RailStaff February 2018

FEBRUARY 2018 | ISSUE 243

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PLUS NEWS PEOPLE COMPANY FOCUS TRAINING EVENTS HEALTH & SAFETY CAREERS

LET'S TALK

RAILSTAFF.UK

WHY MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS Helping build the nation

Experts in recruitment and support services for infrastructure markets To find out more get in touch today.

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EVENT

WWW.RAILROADSHOW.COM NO BETTER TIME Never has it been a better time to be in the rail sector. There is a vast opportunity for suppliers to secure new contracts across both the existing network as well as within new large-scale infrastructure projects.

8 MARCH

THINGS CHANGE However, the industry is changing, new suppliers from other industries are entering the arena, procurement processes are changing and there is an increased focus on joint ventures.

All this is leading to confusion and missed opportunities.

ADDLESHAW GODDARD LONDON

“

The Procurement Roadshow has been designed to enhance your knowledge of the procurement process and ultimately help you to not only tender for more business, but win it!

“

WITH YOUR HOST:

Paul Hirst (Partner) Head of Transport, Addleshaw Goddard

WITH WORKSHOPS FROM

KEYNOTE: DfT, to be confirmed

Stephen Jones (Director) Nichols Group

Jo Dunn (Head of Procurement) (IP) Network Rail

Paul Cacchioli (Head of Claims and Contract Compliance) Network Rail

Matthew Riley (Procurement Business Partner) RSSB PLUS OTHER SPEAKERS FROM:

ORR, HS2, Costain, Resonate and Bid Management International

ON THE DAY… The day will be split in to two distinct sessions.

The first part of the day will be our standard summit format in which we have invited respected speakers to discuss key topics.

For the first time, we are thrilled to be offering workshops for the second part of the day. This will allow you to take away tangible learning to enable you to really put in to practice what you have learnt.

Bid Management International and leading procurement specialists, will conduct the workshops. They have a wealth of experience in civil engineering, power, rail, airports and building. They have worked with major contractors and clients such as Network Rail both in the UK and overseas.

The first session will be held at Addleshaw Goddard, London on the 8th March.

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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2018 | ISSUE 243 THE CARILLION EFFECT | 07

What does Carillion’s collapse say about the rail industry in 2018?

MUNRO TO CHAIR HIGH-SPEED COLLEGE | 10

Alison Munro CBE, the former CEO of HS2, is to chair the board of the National College for High Speed Rail.

RISING FROM THE ASHES | 14

Nottingham station staff acted quickly to protect passengers as a blaze ripped through the East Midlands station last month.

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THE COST OF HEALTH | 22

How the ORR is supporting the industry to understand its obligations around health and lessen the massive financial cost of ill health to the industry.

CROSSRAIL - REACHING NEW HEIGHTS | 24 Stewart Thorpe discovers how Crossrail is helping to set new wellbeing standards.

OPENING UP ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH | 30

Sharon Stevens (pictured cover) talks about how she is using her personal experience of mental illness to support her colleagues at Network Rail.

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T H G I L T O P

34 ALTH |n (TfL), E H L A o ENT sport for Lond l OOD aM G menta t Tran O h T lt UTE of mental he oady looks after the O R N O ort b head transp berts, Ray Ro ndon’s o L w ees. o sh employ explain 27,000 s it f o health

GEAR & TECH

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Have an innovative new product or service?

Get in touch to find out about next month's Gear & Tech special.

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Rail Asset Management Summit 28th February 2018, London

Secure your place at:

www.railsummits.com With millions of assets across the rail network, how the industry manages those assets directly correlates with the bottom line and a network that runs efficiently and safely.

SESSION 1: Moving from BIM to Asset Management SESSION 2: Managing rolling stock and associated assets SESSION 3: Infrastructure – how to manage so many diverse assets SESSION 4: How could assets be better managed in the future?

KEY SPEAKERS: Navil Shetty (Atkins) Institute of Asset Management Julian Schwarzenbach (DPA) Institute of Asset Management Matthew Justin (WSP) Technical Director Stirling Kimkeran (Omnicom Balfour Beatty) Head of Technical Services Patrick Bossert (Ernst & Young) Associate Partner Tim Flower (Network Rail) Head of Maintenance

Staff Contact us: Publisher:

Paul O’Connor

Editor:

Marc Johnson

Production and design:

Adam O’Connor

Matthew Stokes

News Editor:

Stewart Thorpe

Track Safety:

Colin Wheeler

Event Sales:

Jolene Price

Advertising:

Asif Ahmed

Craig Smith

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

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Our mental health conversation

Contact Email Addresses News: news@rail-media.com Pictures: pictures@rail-media.com Adverts: adverts@rail-media.com Subscriptions: manda@rail-media.com Contact Details RailStaff Publications, Rail Media House, Samson Road, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 3FP.

When we chose to focus on health and wellbeing for the February issue, it gave us the opportunity to address a topic that has a profound impact both on the individuals that work within the industry and the companies that employ them: mental health.

Tel: 01530 816 444 Fax: 01530 810 344 Web: www.railstaff.uk Email: hello@rail-media.com Printed by Pensord.

RailStaff is published by RailStaff Publications Limited A Rail Media Publication

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© All rights reserved. No part of this magazine can be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

A whole catalogue of issues fall within the health and wellbeing band. We could have chosen to focus on hand arm vibration or silica dust - without doubt two of the most immediate risks threatening the physical health of those building and maintaining the railway. We could also have chosen to highlight fatigue, musculoskeletal conditions or healthy eating - all valid concerns.

We picked mental health because it is something that affects around one in four people. Mental illness is indiscriminate. It affects

people of all ages and of all backgrounds.

It is safe to assume that everybody has had some encounter with mental illness. Some people will have struggled with depression and anxiety themselves, often without seeking professional health. Others will have looked on in concern as a friend or family member grapples with their demons.

While I was putting this month’s magazine together, I published a post on LinkedIn about our mental health feature, expecting perhaps a couple of likes and well-wishing comments. The response was emphatic and demonstrated the weight of feeling within the industry to see mental wellbeing treated as seriously as physical safety.

One of the people who got in touch after seeing the post was Matt Kent - a mental health consultant who spent several years working for Network Rail. Coincidentally, he had just filmed a conversation with Network Rail’s chief executive, Mark Carne, about what mental health means to him. He talked about the hidden impact mental illness has on performance and the role employers need to play in supporting their employees.

Leaders like Mark Carne can help to normalise the conversation around mental health and make more companies take responsibility for the mental health of their workforce, particularly when medical resources are under great strain around the country.

The reasons why someone may struggle with their mental health can be complex. It is a difficult topic to broach and not always easy to solve, but the first step is starting that conversation.

Ask someone how they are today. You’d be amazed how much you can help. marc@rail-media.com FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

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Autism awareness on the front line Great Western Railway (GWR) has provided bespoke autism awareness training to its 3,500 frontline staff.

The train operator has not previously included special requirements for those living with autism but has done so with the help of charity Anna Kennedy Online to help its staff better meet customers’ needs.

There are around 700,000 people in the UK living with autism, which causes distress and anxiety around such issues as processing information but also the need for structure and reassurance.

GWR said that this programme is improving how it delivers customer service, emphasising the need for a tailored and personalised service for all customers.

Charity founder Anna Kennedy said: “As a parent of two young men, travelling by train has always been a difficult experience due to my youngest son who has significant sensory issues.

“Whistles blowing, crowded and noisy stations, doors banging; it can be a bit full-on and cause him anxiety. By sharing information with all staff this will hopefully help create a less stressful journey.”

Tunnel vision

© Forgotten Relics

Campaigners are hoping a new social media video series will draw more public support to their plan to reopen a disused railway tunnel in West Yorkshire as a cycle path.

The Queensbury Tunnel Society has produced a collection of filmed interviews to promote the tunnel’s history and the benefits of the project.

Supporters have been campaigning since 2014 for the disused tunnel, which was built by the Great Northern Railway between 1874 and 1878 on the Halifax, Thornton & Keighley Railway, to be reopened as a cycle path.

Queensbury Tunnel opened in 1878 and closed to traffic in 1956. At almost 2.3 km, it would become the longest tunnel in the UK and one of the longest in Europe to host a shared-use path.

However, the society has been battling to save Queensbury Tunnel since Highways England’s Historical Railways Estate (HRE), which looks after the structure for the Department for Transport (DfT), announced plans to infill parts of the tunnel.

Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, says: “We’re working hard to promote our vision of the tunnel as a feat of Victorian engineering that still has a valuable role to play in the 21st century. These videos will help us, through the insight of friends who share the vision. It’s a complex story with lots of sub-plots, but we have to unravel them before it’s too late.

“There’s no going back if, in 20 years, we suddenly see the need for a cycle path connecting the Calder and Aire valleys. No amount of regret will shift all that concrete or the damage inflicted by time.”

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Austin Hughes, Anna Kennedy and GWR Operations Management Trainer Peter Dempsey.

Hydrogen gets the nod UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said he wants to see hydrogen trains on Britain’s rail network in the near future.

Grayling was responding to a question from Labour MP Paul Blomfield about the environmental implications of the Government’s decision to cancel the electrification of the Midland Main Line north of Kettering.

“I expect to see a transformation of technology on our railways over the coming years, with the introduction of different types of battery electric hybrid trains and hydrogen trains.

I see that as a priority,” said Grayling, speaking in the House of Commons on 18 January.

He added: “I want the first hydrogen train operating on our rail network in a very short period of time.”

The following week, Grayling was called before the Commons transport select committee to shed some light on the Government’s decision to cancel several major electrification projects.

He told the committee that the progress made with bi-mode and hydrogen technology made the case for electrification less attractive.

Critics would argue that bimode trains aren’t comparable to electrification as they cost more to maintain and don’t offer the same environmental benefits.

What is hydrail?

Alstom is currently trialling its hydrail passenger train technology in Germany, attracting interest from all around the world.

It works by exposing hydrogen to oxygen to produce electrical energy. This then powers the electrical traction drive and stores any excess energy in lithiumion batteries. The only direct emissions from the train are steam and condensed water.

Alstom’s solution is based on its Coradia Lint DMU. Alstom says its hydrogen-powered iLint is capable of matching the performance of regular regional trains.

The two-car prototype currently being tested has a top speed of 140km/h and a range of up to 800km.

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The Carillion effect

Several weeks on from the original announcement, the story of Carillion’s collapse and its reverberations around the industry continue to be felt.

On 15 January, the High Court appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the Official Receiver to oversee the liquidation of Carillion. The company entered compulsory liquidation after failing to secure the funding it needed for its turnaround plan.

Prior to its demise, Carillion was the second largest supplier to Network Rail, receiving 5.1 per cent of Network Rail’s total spend in 2016-17.

Since then, there has been a series of announcements and statements indicating just how far and wide Carillion’s fall is being felt.

In the week following the announcement, numerous posts appeared on LinkedIn from Carillion employees, demonstrating the human impact of the Carillion story. Despite everything, many of the messages expressed pride in their work at Carillion and thanked colleagues for their support.

There have been some glimmers of good

news for Carillion’s workforce. Network Rail has committed to paying Carillion staff working on its projects until at least midApril. Kier has agreed to take 150 workers, including seven apprentices, through its joint venture with Carillion on HS2 and Cleshar, which has taken over the London Overground East London Line maintenance contract, has employed Carillion’s maintenance staff on their existing terms and conditions.

Questions still remain over pay and pensions after it revealed that there was a sizeable deficit in Carillion's pension scheme. On 2 February, PwC said it had successfully found new employment for 919 staff members, although more than 800 employees have been made redundant so far.

