Closing the Gap: Field Leadership and Operational Discipline

Sean Ireland

Good morning, everyone. And I need to start this Sunday Message with a number that should wake us all up: 81. We had 81 testing exceptions this past week. To give you some perspective, that makes it one of our highest weeks for exceptions this entire year.

Sean Ireland

To break that down a bit so we know exactly what we're looking at... that's 18 switch tag exceptions, 13 securement exceptions, and 8 shoving equipment exceptions. Now, look, on one hand, I am genuinely glad that our leadership team is out in the field. Finding these exceptions means we are looking in the right places and focusing on the right things.

Sean Ireland

But here is the reality check: identifying a gap is only step one. It's great for correcting behavior in the moment, but if we don't follow up on each of these 81 exceptions... if we don't go back out and retest... then how do we actually know we made an impact? How do we know we changed their mindset and not just their behavior while a supervisor was watching?

Sean Ireland

This comes down to how we communicate at the ballast line. During your Job Safety Briefings, I need you to change your approach. Stop talking at our people. Ask open-ended questions. Ask them about their securement processes, ask about their shove moves. Listen to their answers. That is how you drive safety ownership back to the crews.

Sean Ireland

And to help drive this, we're holding a Regional Engagement Day this coming Wednesday. We're going to be hyper-focused on Banners on Shove Moves and Mainline Defect Detector testing. I'm also expecting our Assistant Superintendents to be highly visible, engaging with in-field coaching and testing between 1800 and 0600 over the weekend. Two switch tag tests per shift, per day, specifically performed on shove moves. Let's make it happen.

Sean Ireland

Before we move off safety, I want to recognize the folks who are out there driving this culture. Our Regional Zone Safety leaders from last week: Zach Self up in New England, Steve Wilson in the Hudson Zone, Manny Denis in the Northern Zone, Cory Warren in Central East, Chip Buckley in Central West, and Travis Joseph down in the Southern Zone. Thank you for the work you're putting in. Keep the pressure on.

Sean Ireland

Now, looking at the week ahead, the environment we're operating in is going to shift dramatically. We're going to see a big spike in temperatures at the start of the week. So before crews even come on duty, we need to be talking to them about hydration. Ensure we are providing coolers, and ensure those coolers are actually stocked with ice and water. Then, by mid-week, the forecast flips and we're looking at storms and heavy rain. So keep your situational awareness high and make sure your crews are adapting to the changing underfoot conditions.

Sean Ireland

Honestly, there are just a lot of distractions on the property right now. You've got the weather shifting, you've got vacation entitlements increasing this week, Memorial Day coming up, Barbecues, plan changes... and the usual rumor mill. We have to stay focused on what we can actually control: our processes regarding cost and service.

Sean Ireland

Let's talk about cost. I need a huge push to drive down recrews and extra local and yard starts this week. And we need to get a handle on our fuel costs. Specifically, company trucks. When you are parked, shut the truck down. Period. Gas prices are up, and idling wastes money. In fact, I'm going to pull a report of the top idling trucks in the region and I'll be sending that out to the team. Let's not be on that list.

Sean Ireland

Also on the cost front, we've seen an increase in car hire recently, and we know there is a lot of opportunity to reduce that. Get those cars moving. And don't forget to get our holiday annulments put into the YES system for the Memorial Day stat holiday next Monday.

Sean Ireland

Finally, service. I have to say, great work by the entire team on our Customer Service Daily metric last week. We hit 94.9%. We were right up against that 95% goal. That is Precision Scheduled Railroading in action. But as I mentioned, vacation entitlements are increasing this week. Repeating that 94.9% is going to be a lot easier said than done. Let's stay incredibly close to our daily first mile and last mile performance. Continue to reduce consecutive missed switches, and protect our customers every single day.

Sean Ireland

We have our Regional Safety call this Wednesday, and for those of you out near Cumberland, Maryland, I look forward to seeing you at the System Terminal of the Quarter Cookout on May 27th. Let's manage the distractions, focus on our people, and have a safe, productive week out there. Thanks for listening.