NS Performance Excellence, with VP Transportation Joe Gioe – RAIL GROUP ON AIR
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-In-Chief, Railway Age
As Norfolk Southern Vice President Transportation, Joe Gioe is responsible for leading a culture of safe, predictable and consistent service by empowering transportation team members to meet the needs of NS customers. He also leads the Performance Excellence (PE) group, which is responsible for establishing operating processes and measuring performance. The group partners closely with Operations leaders and their teams, including Transportation, Advanced Train Control, Engineering and Safety.
PE’s mission is standardizing NS’s needs to achieve its performance mission. The PE team does this through standardizing process. At the ballast line, the PE team works to integrate processes, regardless of craft, from multiple disciplines so NS can provide the best service and grow. PE is housed in the Operations department but touches many different teams throughout NS. The team is focused on safety first, followed by supporting operational excellence. The team cascades best practices throughout the network to increase information delivery speed.
PE also provides daily tactical support to departments throughout Operations. The team is working on standardizing best practices and getting standard operating procedures embedded throughout Operations, laying the bedrock for safety. The team is also focused on enhancing and refining technology to deliver reliable, resilient service. PE’s long-term goal are to position Norfolk Southern as the leader in continuous improvement, to standardize and then optimize, to be a constant learning organization, and to be proactive with adapting.
Appointed Vice President Transportation in 2023, Joe Gioe has 19 years of experience in the rail industry. He joined Norfolk Southern in 2021 as Assistant Vice President Network Optimization. Previously, he was at BNSF Railway, where he held roles of increasing responsibility in Transportation and Service Design. A third-generation railroader whose family roots go back to the Central Railroad of New Jersey and Conrail, Gioe began his career as a conductor and locomotive engineer. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from Colorado State University Global.
