In September 2002, the Mexican railway group Ferrocarril del Sureste entrusted the consulting firm Grupo Proveen S.A. with the mission of controlling the specific consumption of three diesel locomotives of 3,000 hp each.
In order to reduce uncertainties, these three locomotives worked on the same line, connecting Tierra Blanca to Coatzacoalcos (301 km long). In addition, the consumption of diesel fuel was directly related to the load transported and the distance travelled. Indeed, the consumption was measured in litres per 1,000 GTK (gross ton-kilometres). Finally, it was decided that the data would be collected during the months of October and November 2002.