someone else in the global markets. Not all vendors are taking advantage of that medium. CDs and DVDs are good tools for sharing information because they are easy to mail.” “Yes, we rely on the traditional sources for information, but with more visits to suppliers so we can understand their manufacturing process and meet their technician experts (engineers) who do not always make traditional sales calls or trade shows,” said CSXT’s Bagley. “At NS, we still rely mostly upon traditional sources, including railway trade shows, sales personnel, equipment demonstrations, technical publications, etc.,” Drake noted. “Other productive sources of information come from other industries’ (construction, defense, automotive, electronics, manufacturing, etc.) trade shows and publications. The Internet is used for some research, but usually is topic-specific or driven by ideas gained from various trade publications. Information about newly-developed m/w equipment tends to be word of mouth from manufacturer sales forces or other Class 1 railroad acquaintances.” “Certainly the Internet is a quick and convenient way to access specific information,” UP’s Domski said. “We also continue to get traditional information through traditional sources. In the long run, there is still no better way to exchange information than a face-to-face meeting with a dedicated, well-trained and knowledgeable OEM representative.” www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures September 2007 35 http://www.rtands.com
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