DONALD R. HOLFELD

 

Director of Training and Field Engineering

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Summary of Qualifications:

 

            Over 20 years of experience in Railway Operations including: Direction of Operations Training activities consisting of 11 training facilities and 116 staff members as well as an annual budget of over $10 million; Initiation and Development of new technologies, and computer systems, including development of new generation Track Geometry Vehicle, track maintenance management systems, etc.

 

 

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:

 

1994 -                          ZETA-TECH Associates, Inc., Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Present                         Director of Training and Field Engineering

Responsible for the development and implementation of railroad training programs, including operations training, maintenance of track and equipment, and all aspects of railway and transit operations. Responsible for all field engineering activities to include inspections and field evaluations.  Development of standards for track geometry, track inspection, etc.

 

1989 -                          CN NORTH AMERICA

1994                            System Director, Operations Training

Responsible for the organization and direction of system wide Railway training group. Centralized and reorganized several training groups into one unified body and at the same time improving efficiency (costs of operations were reduced 50%), productivity (material output and students trained increased by 250%), quality (7 first place awards for developed material were obtained) and effectiveness of training done (CN has been for the last 5 years either first or second in safety out of all North American Railroads). Produced Standards and Methods of development and delivery to meet functional needs, improve morale and reduce learning transfer time. Reduced redundancies of effort by resource rationalization and facility amalgamation (reduced 16 facilities to 5, cutting costs, inventory and administration). Conceived, created and instructed, Graduate level courses on Railway Engineering for McGill University.

 

1983 -                          System Engineer - Technology

1989                            Designed, developed, and supervised construction of several systems representing a multimillion dollar investment to CN. These included: three Track (Geometry) Evaluation System (TEST) vehicles, Track Survey Vehicle, Track Loading Fixture, Optical Rail Image Analyzer, and CNs Track Management System Computer Based Analyzer. These technological advances have generated an excellent return on investment (saving the CN $100s Millions by allowing staff reductions while maintaining quality of track integrity), and increased safety of rail operations. Oversaw development and implementation of new generation track geometry (TEST) vehicle. Proposed and introduced to the railway a Wheel Impact Detector which is used to determine flat/out of round wheel conditions which could result in broken wheels and rails if left undetected. These detectors are now used extensively to find and classify wheel aberrations.

 

1982 -                          Track Research Engineer

1983                            Created and supervised field tests of new equipment/material, and evaluated new maintenance methods. Installed and monitored new track components and produced a computer database to capture information monitored.

 

1981 -                          Planning Engineer

1982                            Developed the design for new snowplows. Reviewed and coordinated the installation and application of a computer drafting system for several functions in CN.

 

1980 -                          Track and Roadway Engineer

1981                            Responsible for all track maintenance on CN from Jasper, Alberta to Boston Bar, British Columbia, including: rail, right-of-way, bridges and structures, with a staff exceeding 300 people.

 

1977 -                          Maintenance Engineer

1980                            Directly in charge of training, safety and maintenance operations. Solved a perennial problem involving the freezing of roadway ballast during winter derailment repair operations, saving the company over $200,000 annually (personally received a $10,000 award from the Chief Engineer).

 

1973 -                          Field Engineer

1977                            Supervised the construction of a multimillion dollar yard including all trackage, buildings and services.

 

1965 -                          Department of the Environment of Alberta

1967                            Research Technologist

Initiated methods to analyze pesticides and other organic and inorganic environmental problems. Analyzed air, water, and ground for contaminants.

 

EDUCATION:

 

Leadership - CN Sponsored course, 1992

Managing Our Business (MOB) - CN Sponsored course, 1989

Developing Operation Management Employees (DOME) -

   CN Sponsored course, 1978

B.Sc. Civil Engineering - University of Alberta, 1973

Research Chemistry - Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, 1967

 

MEMBER:

 

Member - American Railway Engineering Association

Member - Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia

Member - American Society of Training and Development

Member - National Society for Performance and Instruction

 

PUBLISHED PAPERS:

 

Holfeld, D. R., "New Technologies for Track Measurement", Proceedings from A Symposium on Automated Track Measurement, American Railway Engineering Association, Committee 2, March 16-17, 1988.

 

Holfeld, D. R. and Izbinsky, G., "Requirements for an On-Board Rail Profile Measurement System", Proceedings from A Symposium on Automated Track Measurement, American Railway Engineering Association, Committee 2, March 16-17, 1988.