Pennsy excels in solving engineering problems.

Our engineers have worked closely with railroads and freight car builders to solve many of their problems, not only by improving existing technology, but also by inventing new and unique solutions. When doing this it is always Pennsy’s objective to design superior parts that are also cost effective.

Pennsy only develops parts that provide performance advantages or generates customer cost savings. It’s usually both. We continually exceed our customers’ demands and because of our rapid response time we always exceed expectations.

If you have a problem, please contact Pennsy to see how our experience can translate into a solution for you.

As an ISO 9001:2000 certified company, these are the steps we follow to solve your problem and create a superior product.

Research

An hour in the library is worth a 1000 on the bench.

Pennsy researches proposals to determine if opening up a new project is valid. Project proposals insure that all the proper questions are asked and criteria are met to assure a project success.

• Is the problem real?
• What is the cause and effect?
• How did the problem originate?
• How was it allowed to prorogate?
• Can we obtain failed parts for testing?
• Can we witness the failing mechanism?
• Is an engineering fix feasible?
• Would the engineering fix be price competitive?
• Who are the contacts?
• What is the timeframe?

This analysis helps to identify the cause of the underlying problem and also defines the characteristics, timeframe and price point any solution must meet.

Once the problem has been thoroughly understood and deemed feasible, our engineering team moves to the design stage.

Design, Development amp&; Testing

When a project proposal is accepted the next stage begins with the generation of a Design and Development form.

A DDF takes the project proposal to a practical implementation of the project. It starts with a brain storming session to generate ideas and populate a project plan. Often several solutions are considered and the team will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal.

Our engineers then take our concepts and converts them into CAD drawings. These 3D models are then evaluated using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The FEA results often illustrate design issues and if changes are warranted. The proposals are continuously evaluated and it is not uncommon for proposals to be modified or rejected due to undesirable FEA performance.

Once a proposal has satisfied our stringent FEA requirements the part is cleared for testing.

Pennsy has in house capabilities to rapidly prototype parts. We also have well established partners to turn out functional prototypes quickly in materials requiring unique expertise. Pennsy’s lab will often perform preliminary testing in a controlled environment before the prototype is allowed to see real life field testing. This control of design and testing, accompanied with rapid development cycle, offer advantages our competitors simply don’t have.

A successful prototype test will lead into full scale manufacturing or necessitate the redesign of the part. If the part needs to be redesigned the design process is started anew.

Manufacturing

Once Pennsy and our customer agree the part has met all the needed criteria we then oversee the parts introduction into the manufacturing environment. Our Manufactures are audited as per ISO 9001 guidelines. Their quality systems are scrutinized and production parts are verified. We assure the processes to produce the part is not only economic but produced with high quality. Pennsy never sacrifices quality. Quality always comes first.

Continued Testing & Evaluation

Quality is always the most important factor, for this reason we work with our customers to continually evaluate the product in the field. If unforeseen failures occur an immediate investigation is implemented and a corrective action is employed.

Pennsy strives to be a part of improving the railroads. Through creative engineering we have offered many of the railroads unique solution to daunting problems. We will continue to develop novel solutions to excepted problems as well as solving the esoteric and more obtuse issues that plague the railroad industry. Either way, Pennsy should be part of you engineering arsenal to combat rail related issues.

Give us a call, we look forward to working with you in the near future.