Twice as Many Trains per Night

With Porsche Consulting’s help, Deutsche Bahn has increased the performance of its Cologne maintenance facility by 100 percent.

Overview

The project at a glance

Challenge

Deutsche Bahn wants to transport more people and goods. To do so, it must deploy more trains – and maintain, repair and clean them more often.

Implementation

Better planning. Optimized processes. High transparency. Open communication. Lots of training. And digital support.

Result

The maintenance facility in Cologne handles eight trains per night. Before, it was only half as many. And they’re more flexible as well.

Challenge

More Trains, More Kilometers, More Maintenance

Deutsche Bahn wants to get better. It has to. That is why it is pursuing its ambitious “strong rail” strategy: more customers in local transport. Twice as many passengers in long-distance trains. More goods on the railways. More trains on the tracks. And trains running at 30-minute intervals between the major German cities. With more material deployed more often, it needs to be serviced, repaired and cleaned more often and more quickly in the nine maintenance facilities. Without compromising safety and quality. And while keeping costs contained.

"We’ve achieved this in large part by ensuring a high degree of transparency in how we control our work, plus a perfect schedule that all of our team members follow."

Sonja Askew

Head of Provisioning and Maintenance at the Cologne facility

Deutsche Bahn AG

Implementation

Like a Pit Stop: Every Move is Coordinated

The maintenance facility in Cologne is now reminiscent of a pit stop in motor racing. Every task on the high-speed trains is tightly coordinated. Because the maintenance sequence for all trains is defined a year-and-a-half in advance. Because boards make the processes visible to all team members. Because transparency and an open culture of dialog motivate staff. Because the employees undergo intensive training. Because the teams get every appropriate form of digital support.

8 trains

are maintained, repaired and cleaned every night shift at the Cologne facility instead of four previously.

Result

Twice the Output – Space and Time Are Precious

“We can now maintain eight instead of four trains per night shift. Everyone on the team is working in lockstep,” says Sonja Askew, Head of Provisioning and Maintenance at the Cologne facility. The team works so flexibly that even damage on late-arriving trains can be repaired immediately. As soon as one ICE is finished, it clears the track for the next. Because space and time are so precious at Deutsche Bahn’s Cologne facility.