The supply chain is also seeking clarity.

Network Rail has confirmed that it will pay Carillion’s suppliers for work carried out over Christmas up to the start of the liquidation proceedings. Several banking groups have set up lending packages worth a total of £200 million to support SMEs, but there is still uncertainty for many suppliers. continued on page 8...

Big wins for Greater Anglia recruitment team The recruitment team at Greater Anglia beat off blue chip competition to win at two national award events.

Greater Anglia won the Gold award for Onboarding Programme of the Year at The Learning Awards 2018 and were awarded Best Candidate Experience at the RAD Awards.

Based in Stratford, the Greater Anglia recruitment team saw off competition from the likes of Shell and Barclays.

Urmish Patel, head of resourcing at Greater Anglia, said: “We are very pleased that our Resourcing team has been recognised for its excellent work. Over the past 12 months they have worked to create a new scheme to welcome new recruits.

“Our on-boarding programme is concerned with getting the right people into the right jobs, and making sure our new recruits have everything they need to start work. We have more than 3,000 employees in the UK. The rail industry is a great place to work and offers many opportunities to progress.

“In 2017, more than 12,000 people applied to work at Greater Anglia so it’s important that the recruitment process is as seamless as possible. I would like to congratulate the team for their continued hard work.”

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continued from page 7...

The Federation of Small Businesses said the fall of Carillion should start a conversation around payment terms and supply chain resilience. The Rail Industry Association (RIA) said it was currently working to support rail industry suppliers caught up in the fallout.

“The main concern for the Railway Industry Association (RIA) is ensuring rail staff, skills and capabilities are not lost, that there is no break in the contracts currently underway, and that the many threatened SMEs working on projects can survive and find new work. We hope that all partners involved will be able to work together to minimise redundancies, disruption to the pipeline of rail projects and loss of valuable, skilled workers, and specialist companies.

“We would also like to reassure those concerned about the ability of the rail supply chain to deliver future projects. The UK rail supply sector is highly dynamic and will

come together to ensure these projects are delivered. We are already starting to see various organisations involved in Carillion schemes putting plans in place to ensure the smooth transition of workloads. This is very welcome and, along with government support, will ensure rail suppliers continue to deliver for the UK.”

History of Carillion

The Carillion name first appeared in 1999 when Tarmac’s construction and services operations were separated from the company’s quarrying and road-surfacing business.

Carillion expanded in the latter 2000s, acquiring Mowlem in 2006 and McAlpine in 2008.

McAlpine, among other things, built the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Major projects delivered by Carillion include building the Tate Modern in London, the Copenhagen Metro and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link into St Pancras station. Tarmac had been part of the Anglo-French consortium that built the Channel Tunnel itself.

SVR hits fund target Severn Valley Railway (SVR) has raised the £10,000 it needed to repair two vandalised heritage carriages just a couple of weeks after launching its fundraising bid.

Two of the heritage operator’s carriages were vandalised over the Christmas period while the railway was closed to passengers.

A final donation of £1,000 from the Worcestershire Ambassadors

took the fundraising effort over its £10,000 target.

Work to restore the carriages is now underway.

The Charitable Trust’s director, Shelagh Paterson, said: “The speed and generosity of the response we’ve received shows us just how shocked people were when the news of this awful incident broke. It also shows the depth of their passion for the Severn Valley Railway, and everything it stands for.”

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Infrarail receives CPD certification Delegates attending Infrarail 2018 will be able to claim points towards their Continuing Professional Development (CPD), it has been announced.

The CPD Certification Service has certified Infrarail’s supporting programme of events, allowing content at the exhibition to count towards individuals’ CPD records. The CPD Certification Service is the independent CPD accreditation centre working across all sectors, disciplines and further learning applications.

Visitors who attend the exhibition’s educational programme, including keynote speeches, project updates and technical seminars, will be provided with the Certification of Continuing Professional Development, with the recorded number of CPD hours obtained.

This can then be used by attendees and their professional bodies towards annual CPD obligations.

Kirsten Whitehouse, exhibition manager for Infrarail, said: “It is with great excitement that I can confirm this year’s Infrarail conference programme as the first ever to be CPD-certified, meaning anyone attending any of the conference, seminar and presentation sessions can put their time spent towards their CPD record of attendance.

“This is a huge development for Infrarail and is further evidence of the educational and professional benefits of attending this year’s show. It also highlights the importance of Infrarail, not just as a networking event, but also a place where industry professionals can meet to share knowledge, experience and

discussion with some of rail’s most respected figures, while using the time spent towards their career development.”

Infrarail 2018 is the 12th edition of the biennial trade exhibition and takes place at London’s ExCeL from 1 to 3 May. It will showcase every aspect of railway infrastructure technology and expertise, attracting visiting managers, engineers and buyers at the highest level.

Kirsten added: “We will be hosting a full programme of events including keynote speeches, industry briefings, technical seminars, and of course, our new Knowledge Hub with a selection of discussion forums and project updates. With all of these features now CPD-approved there is even more incentive for industry professionals to attend. Infrarail 2018 will be the definitive rail infrastructure event of the year - providing a platform for networking, dealmaking, educating and inspiring those with an interest in the industry.”

Earlier this month, the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, was confirmed as one of six keynote speakers at this year’s event. David Waboso, managing director of Digital Railway at Network Rail, and Paul Griffiths, managing director of Phase 2 of HS2, have also just been confirmed, with three other speakers to be announced shortly.

For more information and to secure your free place at the show today register online at www.infrarail.com and follow the link to the online registration form.

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Join us today www.rmt.org.uk

FREEPHONE 0800 376 3706

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Franks goes down under

Munro to chair high-speed college

Irish Rail’s chief executive, David Franks, has made the move from Dublin to Sydney to head up Keolis Downer.

Alison Munro CBE, the former CEO of HS2, is to chair the board of the National College for High Speed Rail.

Franks has more than 45 years’ experience in the public transport sector, notably leading the Keolis/ SNCF bid for the West Coast InterCity franchise before joining Irish Rail in 2013.

Reflecting on his time at the helm of Ireland’s national rail operator, David said: “I have had a great but very challenging time in Ireland.

“The aftermath of the Celtic Tiger period led to a collapse in passenger revenues coupled with the largest reduction in subsidy of any state body.

Despite this we have found many innovative ways to reduce costs whilst improving performance at the same time.

“In the five years I have

Currently an advisor to HS2, Alison was appointed as the chief executive of HS2 in 2009 and was with the organisation until August 2017.

Munro will head up a board of 13 industry professionals, including current HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston and senior figures from VolkerWessels UK, Hitachi, Atkins, Rhomberg Sersa, Arup and L.B. Foster.

Two seats on the board are being reserved for staff and student members.

Alison Munro said: “This is an incredibly exciting appointment.

Having spent most of my professional career developing British infrastructure, I am tremendously excited about developing the skills and careers of the people who build the next generation of British infrastructure.

“It’s a pleasure to have this opportunity to work with Clair Mowbray and the team on such an ambitious and inspiring project.

been here, revenue growth has returned and the funding requirements for the rail network have been clearly understood by government and the regulator, setting a secure path for the future.”

Franks is now due to take up his new role in charge of Keolis Downer’s passenger transport activities in Australia and New Zealand.

He added: “I’m really looking forward to helping the company’s existing businesses to flourish and to secure growth opportunities as they arise.”

Mark Carne announces retirement Network Rail has begun its search for a new chief executive after Mark Carne informed the board of his plans to step down later this year.

Chairman Sir Peter Hendy will lead the hunt to appoint a new chief executive before the start of CP6, which will begin in April 2019.

Announcing his retirement on 6 February, Mark said it has been a privilege to lead the organisation through a period of change as it has been reclassified into the public sector.

Mark Carne joined Network Rail in January 2014. He has been credited with leading a transformational change in Network Rail while delivering some of the biggest projects in the history of the company, such as redevelopments of London Bridge station and Birmingham New Street station.

Since he took over in 2014, Mark has overseen a devolution

We’re looking forward to making a significant difference to Britain’s railway sector, by boosting skills and preparing the future workforce for major infrastructure projects including HS2 and beyond.”

Clair Mowbray, chief executive of the National College for High Speed Rail, said: “Having Alison join our board is a real coup for the college. Her experience from the early days of establishing HS2 to present will be highly valuable in developing the college’s strategic direction for the years to come.

“She is an exceptional role model for the rail and infrastructure sectors and I’m sure that with her counsel and direction, the college will be on track to make a tangible and positive difference to this sector.”

Kent lands exec role of Network Rail to the routes, the introduction of the Digital Railway programme and has been a vocal proponent of safety reform within the industry.

Sir Peter Hendy applauded Mark for ‘steadying the ship’ during the challenging transition.

Speaking on behalf of the board, he added: “...[Mark] has been the architect behind the huge positive changes in the company, driving transformation, devolution and efficiency, with an emphasis on equality and diversity too.

Mark Carne added: “I will leave knowing that the railway is in good hands and has a great plan for the future.”

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Matt Kent has been appointed as the new director of operations for Siemens Rail Automation, having joined the company as an apprentice 25 years ago.

Reporting directly to managing director Rob Morris, Matt will join the company’s Executive team.

Matt’s career at Siemens began in 1993 as an apprentice.

He has since held roles in design, bid and project management.

Most recently, he was Rail Automation’s operations director, West.

Rob Morris said: “In this ‘Year of Engineering’, Matt’s career path is a shining example of how hard work, patience, resilience and effective succession planning can contribute to progression

from apprenticeship through to senior level.

“Matt not only brings a wealth of experience to this role, but also a drive and determination to continue to safely and successfully deliver projects that fully meet our customers’ requirements. With another busy year of project delivery ahead of us, I know that Matt’s knowledge of the industry, our business and our customers will enable him to meet this challenge with passion and rigour.”

Swapping rail for sail Debbie Francis, the managing director of Direct Rail Services (DRS), has travelled to Australia to take part in a round-theworld yacht race.

Francis, who has no previous sailing experience, is taking on the Asia-Pacific Leg of the Clipper Race challenge aboard the Liverpool 2018 yacht to raise money for Unicef.

From Australia’s east coast, Debbie will travel north to China, first stopping off at Sanya before continuing to Qingdao. The full course covers 40,000 nautical miles.

Debbie Francis said: “I have undertaken a few adventures during the last 10 years and was ready for a new challenge when I spotted the Clipper Race being advertised on the London Underground.

“As soon as I read about it, I knew. I have never sailed in my life and this looked both physically and mentally demanding... Right up my street!”

Adding: “I’ve challenged myself through many adventures over the last 12 years and it has given me a confidence I can’t

explain. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone enables personal growth and can make you a much stronger person.

I’ve fundraised in the past for children’s charities and for the Clipper challenge I am fundraising for Unicef.”

Debbie will be out of the office until 21 March. In her absence, Chris Connelly is taking up the role of interim managing director and Beverley Stothart will cover Chris’ role as commercial and business development director.

You can donate by visiting Debbie’s fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ debsleg5

Eurostar appoints new chief executive officer The boss of Yodel, Mike Cooper, has been named as the new CEO of Eurostar.

Mike will succeed Nicolas Petrovic, who leaves to become CEO of Siemens France, on 12 March, 2018.

Eurostar shareholders thanked Nicolas Petrovic for his “valued guidance and contribution” during his tenure, which has seen Eurostar introduce a new fleet of trains and extend its reach to new destinations.

Eurostar chair Clare Hollingsworth said: “We are delighted that Mike will be joining Eurostar as CEO as he brings a wealth of expertise to our business.

