Berko Michael Email & Phone Number

• Worked with capital construction project engineers on signal improvement projects, troubleshooting and resolving any technical complications that arose along the way in order to achieve fully operational completion. • Worked with several major companies within the Railway Signaling Industry to resolve software issues with new equipment used for our signal installations as well as contributing recommendations for fine-tuning adjustment procedures and technical guidelines which were subsequently implemented in revisions of their service manuals. • Provided day to day direction of all Signal Department maintenance from the planning and design phase up to the routine testing and inspection schedules required by FRA Title 49 rules and regulations for signal systems. • Originated the departmental assessment and subsequent improvement of current maintenance schedules used system wide for NJT signal apparatus in order to provide for better cost effectiveness and increased efficiency without impacting rail service. • Re-organized and managed NJ Transit’s Software Management and Control Program in order to meet FRA required standards for processor-based signal and train control systems. • Assisted the Strategic Staffing Department in formulating technical-based questions for use during the interview process when assessing the knowledge base of prospective hires for the Signal Department.• Initiated the procedures now in place for evaluating the qualifications of employees seeking promotion to higher job classifications within the Signal Department as per the guidelines laid out within the BRS union agreement. • While serving as Director of Rail Infrastructure Maintenance, continued to perform the day to day duties and functions of the Line Engineer-Signals for the Hoboken Division.

• Directed the day to day activities of Hoboken Division signal maintenance forces, which included 80 union employees (four signal supervisors and seventy-six maintainers) stationed across 6 rail lines, while ensuring adherence to the department’s operational budget.• Managed the testing and preventive maintenance work necessary to maintain safe operation of railroad signal systems with proven strategies that do not impact the agency’s regularly scheduled train service. • Identified several areas along the Hoboken Division in need of capital improvements in the area of signaling: grade crossing warning systems, poor ballast conditions, signal bridges, etc. • Scheduled planned outages through the Transportation Department’s weekly “outage meeting” on a fairly regular basis for programmed maintenance work to maintain and improve signal systems.• Identified, addressed, and resolved persistent issues associated with new capital installations made at locations on the Morris & Essex, the Montclair-Boonton, and along the length of the Pascack Valley Line signaling project.• Provided expert testimony and evidence at several internal company hearings for NORAC rules violations.• Responded to numerous service disruptions as Infrastructure Engineering’s on-call representative and also served as Division Engineer-Hoboken in an acting capacity on a fairly regular basis.• Performed active follow-ups on all signal failures with thorough investigation of their cause and comprehensive solutions for their correction. • Regularly served on the interview panel for hiring new employees for the signal department.• Administered departmental programs like: safe work place practices, safety awareness, approved vendor and supplier equipment, and the agreement between NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS).

Network And System Administration/Administrator

Analog, Digital, Microprocessor Circuit Analysis