RPCNB can now upload single car test air dates and loco inspection dates to EMIS for you!
Note: the following is true on all Class One RR's. Regional and Short Line RR's may or may not adhere to these same requirements for Umler. The FRA rules apply to all operations on the GRS.
FRA regulations as of 1 April 2004 require that air brake technicians must be "certified" to perform the single car test on equipment other than "historical", and on the type (passenger or freight) valves on the car.
There are new access requirements for personnel or shops that currently do have an assigned shop code for access to the air date upload function of the EMIS system.
For those that do not have a legitimate reporting mark or shop code, you can not get access to the air date upload functions.
Starting in 2004, the AAR Field Manual provides that the air date must be loaded to the Umler file per Rule 93.8 and 3.B.2.
This is VERY important, because the Umler file date supercedes the stencil on the car, possibly causing car owners extra costs and delays in movement if the Umler file and the car stencil do not agree and the railroad moves the car to the shop for an air test if not full COT&S.
In the old Umler system, there were two fields to upload an air date. The "reporter" field, which requires a legitimate AAR reporting mark or a Railinc assigned reporter mark, and the actual date field.
Note that the reporting mark and the reporter mark are not the same with respect to what they can do. A reporting mark can create, modify and delete car master files in Umler, as well as report the air date. An air reporter mark can ONLY change the air date.
Most railroads will no longer load air dates for contract shops/people because of the liability associated with this. It is assumed that the reporter is also the performer. Therefore, if the air brakes fail on the road and cause some incident, it is the liability of the performer.
In EMIS (the "new Umler"), the air date upload process is more complex. Not only is there the "reporter" code and date as today, but also a "performer" code, and the "SPLC" code identifying where the work was actually performed.
This requires the 'independent' air test technicians and small third party shops to either apply for their own "reporter" code, or use the services of an organization like RPCNB that provides access for its members.
To provide assistance for our RPCA member Certified Air Technicians, RPCNB now has access to the air date section of the new EMIS system independent of our assigned reporting mark. In other words, the RPCNB got a shop code.
This was done so that the RPCA member Certified Air Technicians (CATs) and shops can use the RPCNB services to upload successful single car air test dates 'to Umler' at significantly reduced cost, similar to how the RPCNB assigned reporting mark service for members is accomplished.
Below are links to the ABT agreement and two Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) pages for the RPCNB process of reporting air dates.
RPCA Certified Air Technician members/shops who desire to become a member of this consortium and use this service, please down load the Agreement and SOP documents (both are MS Word), execute the agreement and send it to the RPCNB along with documentation of the Technician's certification. This is further explained in the SOP.
There is NO cost to become a Consortium member as long as you or your shop is a RPCA member.
The air date reporter access does not allow multiple uploads in one transaction.
The fee for this service can be paid by check made out to RPCNB, or below using PayPal and your credit card.
The AAR has new consolidated stencil requirements for rolling stock. These should be complied with rather than the old method of stencilling air date and lube dates in different locations.
However, the new AAR standard consolidated stencil is not conducive to passenger car applications, being nearly square in shape. APTA has generated a draft format that is much more conducive to application to passenger cars, and meets the requirements for data contained in the stencil of the AAR.
GLR has modified the APTA draft format slightly and produces it in outdoor grade vinyl that works well on flat surfaces, as well as round such as air reservoirs. This makes application of the stencil easier than attempting to paint the large amount of data now required. This is for sale as a pair of custom cut stencils for each individual car. GLR has also slightly modified the APTA draft RP for "test card" to be used during the single car test and has it available for sale on hard card stock. This makes it easy to use during the test, as well as convenient to place in the electrical locker for subsequent inspection. You can see examples of this stencil and the test card by clicking this link.
link to RPCNB ABT Agreement
link to RPCNB Certified Technician ABT SOP
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