“With his strong track record of leading a major European transport business across multiple countries and his extensive experience of key consumer travel brands he is perfectly placed to lead the company into its next phase of growth.”

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SYSTRA appoints ops director for Europe and UK Tony Kearns, formerly strategy and operations director at WSP, has joined SYSTRA, taking on the dual role of operations director for its Northern Europe region and UK Engineering.

Tony brings more than 25 years of experience to his new role at SYSTRA, which will see him delivering on key projects such as HS2 and Crossrail, Scandinavian light rail transit (LRT) projects and the Danish national electrification programme.

Starting his career at British Rail in 1992, Tony went on to set up his own rail engineering business which he successfully sold after 12 years.

Tony joins SYSTRA from WSP where he worked for almost five years, first as strategy and operations director, Rail, Transit & Aviation with Parsons Brinckerhoff and then, following its acquisition by WSP, as operations director, Rail & Transit. Prior to this, he was at AECOM for almost three years, first as heavy rail sector director, Transportation, then as deputy rail sector director, Transportation.

“I always enjoyed transport projects and their unique challenges,” said Tony. “But the opportunity at SYSTRA made me specifically think: that’s the position I really want to be in, so that’s my next step.

As well as SYSTRA having a fantastic reputation for technical excellence, it has a robust strategy for growth that really appealed to me.”

Tony has spent his first few weeks travelling between SYSTRA’s international offices as he gets to grips with the company’s range of projects and capabilities. He describes the breadth and depth of expertise that SYSTRA possesses, along with its engineering footprint, technical strength and understanding of resource

management as “highly impressive”.

As well as leading a number of areas, including operations, technical and engineering, project controls, project staffing, and health, safety and security, a crucial part of Tony’s role is resource management across the Northern Europe region.

In the UK, his remit will be to grow SYSTRA’s comprehensive engineering capability to support the delivery of its projects and promote knowledge transfer to the UK of new competences in the field of high-speed rail and rail systems.

SYSTRA’s strategic ambition is to accelerate growth in Northern Europe. Having run and grown his own business, Tony is excited by the challenge in operational delivery that comes with the drive to expand.

“It’s about our people and their expertise,” he said. “I want to develop our technical specialists and make sure our clients reap the benefits of their capabilities.”

Tony is optimistic about the transport sector as a whole.

“Governments across Europe are investing in seamless journeys. Getting from A to B typically involves several modes of transport, such as walking, cycling or driving to the train station. It is essential to plan for and provide the type of connected journeys that consumers want. Investment in new transport technology is vital for economic prosperity across and between nations.”

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The preparations are almost over for a team of cyclists taking on the Ride India 2018 challenge.

Between 2-11 March, the riders will cover 450 km from Delhi to Jaipur in aid of Railway Children.

The six-day ride will take in India’s Golden Triangle and a visit to the Taj Mahal.

As well as taking part in the challenge, participants will get the chance to see how the money raised helps to save the lives of street children across India. There will be visits to a Railway Children shelter for children who have run away and one of the charity’s pioneering Child Friendly Stations, which are making railways safer for children forced to survive on the streets.

The event is being sponsored

by Thales. David Palmer, head of Main Line Rail UK at Thales, will also take part in the challenge.

Katie Mason, events manager at Railway Children, said: “Support from Thales will give Railway Children the opportunity to make the Ride India Challenge even more successful and help us reach more children and change more lives in India, as well as in Africa and the UK. “Every mile cycled in support of Railway Children will fund vital projects to help children at risk on the streets.”

Shaun Jones, vice president of the transport business for Thales in the UK, added: “We are thrilled to be sponsors of Ride India 2018.

“Thales has long been a

Ride on

Information about Ride India 2018 is available at: www.railwaychildren.org.uk/rideindia. To find out more contact Katie Mason on 01270 757596 | k.mason@railwaychildren.org.uk supporter of the charity Railway Children and the numerous events it has developed to raise vital funds that change the lives

of children living on the streets and on the railways. Good luck to everyone involved in the 2018 ride.”

HS2 releases Colne Valley designs Designs for what will be one of the longest viaducts in the UK have been presented by HS2.

Take two for Exeter Olds View Great Western Railway (GWR) has signed a contract with Hochtief to build a new maintenance depot in Exeter.

Work is due to start in the spring and the new depot is expected to open in summer 2019.

The new £40 million facility will expand GWR’s existing Exeter Olds View depot next to Exeter St. Davids station to accommodate the operator’s growing fleet in Devon and Cornwall.

GWR’s regional development manager west, Matt Barnes, said: “With brand new electric trains in operation on suburban London services and bi-mode Intercity Express Trains coming to the mainline in Devon and Cornwall this summer, this depot will allow us to expand the regional train fleet at Exeter - providing more carriages, and more frequent services to the area.”

Hochtief’s managing director, Lawrence Jackson, said: “Hochtief (UK) is a major supplier of rail infrastructure in the Western region and is delighted to be supporting GWR in delivering the new depot at Exeter Olds View.

“Our business will work in collaboration with the project team to provide an essential part of rail fleet improvements.

“The project will provide local employment and training through apprenticeships to provide a legacy from the construction work and the project team will liaise with local schools and colleges to inspire the next generation of construction workers.”

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The Colne Valley viaduct will be one of the biggest structures on the Phase One route between London and Birmingham.

Concept graphics have been produced by architects Martin Knight in consultation with the Colne Valley Regional Park Panel and the HS2 Independent Design Panel.

Further design work still needs to be carried out by the contractor, Align, before the design can be finalised.

The viaduct concept document includes various options for the new structure. A public consultation for these designs is expected to take place this spring.

HS2 has said a lot of work has

gone into creating something which fits in with the landscape and minimises impact on the surrounding environment.

HS2's programme director, Mike Hickson, added: “The Colne Valley viaduct will be one of the longest viaducts in the UK, and one of HS2’s best-known structures.

“We are pleased and grateful for the work done by Martin Knight Architects, the Colne Valley Regional Park Panel and the HS2 Independent Design Panel to produce this potential scheme design.

“We have every confidence that our contractor, Align, will continue this collaborative approach and engagement, as they now develop their own scheme and then detailed design of this significant structure.”

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NEWS

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Global Rail Construction Limited (GRCL) has opened an office in Derby to head up its new labour supply arm.

The new office will be used to meet external client demands for labour, including safety critical personnel, as well as supporting GRCL’s own current and future rail projects in the Midlands and the North.

The company has assembled an experienced and committed management team to run this new labour division.

GRCL said the new business arm is well placed to support the company’s work on some of the UK’s biggest rail infrastructure projects.

GRCL holds a full principal contractors licence and is a leading UK provider of design and build services to clients in the rail and transportation sector. With its head office in Hertfordshire, the company undertakes projects throughout the UK; the opening of the new midlands hub, on 3 April 2017, allows project managers direct coverage of contracts across this region of the country. It is also a milestone for the company due to the city of Derby’s significance to the rail industry.

Derby goes Global

Nottingham station rises from the ashes East Midlands Trains staff at Nottingham acted quickly to evacuate passengers when a fire broke out at the station last month.

The Roundhouse at Derby is the world’s first and oldest surviving railway roundhouse.

It was originally developed in 1839 by four rival rail companies, including North Midland Railway (NMR) for whom George Stephenson and his son Robert were engineers.

The Midland Railway became one of the country’s prominent railway companies with lines throughout Derbyshire, up to Carlisle in the North (including the country’s highest station at Dent) and to the south with its London terminus at spectacular St Pancras.

From 1873, the Midland Railway Locomotive Works, known locally as “The Loco”, became a major manufacturer of locomotives and rolling stock units. When the railways were nationalised in 1947, the Derby works became part of the BR Workshops.

GRCL’s new office in Derby is a signal of its growth and success across its rail infrastructure sectors of operation, which encompass civil and structural engineering, E&P, signalling and building works – as well as its new labour supply arm.

The company has a strong track record of achievements across the country, including in the Midlands where GRCL helped deliver the East Notts Resignalling project, which was completed at the end of 2016.

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General manager Sarah Turner, who was boarding a train to London at the station on the morning of the blaze, praised the professionalism of her colleagues and members of the emergency services.

Staff began evacuating passengers from the station at around 6.30 on 12 January.

Emergency services were quickly on the scene and, at its height, 60 firefighters were tackling the fire.

The fire started in the station’s public toilets and the police investigation is ongoing.

Although there was some significant damage to the station’s new southern concourse, no one was hurt and the majority of the Grade two-listed station escaped unscathed, including heritage features that were carefully restored as part of a major refurbishment programme a few years ago.

The station resumed with a near normal service just 48 hours later. A week on from the fire, IT technicians restored comms equipment damaged by the fire, including the equipment which runs the passenger information screens.

East Midlands Trains is currently planning © Railway Heritage Trust

© BTP

how it is going to deliver the main repair work.

Since the fire, staff from across the business have been volunteering to help.

Sarah said she “couldn’t praise the staff enough” for their actions during what was a very challenging morning. Station staff at Nottingham carry out fire alarm tests every week and conduct fire drills on a weekly basis.

The operator’s emergency procedures had also just been reviewed.

“I had a follow-up meeting with the fire service and they praised our service delivery team, our front line team, for the efficiency with which they evacuated the station,” said Sarah.

She added: “It is quite an emotional thing for them but how they’ve responded is fantastic…

All of our team have really pulled together.”

As a thankyou, East Midlands Trains is now looking at naming one of its trains in recognition of Nottingham’s emergency services. © Railway Heritage Trust

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NEWS

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

Hero Wally remembered

Heroic train driver Wallace ‘Wally’ Oakes made the selfless decision to remain onboard a burning steam locomotive in 1965, saving hundreds of lives with his actions.

The Firth of Forth, pulling a passenger train from Euston to Carlisle, had set off from Crewe station when a severe blowback occurred and filled the cabin with smoke and flames.

Despite suffering severe burns and with the engine ablaze, Wallace stayed on the footplate to bring the train to a halt and prevent a serious accident.

His bravery and quick thinking saved the lives of hundreds of passengers on the West Coast main line, but he suffered dearly as a result and later died after receiving 80 per cent burns.

Wallace’s fireman, Gwilym Roberts, was also badly injured but survived to tell the tale. His first-hand account of Wallace’s heroism led to the train driver being posthumously awarded the George Cross - the highest civilian honour. He is believed to be one of only six railway workers to have received the honour.

Wallace’s medal - and his tale is part of a new exhibition at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.

Titled Highlights, the exhibition brings together a number of significant items from NRM’s collection that are rarely seen by visitors - including Wallace’s medal, which was recently bought for £60,000 at auction.

Head curator Andrew McLean said: “Although the 260

£8m bogie service centre for Lincoln Siemens has revealed plans to open a bogie service centre in Lincoln.

The £8 million investment will see up to 40 skilled rail technician roles created by the end of 2019 and enable Siemens to improve its predictable train maintenance service for customers.

The centre will initially focus on servicing

locomotives and vehicles are the most well-known part of our collection, they make up less than 0.5 per cent of the total, which includes everything from paintings, ceramics, signage and signal boxes to coins, furniture, photographs and rare books.

“This exhibition is intended to give people the opportunity to see a different side of the collection and to use paintings and objects to tell new stories about why the railways matter to all of us. Wallace Oakes’s medal, for example, remembers an act of great sacrifice that saved

bogies and wheelsets for the latest Siemens trains operating in the UK, including Velaro Eurostar e320 high-speed trains and Desiro City trains.

