How the Quality Assurance Committee is Organized

The Quality Assurance (QA) Committee has several working groups, which are ad hoc committees created to deal with specific aspects of the overall quality initiative fostered by the RIF. These working groups draw on the supply community (through the Railway Progress Institute [RPI]) to augment the railoads’ own commitment to quality. Each working group functions independently from others, focusing exclusively on the issues that caused each group to be commissioned.

The Membership Working Group seeks to expand the participation of the North American railroads in the activities of the QA Committee, particularly among commuter railroads, municipal and regional transit companies, and shortline railroads.

In addition, the QA Committee (through a joint effort with the RPI and the Quality Assurance Committee of the AAR) conducts an annual Quality Conference to foster implementation of quality systems across the railroad supply community. This conference is planned and administered by the Quality Conference Planning Group.

Finally, the QA Committee administers a registry of those companies that have successfully attained certification of either the M1003 (Chapter 2) quality standard, QS9000 standard, or the ISO 9000 series standards. The Registry Working Group processes applications for the registry, and maintains a listing of those companies that are registered with the QA Committee.