Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago, IL
Intern: Marc Deetjen
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the major public transportation
system in the Chicago area and is the second largest in the United States.
It transports an average of 1.6 million customers every weekday on its fleet
of 1,781 buses and 1,200 rail cars. The intern's projects included upgrading
air compressors at 8 shops and garages in the system and streamlining the
subway fan and louver inspection process using a customizable database program.
Results:
The focus of the air compressor project was to increase durability and
efficiency which included the following tasks:
- Drafted specifications for the replacement of air compressor systems
at eight different shops and garages in the CTA system. Specifications
included sizing for air compressors, aftercoolers, air dryers, receiving
tanks, water traps, and filters. It also included installation instructions
for piping design, air intake location, and component placement.
- Recommended ways to clear water from compressed air lines that are able to
be installed quickly to protect machinery from water damage. The estimated
cost of replacing this equipment could be over $100,000.
- This project could save over $18,000 annually, while reducing CO2 emissions
by 230 tons per year.
The focus of the subway fan and louver inspection project was to increase the
knowledge and safety of the equipment through proactive preventative maintenance.
The subway equipment inspection protocol includes the following elements:
- Allows for password protected data entry by different inspectors monthly.
- Creates a uniform and consistent rating system and defect identification
structure for inspectors.
- Compiles information from different trades and accounts for missing statistics
to give real-time data for all fan and louver locations.
- Produces automatically updated maps, graphs, statistics, and tables, which
are color-coded for ease of understanding.
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