Construction work is already underway at the site - an existing Siemens facility - which is expected to be operational by June 2018.

Johannes Emmelheinz, head of customer services for Siemens’ rolling stock business, said: “The new UK facility joins our global network of 10 Siemens Rail service centres, which are pioneering the most advanced rail servicing techniques using digital technologies.

“This investment confirms the importance of the UK market to our global rail service

many lives, but it also tells us just how dangerous working on the railways was in the age of steam.”

The exhibition, which has been made possible thanks to £30,000 from both the Friends of NRM and the Science Museum Group, is situated on a balcony overlooking the museum’s Great Hall and includes paintings, medals, handcrafted models and other historically significant artefacts.

Highlights is now open during the National Railway Museum’s hours of 10am to 5pm and is free to enter.

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18

TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

A SAFER 2018 REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISORY SUPPORT FOR THOSE DOING THE WORK IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR A SAFER 2018

M

echanical failures, imperfect rules and regulations are not the primary cause of most accidents and incidents. But the tragedy of Croydon has highlighted the need for dedicated tramway safety regulation. People making mistakes deliberately or unintentionally are often the reason why accidents happen. We speak of human factors, and in India the blunt reference is to “human negligence”. Understandably fatigue and tiredness are often involved.

Croydon Tram report – a Tramways Safety Board

The setting up of a dedicated safety body for UK Tramways and a review of how our trams are regulated are at the heart of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s (RAIB) report’s 15 recommendations. Once this has been done the new organisation should be able to guide tram operators and owners

to make necessary improvements to tram operators’ safety management systems and arrangements.

A proposal to set up a Tram Standards Board was considered some time ago but the Department for Transport were not prepared to fund it. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) are now revisiting the idea in the light of the recommendation for a dedicated UK Tramways Safety Board. Funding could be found by a licensing scheme and changes could be required to the current legislation.

Recommended actions

A meeting has been held and a steering group set up as a “Shadow Board”. This is seen as the best way to secure commitment to the actions detailed in the 15 report recommendations.

The Board will be independent of each operator and will focus on improving safety management systems and carrying out system risk analyses. Led by the ORR, the involvement of relevant industry professional engineering organisations has been discussed.

Colin Wheeler.

Actions on Croydon will be steered towards the adoption of both automatic braking, systems to monitor driver alertness and to combat over-speeding. Also consideration is being given to flashing speed sign systems similar to those used on roads activated as vehicles approach.

The driving alertness/vigilance proposals have already been discussed with the ASLEF trade’s union and are agreed in principle. Long tunnel lighting and curve indicating chevrons are also a possibility. Ian Prosser, ORR’s chief inspector, told me that “the intention of all concerned is to take the actions necessary to ensure that Croydon does not happen again.”

Meanwhile both the ORR’s investigation and that of the police continue. The former includes reviewing tram crashworthiness design (including overturning) and in particular the strength/design of their doors and windows.

MPV runs away in Scotland!

The RAIB’s first report of 2018 was published on 11 January. It is the result of their investigation into a maintenance train runaway that occurred at 4:25 am on the morning of Tuesday 17 October 2017 just north of Markinch station.

The train, a multipurpose vehicle (MPV) consisted of two flat coupled units with a driving cab at both ends, but only the master vehicle was powered. These vehicles can be fitted with modules making them useful for weed spraying and de-icing etc. At the time of the runaway the RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

TRACK SAFETY

19

8 unit was fitted with water jetting and adhesion modifier spreading equipment and was being used to clear leaf debris and improve wheel/rail adhesion.

All braking had been lost!

At just before midnight on 16 October the MPV had left Slateford Depot and was treating the lines to Tweedbank, Dumferline and Kirkcaldy before passing through Markinch to Ladybank. By 4:25 am it was 1,400 yards north of Markinch station when the driver saw the outline of a tree top across the line ahead of him.

The unit was travelling at 43 mph so he pushed the emergency brake plunger and, together with the rail-head treatment operator dived onto the floor beneath the control consul!

The report says that the MPV speed would not have reduced significantly by the time they hit the tree. Although impact stopped the unit momentarily it then set off again backwards!

The driver tried the emergency plunger in the other cab but this had no effect. He then made an

Braking disabled

emergency call to the Edinburgh signaller telling him that after hitting a tree “all braking had been lost and they were rolling backwards out of control”.

Consequently the signaller stopped a northbound train of empty coaching stock which was still south of the Forth Bridge some 24 miles from Markinch.

Back and forth eight times The runaway continued to pick up speed and, fearing a derailment or even a collision with another train the driver and operator decided to jump off into the darkness and onto the track side.

RAIB calculated that the train was travelling at about 20 mph when they leapt off. Neither was seriously injured and they walked to Signal ER607 and contacted the signaller who arranged for them to be met by an ambulance at Markinch Station about a mile away. He then called them back to warn them that their train had

changed direction again and they should keep clear of the tracks as it could be coming back towards them!

The unit ran south for 4.7 miles reaching a speed of 43 mph before stopping on the long uphill gradient south of Thornton North Junction. By the time it finally came to rest at the low-point of Thornton North Junction the train had made eight back and forth movements in just 39 minutes!

The air braking arrangement for the MPV was first approved in 1999. As may be seen in the diagram the main reservoir pipe and brake pipes are linked with flexible hoses between the vehicles. Pressure is maintained by the compressor and the emergency brakes are applied by venting to the atmosphere.

The tree which was growing outside of Network Rail’s boundary fell at a time when the wind was gusting at up to 49 mph; speed restrictions are not usually applied at speeds of less than 50 mph.

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20

TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

The brake distributor release mechanism was operated when all three vehicle connecting brake pipes were separated as the train ran into the tree debris. The ORR is currently monitoring improved risk assessment processes for plant. The vulnerability of the brake distribution mechanism to interference by on track obstructions is evident.

LOWS operator failed to see the train!

Network Rail’s Safety Central website includes a bulletin describing a near miss whilst using a Look Out Warning System (LOWS). It occurred on 29 September last year but the bulletin was issued in November.

A survey began at 7:30 am for a High Output track renewal at Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway with red zone working using LOWS operating advance lookouts on both Up and Down lines plus a Site Lookout. At 1010 am the Site Lookout became aware of a freight train approaching on the Up Line having heard it and felt vibrations from it.

No warning was received from the relevant LOWS operator. The group moved to a place of safety in response to the Site Lookout’s warning. The Controller of Site Safety (COSS) called the LOWS Operator who stated that he had not seen the train! The bulletin describes the incident as a near miss.

Telephone briefing?

Another item of interest on Safety Central also appeared for the first time last November.

On 3 January last year at just two minutes after midnight a Kubota Road Rail Vehicle was placed on an open to traffic goods line during a T3 possession of the line at Rockery Bridge between Crewe and Sandbach.

The listings in the Sectional Appendix describe the main lines as “Wilmslows” and the goods lines as the “Manchester Independents” – but nearer to Crewe their name changes and

© Shutterstock.com

they are known simply as “the Manchester’s”.

The possessions in the area are scheduled cyclically, but on that date only the main lines were blocked.

The report advises that the Engineering Supervisor (ES) came from a “contingent labour organisation” before going on to criticise the use of over the telephone briefing which “compromised clarity and restricted the chance to check understanding, including signed acceptance of the worksite details”.

I wonder who was responsible for the work planning that resulted in over the telephone briefing?

An “untimely crossing of the tracks”

January was not the best of months for railways in South Africa either! At around 9:00 am on Thursday 4 January near Kroonstad in South Africa a passenger train carrying around 700 people “smashed into a truck at a level crossing” pictured below.

The train derailed and caught fire. According to reports 21 people were killed and 268 injured. The train was travelling from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg when the truck “made an untimely crossing of the tracks and was hit by the train travelling at speed”.

The crossing is between Hennenman and Kroonstad about 200 km south west of Johannesburg. The power generator coach behind the locomotive was the first to catch fire.

The driver of the truck was arrested. © RSR

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Buffer stops did their job

January 2018 was not a good month for the Government of New South Wales in Australia either. They, together with Sydney Trains and the Drivers Union were “locked into a pay dispute with a strike planned for January 29th.

They also began the year with a train accident.

At around 10 am on the morning of Monday 22 January the Waratah train ran into the buffers at Richmond Station which is northwest of Sydney. Seventeen ambulances and three rescue helicopters responded to emergency calls. Early reports indicated that 16 people were injured, some with broken bones but that there were no fatalities.

New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance said that the cause would be investigated by their Office of National Rail Safety Regulator. He added that “the buffer stops had done their job”.

Indian Priorities

It is easy to become disheartened by reading the details of accidents and incidents, not least by the often repetitive nature of the causes. But there is always someone whose experience leaves them accepting a status quo which is significantly worse than ours.

The Times of India recently reported on an Indian Railways study of train accidents. It found that the largest number of derailments occurred at crossings due to “human negligence (railway staff)”. It comments that “railway safety is given prominence in the railway budget every year but with no results”.

Data from the Indian National Crime Record Bureau shows that in 2014, no fewer than 27,581 people died in railway related accidents with the leading causes being falling from trains, train collisions, and collisions with people on the tracks. In 2016, the derailment of the IndorePatna Express alone resulted in almost 150 fatalities pictured above.

On 8 January the Chairman of India’s Railway Board commented that in the current financial year train accidents had reduced by 40-45 percent adding that his priorities were electrification, train food and cleanliness.

However, I suggest that the biggest challenge we now face is how (given the sophisticated organisations we now have) can we better listen to, understand and gain a dedicated commitment from the people we manage. The concept of viewing supervision, and management as the provision of support for those doing the real work is one I support.

22

HEALTH & WELLBEING

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

THE COST OF H

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RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

HEALTH I

ll health costs the UK rail industry around £790 million a year. It is a staggering figure which demonstrates why health and wellbeing matters as much to the finance director as it does to those at risk on the front line.

“Figures like that develop a great deal of focus on ill health,” said Jen Ablitt (pictured), deputy director of strategy and policy at the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

There are plenty of statistics available that illustrate why improving the health of their workforce should be a priority for railway companies. More than £300 million a year is lost through illness-related absenteeism and the sickness absence rate is 3.9 per cent in the rail sector - more than double the 1.8 per cent rate reported across the private sector as a whole.

Illness costs railway employers between £2.5 and £5 million a year, excluding cancers, but the true cost is likely to be higher, said Jen, who joined the ORR in 2006.

Preventing serious injury is understandably at the heart of health and safety policies, but across the industry’s workforce there are five times more lost days recorded through health issues than there are through safety incidents.

For every £13 lost to sickness absence only £1 is invested in improving staff health within the rail industry, highlighting the disparity between the cost of ill health and the support currently offered by businesses.

There is also the financial and reputational cost of when things go wrong. A list of improvement notices issued by the ORR in recent years includes failures to protect staff from risks relating to silica dust, vibration and manual handling.

While one of its central functions is to enforce health and safety legislation, the ORR focuses a lot of its resources into helping to educate and support the industry. Jen explained how the ORR balances both being a friend of the industry and its teacher.

The industry is demonstrating more and more its understanding and commitment to health and safety, said Jen: “We’re looking to see when the timing is right for us to shift from a leading role to a more supportive role and, yes, I think that will happen.“

EDUCATION Through its quarterly occupational health updates, the ORR aims to highlight worthwhile initiatives and share best practice. The document shares the ORR’s health priorities and expectations, but it also promotes wider health initiatives, including the HSE’s ‘Go Home Healthy’ campaign, IOSH’s ‘No Time to Lose’ occupational cancer campaign and Mates in Mind - a mental health support initiative aimed at the construction industry.

