Responsible partner: DB Schenker

Improved business and operation models would only be effective if a sustainable and reliable level of transport quality can be guaranteed to the customer. Experiences have shown that this can only be achieved by the development and implementation of a coherent Quality Management System. The total set of components of the QMS including quality assurance, quality measuring- and monitoring-measures will have to be configured individually to the specific situation on the corridor sections. In order to guarantee the sustainability of a good performance all partners are to be committed to their respective obligations and performance requirements. This automatically leads to the need of detailed process descriptions including the allocation of responsibilities to the process steps, especially having in mind the high amount of interfaces on the long CREAM corridor. Innovative concepts with regard to joint planning, operations, monitoring and organizations are needed. Research Activity 3 seeks to develop a corresponding Quality Management System (QMS).

Research Activity 3 is divided into

• RA 3.1 - Evaluation of transferability of blueprints of existing QMS for rail freight services
• RA 3.2 - Development and implementation of project corridor QMS
• RA 3.3 - Validation, adaptation and improvement of the QMS during demonstration DA 3

Work Progress WP 3

The results of the related research activity will be compiled in the deliverables DR 3.1, DR 3.2 and DR 3.3, which are all confidential.

DR 3.1 has been submitted to the European Commission in December 2007.

DR 3.2 has been submitted to the European Commission in February 2010.

More information on the RA 3 work you will find in the related CREAM-Newsletter articles in Issue 2 from May 2008 (page 2) and Issue 6 from May 2010 (page 7)

The related demonstration activity DA3 has started with the implementation of quality handbooks for selected international rail services on the corridor. In parallel the work of RA 3.3 has started and aims at improving these quality handbooks and extend the QMS by setting up handbooks for further services.