Quality assessment and improvement practices in the U.S. railroad industry

This article presents the findings of a comprehensive survey sent to members of the American Society of Transportation and Logistics. The survey investigated various elements of quality improvement programs in use among U.S. rail carriers, including program design and subsequent successes. Perhaps due to the heavy competition within the transportation industry, it was found that the vast majority of U.S. rail respondents did indeed utilize formal quality assessment and improvement programs, makingthisan interesting industry segment to study. The survey findings are summarized in the article