“There has been a remarkable growth and awarenesss in the importance of health,” said Jen, who believes this is in part through ORR’s campaigning.

“We’re here to support and

HEALTH & WELLBEING

23

ill health costs the rail industry £790 million each year

educate the sector, provide guidance and come up with practical plans.”

GOING FORWARD The same issues that have prompted debate for the past few years are likely to set the agenda again in 2018. Musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory conditions remain key concerns.

The figures around handarm vibration syndrome (HAVS) continue to dwarf everything else, said Jen. She feels there needs to be a rethink in how this risk is managed, moving the focus away from job rotation to look at better job design and better equipment and maintenance.

Jen believes fatigue is another issue where the whole picture is not always considered. The concern is usually focused on fatigue and the heightened risk of serious accidents, but the health implications for individuals should also be examined.

In some areas, the ORR feels the industry is making positive strides. A big effort has been made in recent years to reveal the huge financial impact mental ill health has on the UK economy.

The Centre for Mental Health suggests that the figure could be as high as £35 billion every year.

Rail companies are working hard to understand and better treat mental health issues, said Jen. “The rail industry is doing a huge amount on this and we set out our expectations on mental health in 2014 around stress, so we certainly do understand the importance of it.”

She added: “There’s reasons to be positive. We have been encouraged by the amount of leadership now being shown by the industry.”

A MORAL ARGUMENT Although the cost of health to business can do a lot to motivate industry to improve, the personal cost for employees shouldn’t be forgotten, particularly when the impact can be life-limiting.

“There is a moral aspect to it, of course, and there’s also a link between how we treat health amongst our people and how an organisation values safety more widely,” said Jen. She went on: “I think if you’re caring for the safety and wellbeing of your staff, it’s a much better environment to have an open dialogue about managing and motivating safety.”

The January 2018 occupational health programme update is available on the ORR’s website

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24

HEALTH & WELLBEING

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

CROSSRAIL REACHING NEW HEIGHTS

THERE'S FAR MORE TO CROSSRAIL THAN A 73-MILE RAILWAY. STEWART THORPE DISCOVERS HOW THE PROJECT HAS HELPED TO SET NEW WELLBEING STANDARDS.

A

ccident levels during the construction of the Olympic Park, in preparation for London 2012, were recognised as exemplary practice - until Crossrail came along.

In 2012, the construction industry’s average accident frequency rate (AFR) was 0.4 per 100,000 hours worked. In building the Olympic Park that figure was 0.17. For Crossrail, figures from 2016-17 reveal the AFR was as low as 0.11.

Underground construction sites and railways are both considered high-risk environments. Combine the two, on sites which operate 24/7 with up to 10,000 workers in total, and you’re presented with a mammoth challenge for safety planners.

Crossrail’s AFR hasn’t always been so low – and there was the high-profile death of construction worker Rene Tkacik, when part of the sprayed concrete tunnel lining, which had not fully set, fell on him. But lessons have been learnt. Thanks to technology such as thermal heat cameras to monitor concrete, augmented reality to enable intelligent maintenance and initiatives like its custom-made course and equipment requirements for lorry drivers, safety is Crossrail’s core value.

TIRED OF FATIGUE Safety has not stood alone but shoulder to shoulder with health and wellbeing as part of the megaproject’s occupational safety and health (OSH) strategy. Safety might steal the headlines, particularly when things go wrong, but expectations in health and wellbeing have been just as high and that is not by chance.

Martin Brown has been Crossrail’s health and safety director for the past 20 months. He previously advised the Olympic Delivery Authority as an independent safety expert and has worked with Crossrail’s staff and contractors to oversee the delivery of a number of initiatives.

In recent months, fatigue, specifically microsleep, has caught the attention of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch in its investigations of the Croydon tram crash and a collision with buffer stops at King’s Cross station. Martin said that fatigue and shift work has been a big issue for Crossrail as it works towards ‘Target Zero’ and ensuring all workers go home unharmed.

The project’s demands and the resultant shift work has been meticulously monitored and managed to reduce possible health and safety risks from overexertion and lack of sleep.

As well as a seven-step management plan for shift workers, covering initial assessments, regular reassessments and educating workers on lifestyle factors which can help to reduce fatigue and the health risks RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

of shift work, Crossrail has also documented a number of good practices for contractors to follow.

These specifically restrict shift working hours and stipulate periods of rest over days and weeks to minimise the risk of accident as a result of fatigue.

SAVING LIVES Across 2016-17, the Health and Safety Executive reported that 49 per cent of working days lost due to ill health were because of stress, depression or anxiety.

Further data from the Office of National Statistics reveals that the risk of suicide among low-skilled male construction workers is three © Crossrail

© Crossrail

times higher than the national average for men. Martin said it was important that a conversation surrounding mental health took place as part of Crossrail.

As well as influencing healthier lifestyle choices and raising awareness of mental health, Crossrail oversaw the training of mental health first aiders.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

After taking part in a threeday course, volunteers were equipped with the necessary skills to provide support to colleagues experiencing mental health issues. They helped to promote mental health awareness and, with support from senior OSH personnel, react in times of need.

Martin said that this programme wasn’t about “training psychiatrists”, but about equipping workers with the knowledge to start conversations with those who may be showing signs of stress.

The mental health first aiders are stationed across a number of sites and offices on the project and can play a crucial role in staff wellbeing.

“In the time we have been trying this, we’ve had a number of people who’ve had conversations that have helped them to deal with their problems,” he said.

“Not only has it helped to resolve their problems, it may have helped to prevent potential suicides.”

As part of this focus on mental health, former boxer Frank Bruno helped to tackle the stigma

HEALTH & WELLBEING

25

surrounding the subject by speaking to staff about his own battle with mental health problems, as did CEO Andrew Wolstenholme who shared the experiences of those close to him.

STEPPING UP Crossrail’s contractors all began the project with their own health and safety culture.

To help learn from each other, share best practice and guard against complacency, Crossrail introduced ‘Stepping Up Week’ in 2013. Following its initial success, the week became a biannual event.

Stepping Up Week was created to improve levels of health and safety awareness and focus on key topics such as health and wellbeing.

Held across all of Crossrail’s sites, the week included health and safety activity schedules specific to each site and the risks its workers were exposed to. For example, this included: mock crane rescues, health and wellbeing checks, guest speakers and exercises to improve hazard spotting.

Crossrail's safety record (dark blue) mapped against that of the Olympic Park.

LEARNING LEGACY

These initiatives helped to secure Crossrail’s legacy as a project with high OSH benchmarks. They have also benefited the wider industry.

Martin said that he has already spent time with his counterparts at HS2, TfL and Crossrail 2 to share best OSH practice.

Lessons learnt from Crossrail have also been carefully documented on a dedicated online archive (Crossrail Learning Legacy) to help establish these practices within the supply chain.

Keith Morey, chair of IOSH’s Railway Group, praised the work Crossrail has undertaken, especially around provoking

conversations on mental health. He said that while it will take many years to gauge the true measure of success from these wellbeing initiatives, he was looking forward to seeing what comes next.

“Crossrail has taken what was available at the time and taken it forward,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how HS2 can improve that again.”

The Crossrail project will start to become a distant memory when the Elizabeth line opens in December but as an Olympic legacy likely helped to bore a progressive rail project in London, in turn it will lead to even greater achievements and even higher standards.

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NOT JUST DUST DR DAN HEGARTY, CEO OF EXPRESS MEDICALS, EXPLAINS THE DANGERS OF SILICA DUST AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY TESTING

T

he railway industry is becoming increasingly aware of the dangers to workers caused by the silica particles contained within ballast dust. It is a national concern, with silica dustrelated lung cancer killing around 800 people each year.

It is a threat to health that some have likened to the danger from asbestos - and employers have reacted responsibly to avert a similar long-term health catastrophe. Last year, the RailStaff Awards’ health and safety category was won by one contractor’s far-reaching silica dust awareness campaign.

Workers inhale silica dust when handling ballast, or when they drill into concrete, bricks or tiles.

It’s a real risk in many common construction tasks.

Now rail companies are working closely with occupational health providers, ensuring their testing includes specific silica tests to maintain a high level of commitment to staff safety.

SILICA TESTS Express Medicals Ltd tests for silicosis and related conditions at clinics throughout the UK, and is seeing an increase in customer requests.

“Testing for silicosis is an important feature of railway medicals and we work closely with a number of companies to ensure workers are silica free, or to find out if they should receive early intervention and treatment if we find they’ve been exposed to levels that might cause harm,” explains Dr Dan Hegarty, chief executive of Express Medicals.

“We anticipate a significant rise in the number of these medicals throughout 2018 as awareness of

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the various diseases caused by dust-borne particles continues to be of concern.

“It’s vital to test early, to help prevent the onset of silicosis.”

Silicosis is a serious lung disease which can affect any workers who breathe in silica dust. In most cases the condition develops over a long period of

time. However, if a large amount of silica is inhaled over a short period of time, for example a few months, then it is possible to suffer from a rapid onset acute form of silicosis. Sufferers usually present with a cough and increasing breathing difficulties upon exercise.

There is an increased incidence of some other medical problems in people diagnosed with silicosis including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) which also causes breathing difficulties; RA (rheumatoid arthritis); TB (tuberculosis) and lung cancer.

HSE has produced a guidance leaflet ‘G404. Health surveillance for those exposed to respirable crystalline silica (RCS)’.

The role of correct PPE, including well-fitting face masks, is paramount. A good occupational health (OH) provider will also help employers ensure they’re meeting their requirements under the COSHH Regulations 2002 by contributing to briefing sessions to advise on occupational lung diseases, including silicosis.

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Symptoms of silicosis • Persistent cough • Persistent shortness of breath • Weakness and tiredness Information courtesy of NHS.uk

FOUR POINT PROCESS

Express Medicals has created a four-point process to assist managers. You should consider: 1.

2.

How best to educate your workers about the risks from silica; Who to include in your health surveillance programme;

3.

Who to appoint as the responsible person to organise and oversee the programme; 4. The appointment of an OH provider.

The OH provider will act as a significant advisory partner to your health and safety staff and the management

team. Its services will include questionnaires, medical examinations, chest X-rays (when appropriate) and liaison with GPs / other health professionals.

The role of an OH provider in relation to silicosis falls within the much wider remit of health and wellbeing, and health surveillance. The benefits of

providing health and wellbeing services are increasingly recognised by employers because, in helping to protect the health of a workforce, such services positively affect morale, retention and performance. A workforce that is cared for will be more motivated, more efficient and will likely boost company performance.

A good OH provider will provide valuable up-to-date information to your health and safety staff and management team. They are essential partners in developing effective health and wellbeing programmes, to ensure staff are motivated and efficient.

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GETTING SMAR CHRIS LANGER, COMMUNICATIONS AND SCHEME INTELLIGENCE MANAGER AT CIRAS, EXPLAINS WHAT CONFIDENTIAL REPORTING TELLS US ABOUT SAFETY CULTURE AND THE RAILWAY

T

he need for confidential reporting was one of the central recommendations that came out of the Cullen Inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove disaster which claimed 31 lives in 1999. It was mandated shortly after from an urge to do things better.

CIRAS, which is part of RSSB, began life as a pilot scheme at ScotRail in the mid-1990s. Following Ladbroke Grove, it was rolled out nationally.

“We always encourage and fully support the use of internal reporting systems, but we recognise that health and safety issues can sometimes be difficult to report,” said Chris Langer, communications and scheme intelligence manager at CIRAS, explaining the role of external confidential reporting tools.

