By RSI Staff
Quality assurance serves as a cornerstone of the railway supply industry, helping manufacturers and repair facilities maintain compliance, achieve industry certifications and deliver safe, reliable products to the market. As regulations continue to evolve, companies must not only understand new requirements but also determine how to apply them within their own unique operations.
Recognizing the need for clearer, more practical guidance on regulatory changes, the RSI Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) launched a webinar series designed to translate complex requirements into actionable insights. Led by quality professionals from across the railway supply community, these sessions offer real-world perspectives on how different organizations interpret and implement industry standards.
To prepare for the upcoming October 8 webinar, QAC members Sunil Mukerjee, Henry Yuvallos and Jake Sternberg share insights into why these webinars have been created and why RSI members should attend.
How did you get involved with the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC)? Why is quality assurance important to you, your company, and the greater railway supply industry?
Sunil Mukerjee: I first got involved with QAC shortly before moving to the technical services department in my company around 2021. My supervisors and co-workers showed me what great resource center that RSI has, as well as the informative webinars and newsletters, so I asked to be included on the QAC.
Quality assurance to me is one of the few main pillars of my company and the rail industry as a whole. Without a fundamental quality assurance program, rail manufacturing and repair facilities will not receive industry certifications and effectively cannot operate. Quality assurance keeps my company and our industry honest against operation and customer demands, as well as ensuring that every product that is put into interchange is of the highest standards to ensure public safety and customer satisfaction.
Henry Yuvallos: A fellow RSI QAC member introduced me to the committee and showed me how quality professionals from different companies come together to solve common challenges. Quality can sometimes feel like each company is working on its own island, but RSI creates a place where we can learn from one another. After seeing that value firsthand, I encouraged our company to become an RSI member so we could be part of those conversations and contribute back to the industry.
To me, quality assurance is about doing things right the first time and preventing problems before they happen. It helps reduce risk, improves safety and makes sure customers can trust the work we do.
Quality is important to the entire railway industry because it helps ensure products and services are safe, dependable and built to perform as intended. It also creates trust between suppliers, customers and the communities we serve.
Jake Sternberg: My company has long been involved with various RSI committees, and I was fortunate to be asked by company leadership to participate in the RSI QAC.
Although quality assurance is a requirement for certain aspects of our business, the fundamentals of quality assurance are applicable to every department and every level of an organization. At its foundation, quality assurance is about planning, assessing and developing better ways to operate. When one aspect of a business improves, the entire business benefits. If we can have a positive impact on the railway supply industry, then we are ultimately making a positive impact on the world around us.
What was the inception of these recent QAC webinars? What need was identified among QAC members and the greater RSI member community?
SM: The inception of the recent QAC webinars was to provide industry with honest commentary on recent regulatory changes in a digestible format and structure. These webinars provide a communication of regulatory changes by peer company members that are much less formal and prescriptive than reading an MSRP, which can provide attendees with deeper understanding, as well as the ability to ask questions.
HY: The idea for the QAC webinars came from conversations with other quality professionals who wanted more opportunities to learn from one another. Many of us face similar challenges, and we felt there was value in creating a space where people could share experiences, best practices and lessons learned.
The webinars help connect quality professionals across the industry and provide useful information that people can take back to their own organizations. It’s about learning from each other, building stronger quality programs and helping the rail industry continue to improve.
JS: The regulatory landscape continues to evolve. At the same time, many new faces and names are entering the industry while many of the people who have been involved for decades are approaching retirement. The RSI QAC wanted to capture some of the tribal knowledge that exists in isolated pockets throughout our industry and find a way to better share and disseminate that knowledge.
Going back to the first question, we operate under the belief that if we can improve the knowledge and skills of our peers, the industry around us will improve as well. These webinars are one way we can help accomplish that.
Why should RSI members attend or watch these webinars? What is the value that is gained for member companies and the greater railway supply industry?
SM: RSI members can gain additional prospectives from watching these webinars that they may have not thought of before. Much of our industry’s regulations are very much open to interpretation, and often times it is up to each individual company to cater each specific regulation to the nuances of their own organization. With the webinars being conducted by QAC members from different member companies of various structures and sizes, ideas can be provided to webinar attendees on how certain companies are interpreting the regulations which may influence their own.
HY: I think the biggest benefit of these webinars is hearing how other companies handle the same challenges we all face. You can read procedures and standards all day, but there’s a lot of value in learning what has worked for someone else in the field.
Every webinar gives you a chance to pick up an idea, lesson learned, or a different way of thinking that you can take back and use within your own organization. I’ve found that even experienced quality professionals can walk away with something useful.
What I like most is that these discussions help bring the industry together. When companies share knowledge instead of working in silos, we all get better. That leads to safer operations, more consistent quality and greater confidence in the products and services we provide.
JS: The webinars will only be as valuable as the participation and knowledge that RSI members bring to them. The topics and content are being developed based on the valuable input and experience of participating RSI members.
Members across the industry have valuable thoughts, experiences and opinions to share. Bringing those perspectives together creates an opportunity to learn from one another and identify opportunities for future improvement and growth. The more we share that knowledge across the industry, the stronger the industry becomes.
What will be featured in the upcoming October 8 webinar? Why should members attend?
SM: The October 8 webinar will cover measuring and test equipment, which is a very important and highly visible AAR M-1003 quality assurance element. Any RSI member looking to gain more information on measuring and test equipment are encouraged to attend.
HY: The October 8 webinar will focus on measuring and testing equipment and the role it plays in maintaining quality every day. We’ll be sharing some practical experiences, lessons learned and approaches that companies can use to strengthen their own quality systems.
I think it’s worth attending because this topic affects just about every organization, regardless of size. Accurate measuring and testing equipment is something many of us rely on, but it’s easy to overlook how much impact it has on product quality, compliance and customer confidence.
JS: Control of M&TE may seem like a fairly rudimentary quality assurance element, something as simple as calibration stickers and calibration dates. The intent of this webinar, however, is to go beyond those surface-level requirements.
While calibration dates and records are certainly important, the webinar will explore some of the lesser-known aspects of metrology, including Gage R&R, establishing appropriate calibration intervals, shelf-life considerations and evaluating the use of out-of-tolerance gauges.
The goal is to provide practical information that members can take back to their organizations and apply to their own M&TE programs.