“For example, there are very few people that can muster the courage to report that they have fallen asleep at the controls of their train, or at the wheel of their car. But, in an atmosphere of trust, they will divulge such episodes to CIRAS. Trust is difficult to establish. Our team of reporting analysts are trained to conduct interviews with rail staff skilfully, using their psychological expertise to build rapport and get to the heart of issues.”

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© Shutterstock.com

UNIQUE INTELLIGENCE

Chris believes there is a lot the rail industry can learn from the intelligence CIRAS gathers alongside its core reporting function.

Some may be unaware that CIRAS also conducts confidential surveys. CIRAS recently reported

the results of its safety culture survey. It showed a huge difference between the way managers and frontline staff perceived their culture. There were also huge differences between sectors within the railway industry.

The online survey, which included responses from well over a thousand railway staff, showed that 88 per cent of the managers believed health and safety concerns were taken seriously at work, as opposed to just 41 per cent of frontline staff. “You would be forgiven for thinking that managers and frontline staff inhabit different worlds,” said Chris.

There was one sector in particular that consistently outperformed the others in this area: Network Rail’s supply chain.

CIRAS has shared the reasons for supply chain success in this area with its members at various events.

Chris added: “Our core business is reporting, so we see ourselves as a natural catalyst

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RT ON SAFETY for change and innovation in this area. It is also the reason why transport organisations from the US, Japan, Spain, and even Korea have consulted with us to learn how they can benefit from our expertise and insight.”

SHARING INSIGHT CIRAS does more than just produce intelligence. “Our members are keen on finding solutions to the issues they routinely face in the health and safety arena,” said Chris. “To this end, we regularly run workshops on improving reporting rates,

fatigue management, mental health, and even mindfulness for safety critical staff.”

In addition, CIRAS has also launched a new publication, Membership Matters, targeted at the health and safety professionals within its member organisations. “There is a keen emphasis on how best practice can be shared. Many of our members are open enough to put forward their best ideas, even where they break new ground, and would potentially give others a competitive advantage. Share and share alike is very much the ethos here.”

REACHING OUT TO THE FRONTLINE CIRAS describes frontline staff as its “eyes and ears”, with the majority of reports coming from this portion of the workforce. CIRAS has rebranded its newsletter ‘Frontline Focus’ to reflect this.

The feedback they can offer can lead business improvement, something which is often viewed separately from health and safety. Chris recounted the saying: “If you think health and safety are expensive, try having an accident.”

“Speaking up for health and safety by coming to CIRAS is often a last resort,” said Chris. “Whatever the story behind a confidential report, we aim to ensure all our members can learn from it.”

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OPENING UP ABOUT

MENTAL HEALTH

S

haron Stevens remembers the exact moment last year when her depression caught up with her. It was a Friday morning. She opened up her laptop after a busy week out of the office and immediately broke down in tears.

“I didn’t want to have depression again. I didn’t want to fail. I didn’t want to be ill and, above all, I didn’t want to let people down,” said Sharon, who works in Network Rail’s Route Services division as a contracts manager.

Sharon’s first experience of depression was in 2009. She doesn’t attribute it to any one particular incident, rather the cumulative effect of various life-changing events over several years, including the death of her father and the breakdown of her marriage. “At that time, I didn’t know the signs of depression. I was losing weight.

I was sleeping literally 14/15 hours a day.

My concentration levels were zero,” said Sharon.

Once she had been diagnosed with depression, Sharon was prescribed the antidepressant fluoxetine and spent six months off work. The experience was a difficult one and her relationships with colleagues became strained.

In 2014, Sharon joined Network Rail.

In addition to her day job, she became a mental health first aider and mental wellbeing champion. She hoped to raise awareness of mental health throughout the

business and teach people how to support their colleagues.

Sharon saw all the signs leading up to April last year. She knew all the symptoms.

“It just goes to show how we are all vulnerable,” said Sharon, who described what it is like to live with depression. “It’s like your life stops. You’re you but you’re not being you… All I wanted to do was sit under my blanket on the sofa and that was it - and cry - and that was my life, so clearly I was in a very bad place.

“But I knew that if I did the right things, supported by the medication, I could get better.”

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"IT JUST GOE WE ARE A

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ES TO SHOW HOW ALL VULNERABLE." ONE IN 32 EMPLOYEES Now back at work, Sharon is keen to continue to improve mental health across Network Rail. Since joining the organisation, she has trained half of Network Rail’s 120 mental wellbeing champions and has delivered presentations around the country.

Around one in 32 Network Rail employees a year currently take time off work due to mental ill health. Network Rail employs 38,000 members of staff - that equates to 1,200 people each year.

In the UK, one in four people are expected to struggle with their mental health each year and research suggests that one in 10 people will have taken sick days due to mental illness in the past year. At first glance, the extent of the problem facing Network Rail appears less acute than it is nationally. However, the

company’s chief medical officer, Richard Peters, believes there is more to the issue than the statistics are letting on.

“I’m very conscious we’ve got a heavily male-dominated workforce, an ageing workforce and employees that have worked in a trackside environment for a very, very long time. I have also heard colleagues mention the macho effect, meaning our trackside staff may not want to talk about their health problems, especially mental health.

“We do know that women

are more likely to seek help and probably more likely to talk about it. In our main hubs, where employees are predominately doing desk-based roles, the access to support may be easier than our trackside workers who are working in a multitude of conditions and environments every day. This is definitely an area of focus.

“So whilst the numbers may appear to be low - one in 32 is not the same as one in 10 - we do need to remember that it’s as good as the data we have. If we

can decrease the stigma, improve the reporting by increasing disclosure of reason for absence when employees take time off, that number may actually be higher.”

OPEN ENVIRONMENT There are other factors associated with working on the railway that could make staff in the sector more susceptible to mental health problems.

“There’s emerging research out there that shift work and night work can increase risk of certain

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treatments. Once the problem has been identified, measures can then be put in place to help.

“It could be as simple as being allowed to attend follow-up appointments or it could be something more specific such as a reasonable adjustment, for example allowing flexibility in the start and finish times due to medication side effects, to be allowed to work remotely or even adjust performance targets temporarily because someone is in the recovery stage of their illness.”

BREAK THE STIGMA

"I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE DEPRESSION AGAIN. I DIDN'T WANT TO FAIL. I DIDN'T WANT TO BE ILL AND, ABOVE ALL, I DIDN'T WANT TO LET PEOPLE DOWN." health problems,” said Richard. “We have a current programme in place to look at fatigue and the effects it has on our workforce because we want to ensure our people get home safe every day and are not working excessively long hours that could affect their health and wellbeing.”

He added: “The more we can create an open environment to talk about mental health, to talk about health issues in general and for people to support one another, the more we will have a happy, healthy and productive workforce.”

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS? The symptoms of mental illness can vary from person to person. “It’s a very, very personal thing and a very individual thing,” said Sharon, who talked about feeling tired and avoiding social situations. “However, what I always say to people in the training sessions is look out for changes in behaviour.”

Sometimes people over compensate and may actually appear happier than usual. “One of the interesting ones for me is that people sometimes work longer hours,” said Richard. “Number one because it’s a good distraction from whatever’s going on outside of work but, at the same time, it’s also because they don’t feel that they’re actually coping and that their performance is deteriorating, so they begin to work longer hours.”

Line managers are being encouraged to look out for this kind of behaviour so that they can carry out a stress risk assessment, direct employees to appropriate support and refer them to occupational health.

Mental health issues can also manifest themselves as a physical ailment. It can cause people to suffer from frequent headaches, stomach problems and, as Sharon found out in 2009, skin conditions.

Network Rail is now taking steps to ensure that managers are equipped to spot these signs early and give staff the support they need before small problems turn into something much bigger.

Richard said: “One of the things we’re looking to do is ensure we train up our line managers to understand what mental health and wellbeing is; and also to be able to spot the signs and symptoms to RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

have those open conversations with colleagues and to be able to signpost them to appropriate support.”

SEEKING HELP Network Rail is able to offer a number of support services to staff. Its employer assistance programme provides staff with a free phone number that they can ring to speak to a counsellor, who can then arrange follow-up

The bar is being raised for employers. The expectation on companies to monitor and address mental health among their staff is much greater and is seen as essential to relieving some of the pressure on the NHS’s mental health provision.

Senior staff members are now doing their bit to normalise conversations around mental health. Susan Cooklin, managing director of Route Services, has spoken publicly about her own mental health challenges.

Network Rail’s chief executive, Mark Carne, has also made good mental health one of his watchwords.

Richard said this is important to break the stigma: “I think we’re getting to that stage now, which is very good, and even senior leaders are talking about it in public, talking openly about it when they do presentations and this is what needs to happen.”

Richard Peters.

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Damon Pickard.

Network Rail’s approach illustrates how the management and treatment of mental health is becoming more complete. It also shows a change in culture within business where mental health and depression are met with understanding and sympathy rather than suspicion and derision. Sharon hopes her story will demonstrate to others who have encountered mental health problems that they too can continue to lead a normal professional life.

“It just goes to show how when people with depression are managing it there is absolutely no reason why they can’t just lead a normal life,” said Sharon.

“They’ve got things to give, they’ve got things to contribute.

It’s very, very important in enabling recovery and continued support for them to know that they’ve got something to give.”

She added: “When I look back at where we were in 2014 and when I look at where we are now, we’ve come such a long way. Yes, we’ve still got some work to do, but we have come such a long way and it’s gathering momentum.”

DAMON'S STORY

Damon Pickard, Network Rail’s frontline services category manager, has suffered from mental health and addiction problems in the past. Now recovered, he leads support groups outside of work and uses his experiences to help others in need. Damon had the courage to reach out for help.

He said: “My mental health and addiction problems caused a downward spiral of despair that affected me, my family, friends and work. I was fortunate to have people who cared enough to notice, step in and put out a helping hand. What I couldn’t see was that they were always there. If only I had reached out sooner.

“If I feel wobbly now and then, sometimes a simple chat is all I need to lift the fog.

“Other times a meditation or exercise session helps. Now, I actively seek to help others find their way back into the light, as I know it’s impossible to recover on your own without help. Thanks to the people involved in my journey, I found a way to live happily that works for me – and everyone benefits from that, not just myself.”

"IF I FEEL WOBBLY NOW AND THEN, SOMETIMES A SIMPLE CHAT IS ALL I NEED TO LIFT THE FOG."

Whatever you’re going through, call us free any time, from any phone on 116 123.

We’re here round the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you need a response immediately, it’s best to call us on the phone. This number is FREE to call. You don’t have to be suicidal to call us. www.samaritans.org

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ON ROUTE TO GOOD ME

RAY ROBERTS, HEAD OF MENTAL HEALTH AT TRANSPORT FOR LONDON ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW LONDON'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT AUT LOOKS AFTER THE MENTAL HEALTH OF ITS EMPLOYEES

What kind of mental health issues do you face within TfL? At Transport for London (TfL), we employ around 27,000 people to help keep London moving, working and growing. One of the great things about working for TfL is that you get to see the difference that you make to other people’s lives every day – whether it’s helping a customer with their query or witnessing how your project or actions have helped make somebody’s journey easier. This is a very rewarding experience and can bring a smile to your face. However, it is not unexpected that within our workforce some of our staff encounter the mental health issues that people throughout society also face.

The nature of work for some of our employees can mean that incidenttriggered acute trauma is more likely, but many of the issues can be faced by those in any profession, such as depression, anxiety disorders and illnesses relating to eating and body image.

We also find that some employees who have lifelong or untreatable conditions can experience distress, so while our dedicated occupational health team are unable to treat the underlying conditions, they work closely with the individuals to manage the stress that they cause.

How are you addressing these?

What support mechanisms exist?

We have an occupational health department at TfL, including a dedicated mental health team, which supports our staff with health-related issues with the aim of enabling them to continue with their full working routine.

We want to make it as easy as possible for staff that are facing mental health issues, along with their line managers, to approach and tackle any issues so we provide guidance online that is easily accessible.

However, we recognise that different approaches are required for various conditions and for working with each individual’s personal response to their experiences – a blanket approach just isn’t suitable. It’s not about waiting until an employee is facing an issue either.

We believe strongly in a preventative approach too, encouraging early identification, to ensure that issues don’t have to become overwhelming or advanced before somebody feels that they are able to ask for help.

There are a range of provisions from our mental health service at TfL from counselling and trauma services to a telephone helpline that offers practical and emotional support. Given that some staff are more likely to experience trauma due to the nature of their role, we also offer peer-topeer support as well as in-house treatment.

Is there work to do to encourage staff to discuss issues they’re dealing with?

We think it’s vital that our employees work in an environment where they feel comfortable raising any mental health issues that they are facing. A lot of the work that we do is around preventative measures and identifying any problems early on, as we can then work out what is the most appropriate support and treatment before the issues develop further.

We run a number of workshops on stress reduction and manager resilience and these can be very useful for our members of staff and help them to manage their wellbeing. We are continually working to reduce the stigma and discrimination that can sometimes be associated with mental RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

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ENTAL HEALTH

N (TfL), THORITY

ill health and encourage an environment where talking about this type of thing is a normal and natural part of the working day. This involves promoting our staff network groups, which provide a forum for employees to meet fellow colleagues in a similar position to them at TfL and give them the opportunity to talk to each other, be supported and share advice.

We are also supporters of the Time to Change and Talk campaigns and we have many internal champions, who raise awareness and encourage conversations in their teams.

How does the mental health of your staff impact on the business as a whole?

If our members of staff are facing mental health issues, then it can affect the organisation in a number of ways. When employees are not able to get the support they need, or are too worried to ask for it, it can lead to strained and fractured relationships with their peers, managers and customers, creating a difficult environment for everybody. It can also cause those facing mental health issues to become less engaged with their work, more likely to error or have to be absent due to sickness.

Ultimately, all of these aspects affect productivity adversely, which is why we are so passionate about making sure that staff feel the ability to be open.

As well as the other support opportunities already available, we also offer a number of staff the chance to undertake mental health training in conjunction with Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England. Their training consists of the two days MHFA training and one day of ‘TfL’ orientation training, which consolidates their learnings and focuses it to the workplace setting. This leads to them becoming mental health first aiders, who can then support fellow employees facing mental ill health.

All photos © Shutterstock.com

Do you feel that this is an improving picture?

I think having the programme in place with all of the different types of support, from the helpline to counselling, means that the stigma around mental ill health is definitely being challenged. It’s important to remember that once a person has a positive experience of tackling mental ill health, they are more likely to feel confident to spot the signs and open up to somebody else.

We also encourage some of our staff who have faced mental health issues to write articles and blogs to help normalise the experience and encourage others to reach out and talk. By increasing awareness and providing support, we are working to make sure that our organisation is open and encourages staff to discuss mental health positively. Doing so will lead to better outcomes for both our staff and the wider organisation.

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RESILIENCE AND SUPPORT WRITTEN BY LIAM JOHNSTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RAILWAY MISSION things you can give to a person. The Railway Mission provides this help to railway staff, the British Transport Police and the travelling public – taking care of the mental welfare of our railway family both day-to-day and following traumatic incidents.”

SUPPORT NETWORKS

S

taff welfare has long been thought to be an important part of any successful business.

Although, in the past, the focus has been on the physical health of the individual rather than their mental health and wellbeing.

In 2000, when the issue of stress was raised by a Railway Mission chaplain with an HR director, the response was “we don’t have stress in our company”. Such a blinkered view is being dispelled and the importance of personal resilience is increasingly recognised.

Mental health and wellbeing is a concern for every company that understands people are their most valuable resource. Establishing psychological resilience in the workforce enables companies to be able to respond swiftly to internal and external pressures.

Railway Mission chaplains understand the need to focus on the psychological needs of the workforce. Bringing psychological first aid to the rail industry chaplains can enhance and complement the chain of care provided by companies.

Major traumatic events have a terrible and far-reaching impact. However, rail staff may face overwhelming situations every day - life can be full of difficulties. It may just be a coffee and a chat or something more, but chaplains are there to support railway people.

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Network Rail’s chairman, said: “Emotional and spiritual support in a time of crisis is one of the most valuable RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

People are affected by problems in their personal or work life in different ways; one person may cope well while another emotionally collapses. It takes time to gain the confidence of people who are hurting.

Chaplains support people of all faiths and none, regardless of their lifestyle or position, building trusted supportive relationships.

Chaplains also work with other support networks in the workplace. These networks are increasingly important as society has become more fragmented. Networks such as BME, carers, disabled staff, LGBT and interfaith groups help create a platform to offer mutual support, respect and understanding for employees. These in turn also help increase employee resilience, improve working relationships and therefore, may help to reduce sickness absence. Such groups provide a conduit for communication between senior management and staff groups who have been traditionally underrepresented or who have experienced discrimination in the workplace.

Railway Mission chaplains are proficient at developing self-worth in the individual; bringing light into the darkness and despair

some people experience. This spiritual and pastoral care contributes towards an organisational culture sympathetic towards personal mental health issues. As important, but independent members of the chain of care, chaplains are able to cross organisational boundaries. It’s a mechanism for releasing stress and emotional conflict from within the individual. Helping people cope with the stresses of modern life; empowering them to recognise their lives and work have value and meaning.

CARE AND SENSITIVITY Over the last year, chaplains have been on hand to support the railway family following the appalling terrorist atrocities that inflicted so much harm. In some small way, we have reached out to those affected.

Working with British Transport Police Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Teams to support people affected by suicides, chaplains have cared for railway staff, witnesses and bereaved families. The chaplaincy team has also visited schools after students have been killed on the railway, supporting the teaching staff and pupils.

Financial difficulties, work uncertainties, assaults at work and domestic violence, divorce, addictions, illness, both physical and mental have all been dealt with by the Railway Chaplains over the last year. How does the chaplaincy face all of these issues? One at a time, with care and sensitivity.

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WELLBEING IN MIND

T

he efforts to give mental health and wellbeing issues the attention and support that they deserve have been significant in recent years. Campaigners from across the third sector, government, public bodies and business have worked tirelessly to develop and fund new initiatives and campaigns to support people experiencing mental health challenges.

In the UK, according to research from MIND, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem each year and every week one in six people in England report having a common mental health issue, such as depression or anxiety.

At Costain, we believe that just as our business has a duty of care to protect the physical health and safety of our employees and supply chain we also need to look after their mental health and wellbeing too.

However, the construction sector’s macho image can sometimes be a barrier to breaking down the stigma the industry’s workforce associates with mental health challenges. This is a problem because ultimately it translates into an unwillingness among workers to get the support they need when experiencing a problem.

Businesses across the sector acknowledge that the status quo is not good enough and we are working hard to overcome this.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS I have long been a champion of improving mental health and wellbeing and the rail team is at the forefront of the business’ efforts to support staff and people in our supply chain experiencing mental health issues. Across our 13 projects, we have 85 qualified mental

health first aiders who are always on hand to listen to colleagues and point them in the direction of professional advice should they require it. We know that their support is invaluable with our first aiders helping colleagues around 10 times per month on average – in addition all our line managers have been given mental health awareness training.

In the past 12 months, Costain has expanded its Employee Assistance Programme, which offers all staff anonymous counselling services, to our supply chain. Additionally, we hosted our inaugural Wellbeing Week including launching our wellbeing portal. Leadership on mental health issues comes from the executive board and the wellbeing initiatives were spearheaded by Costain’s chief financial officer, Tony Bickerstaff.

STATE OF MIND In the rail division, we are also going to be offering team members the chance to participate in State of Mind seminars going forward. These involve former professional sportspeople, in this instance rugby league players, speaking about their own mental health struggles and how they overcame them. In doing so they reinforce the message that it is ok for staff to get support and that mental health issues can truly affect anyone at any time.

It is initiatives like these that can help break down the stigma that still exists among construction workers and encourage them to access the support they need. However, we are not complacent, we want to work with and learn from more partners across the industry to ensure that we can all offer our employees the best possible mental support.

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GETTING THE BES FROM YOUR TEAM

T

o quote John F Kennedy: “We stand today on the edge of a new frontier - a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils - a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.”

That might seem a little dramatic for your average employer, but when it comes to the new world of employer/employee relations, it is highly relevant.

Brought about by a mixture of skills shortages, increased pressure on productivity, and millennials having a very different view on the concept of employment than their predecessors, companies are being forced to look at their role in supporting and engaging their workforce in a new light.

According to talent services specialists Ford & Stanley, it is a world filled with opportunity for the brave and ambitious, but one not without risk.

“There is a significant shortage of skilled people at every level and the hard reality is that people with in-demand skills will choose to ply their trade with the employer they feel the most engaged with,” said Andy Duncan, head of GENIUS Performance Coaching.

“I work with a diverse portfolio of clients and whether it’s a Premier League striker living a champagne lifestyle, or a shop floor fitter trying to put food on the table for their family, the underlying issues that impact their engagement and performance are exactly the same.

“Personal circumstances, traumatic events, debilitating beliefs and habits that keep people from fulfilling their true potential do not have barriers in terms of job titles. Whatever you do, whether you like it or not, you bring your whole self to work, and that might mean things that

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you have felt troubled by for 15 minutes or 20 years. You can’t just leave them at the door.

“Helping people with these things is the type of engagement employees are looking for.”

ON THE AGENDA Interest in GENIUS Performance Coaching has intensified in recent times, in line with increased publicity on the impact of mental health issues on industry and commerce. It brings with it, according to Duncan, both opportunity and threat; employers want to act but risk being blinded in a blizzard of available solutions.

“The publicity surrounding the impact of mental health issues is a good thing because it is now firmly on the agenda of all responsible organisations.

With that, however, comes the inevitable feeding frenzy of

people wanting to push their ideas forward as the ‘silver bullet’ solution,” he said.

“I don’t count Ford & Stanley as being in that space because we believe that there is merit in all sorts of approaches – the key is understanding which apply where.”

Working on highly personalised one-to-one sessions - normally four, onehour-long sessions - is enough, said Duncan – the GENIUS approach is about encouraging employees to look forward to where they are happiest, more fulfilled and therefore most productive at work.

Unlike traditional therapy or CBT, there is no reliving the trauma, said Duncan, or “irrelevant” assumptions, boundaries or parameters to “shoe-horn” the employee into.

“Our starting point is ‘where do you want to be’ and we take it from there.”

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

COMPANY FOCUS

39

EST DEEPER APPROACH

GENIUS coaching is the distillation of Duncan’s life experiences, lessons and professional skills. These include neurolinguistic programming (NLP), Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Ericksonian hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, performance coaching and mentoring.

Ford & Stanley Group’s chairman, Peter Schofield (pictured) , said there is a huge competitive advantage to be gained for those organisations who take a deeper approach to the issue of individual performance improvement, and believes that the rail sector can learn a lot from the way in which its GENIUS Performance Coaching team works with its sports clients.

“When we first work with a football club, we work with the management team to assess their perception of individual player engagement, and with the player himself.

We work with that individual for a period of time on any issue that’s preventing them from being at the peak of their A-game and always, without fail, see an improvement,” he said.

“Within minutes of the final whistle, the manager can correlate improvement in player engagement with improvement on the pitch -

proving that employee engagement works.

“Industries which lack measurement criteria for employee engagement often ultimately solicit the same response from those with their hands on the purse strings: ‘so what?’.

“It’s worth remembering that old adage ‘measure what’s important – and if you don’t yet measure it then find a way’.”

ON-BOARDING Running alongside GENIUS Performance Coaching is GENIUS OnBoard, where performance experts work with a candidate through the often-stressful resignation

process, notice period and then the first 100 days of their new employment, ensuring they are settled, motivated and performing at their peak.

“When someone is considering a new role, there is pressure everywhere; from the current employer, the new employer, a sense of loyalty within yourself. It’s hard to know what’s for the best,” said Duncan.

“The objective support and advice we give has proved incredibly successful, as has the help in the first period of new employment as clients get settled, as invariably there is a wobble or two.”

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40

Rail Asset Management Summit EVENTS

28th February 2018, London

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

ASSET MANAGEMENT SUMMIT FEBRUARY, LONDON

EVENTS

FEBRUARY 2018

MARCH 2018

MARCH 2018

IEP MAINTENANCE FACILITY TOUR

IMECHE: ANNUAL RAILWAY LUNCHEON

IMECHE: WHEELSETS: MORE FOR LESS

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THE ATTRACTION OF MAGNETIC TRACK BRAKES

RAIL PROCUREMENT SUMMIT

APRIL 2018

14th February Doncaster

20th February Derby

2nd March Grosvenor House, London

8th March Addleshaw Goddard, London

20th March Imeche, London

MACH (ENGINEERING-

With millions of assets www.permanentwayinstitution.com across the rail network, how the industry manages those assets directly BASED MANUFACTURING) www.railsummits.com correlates with the bottom line and a network that runs efficiently and safely.

RAIL FREIGHT: CURRENT MIDDLE EAST RAIL ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND 12th-13th March SESSION 1: Moving from BIM to Asset Management OPPORTUNITIES Dubai SESSION 2: Managing rolling stock and associated assets 20th February www.terrapinn.com Manchester SESSION 3: Infrastructure - how to manage so many diverse assets www.ciltuk.org.uk

UNDERSTANDING TOC ALLIANCES

SESSION 4: How could assets be better managed in the future?

Secure your place at:

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15th March York

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YRP ANNUAL BLACK TIE DINNER & DANCE 13th April Roundhouse, Derby www.youngrailpro.com

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RAIL TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT

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19th March Imeche, London

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26th April Bird & Bird, London

MAY 2018

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20th March High Wycombe

GUIDE TO UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AT A GLANCE

RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

9th-13th April NEC, Birmingham

1st-3rd May ExCel, London

Mental Healthiness?

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Call 01332 344 443 www.fordandstanley.com

42

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

S L A N IO S S E F O R P YOUNG RAIL S E IM T G IN G N A CH

T

his month brings the start of an exciting time for the Young Rail Professionals (YRP): election season!

The old exec will soon be handing over the reins to a new leadership.

Manifestos are currently being submitted and votes cast by members for who they would like to take on the new posts. These posts are a great development opportunity for our members, offering the chance to show leadership and direct the path of the YRP. Once the new national exec are elected, we will also hold elections at a regional level so there is plenty of chance to get involved at a number of different levels in the organisation. We are looking forward to learning the outcomes of the elections and will try to introduce the successful candidates to you in this column over the next few months.

We are delighted that YRP has made the shortlist in several categories in the UKRIA 2018 and Rail Business Awards. We are so proud that our efforts towards diversity and inclusion and encouraging new and young people into the industry are recognised by the wider rail community, and it makes us ever more determined to continue our success and widen our reach. One of the awards we are nominated for is Best Small Project, where we are on the shortlist for our success with Rail Week, something which we are particularly proud of and already starting to plan for 2018!

Watch this space for more updates about how you can get involved.

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GREAT RAIL BIKE OFF

One way that we have extended our reach this year is to partner with the Railway Children charity. The first event that we are pairing with them on is the Great Rail Bike Off. On 10 June 2018, cycling enthusiasts will have the chance to join Railway Children and take part in the Great Rail Bike Off, the charity’s latest challenge organised in association with YRP. The 100-mile sportive begins in London and follows a route through some of the country’s key railway towns and hubs, before finishing in Coventry with welcome home refreshments at Network Rail’s Westwood Development Centre.

Full support is provided from start to finish, including signage, refreshment stops, medical and mechanical support and a medal at the finish.

The event is open to solo riders and team players, for the experienced or newbies. Ride the whole route as an individual or enter a four-person relay team with each person riding a leg. A

support vehicle and driver are required to transport each member of the team to and from relay points.

“This will be a unique experience offering a wide range of riders, from dedicated racers to leisure cyclists, the chance to challenge themselves on a brand new route,” said Katie Mason, events manager at Railway Children. “And we are grateful for the invaluable support from event sponsor Porterbrook, who will be helping us to maximise funds raised to go directly to help children at risk on the streets in India, East Africa and the UK.” Every mile cycled in aid of Railway Children will fund vital projects, from providing shelter, food, and clothing to medical supplies, education and counselling.

“We are delighted to be headline sponsor of this exciting new cycling event which will be open to all abilities and we look forward to entering a team,” said Zena Dent, product development director at Porterbrook. “Railway Children have a reputation of hosting wellorganised events, and we are proud to be associated with this exciting opportunity to help raise funds for the thousands of vulnerable children living on the streets.”

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

43

April

13

YRP ANNUAL BLACK TIE DINNER AND DANCE

YELLOW JERSEY Every cyclist that raises more than £500 will receive a yellow jersey from Railway Children to wear with pride. And both the individual and the business relay team that raise the most money will win the Great Rail Bike Off trophy.

Repatriation tickets at a cost of £12 per bike and £10 per person are available to transport you and your bike back from the finish (Coventry) to the start area (Twickenham). These can be booked when you register.

To register for the Great Rail Bike Off in aid of Railway Children, please go to www.railwaychildren.org.uk/grbo, or contact Katie Mason: 01270 757 596, email k.mason@railwaychildren.org.uk.

Tickets are now on sale for the Young Rail Professional’s Annual Dinner 2018. The black tie event will be taking place at the iconic Roundhouse in Derby and is proudly sponsored by CPC Project Services. Book your ticket now at www.YoungRailPro.com

YOUNG RAIL

PROFESSIONALS

FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

44

TRAINING

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

ACCELERATING

THE HIGH-SPEED SKILLS SEARCH

I

t is a well-documented, industry-wide issue and if it’s not tackled, the ramifications could be huge.

The engineering and higher-level skills gap needs no introduction. At the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR), technical recruitment agency Morson held a roundtable discussion with HS2 contractors to look at the challenges surrounding apprenticeships and training and the opportunities to learn from them.

Morson was joined by the likes of WSP, Mott MacDonald, BBV (Balfour Beatty Vinci), Bechtel, CEK (Carillion, Eiffage and Kier JV) and HS2 as well as representatives from organisations such as the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and NCHSR.

FUTURE FORECAST Keynote speaker Neil Robertson, chief executive of the National Skills Academy for Rail, outlined the challenges specifically for HS2. He said that, while there will be peaks and troughs for labour demand, the engineering skills that are needed during the latter stages of construction are not currently in the market.

Rail has historically been focused on Level 2 and 3 qualifications but it needs to take on more with Level 4 and 5 qualifications, according to Neil.

Brexit, Neil added, will make the situation even more difficult, with estimates putting the amount lost at up to 10 per cent of the construction sector’s workforce.

HS2 SEES To encourage the supply chain to step up, HS2 has set skills, employment and education (SEE) outcomes for all of its relevant procurement.

This includes hiring the unemployed, graduates, supporting apprenticeships and NCHSR, offering short-term work placements and rolling out school education programmes.

Although these outcomes differ from contractor to contractor, the professional services sector has struggled to place unemployed jobseekers because of the nature of their work. However, they have had great success with their apprenticeship programme - one of which had a higher retention rate than the graduate scheme.

“I think to address the skills gap, it had to be done,” said Morson operations director Adrian Adair, talking about HS2’s high SEE benchmarks.

“The only way you will meet the skills gap is if you are reaching into new areas such as people that are in a workless situation and by creating apprenticeships that wouldn’t have been created before – that all needed to be done.

“HS2 has come out and said ‘here’s the benchmark, here’s what you need to do.’”

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CHANGING PERCEPTIONS Prompted by Neil Robertson, there was widespread agreement that to meet the skills gap, targeting the socially disadvantaged and diversifying the workforce must move from a ‘nice to do’ to a must do.

Challenging parents’ perceptions of apprenticeships - such as unhelpful views that they are second best to degrees - and perceptions of engineering, have helped to remove barriers and make the workplace more inclusive.

Targeting schools more effectively and earlier on was a keen strand of debate to changing perceptions of engineering from an earlier age.

Delegates noted how long-term schemes such as mentoring should be favoured over box-ticking exercises such as presentations.

Social media campaigns and making use of alumnus networks were other strategies that had proved effective. ‘Gamification’ was discussed as an alternative tool for targeting youngsters.

Nevertheless, youngsters shouldn’t be the only demographic that the industry sets its sights on. Career development and career changers have a part to play to help bridge the skills gap.

Last year, the apprenticeship levy was introduced but there has been some confusion and underuse of the available funds. However, awareness needs to be raised that this pot of money can be used for upskilling and, from April this year, can be transferred into the supply chain to better address specific skills shortages.

A STARK WARNING Summarising the findings, Adrian Adair gave a stark warning to the room, stating that if the industry doesn’t tackle the skills gap, it will put the country’s major infrastructure projects in jeopardy.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

CAREERS

45

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CAREERS

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2018

Bridgeway Consulting Ltd have an exciting opportunity for a Midlands based

Professional Head of Rail Infrastructure Role

• Provide professional asset management

leadership for Rail Infrastructure maintenance delivery and support

• Work with stakeholders/contractors to optimise engineering activities

• Advise on how assets can be managed

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• Provide assurance of competence of contractors

Responsibilities

• Provide safety assurance in accordance with the Clients’ Safety Management Systems for all parties undertaking work

• Control risks arising from maintenance of

track, OLE, structures, tunnels, level crossings and other infrastructure

Qualifications and Experience

• Be able to demonstrate management of multiple disciplines and subcontractors

• Be experienced in the delivery of Rail Infrastructure inspection, maintenance and renewals

• Degree/HND qualified or appropriate industry experience/competence

• Monitor asset performance to inform

• Sentinel PTS qualified

• Provide reports and relevant KPIs to the Client

Candidates must:

maintenance of arising work on asset conditions

• Provide support to the Client in generating specifications for Upgrade Works

• Be prepared to work some nights, weekends, bank holidays

• Hold a valid UK Driving Licence

To apply, please send your CV quoting the reference number IS2018020101 to recruitment@bridgeway-consulting.co.uk or contact us on 0115 919 1111.

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We recruit for major national and international projects for leading national rail organisations, main contractors and consultancies.

Please email your CV to jonathan.miles@trsstaffing.com or if you’d prefer to discuss any roles call +44 (0)20 7419 5800 RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

Location: Both roles based from Uddingston, Glasgow.

Our Scottish division has delivered a significant volume of challenging projects across the country. We have established a multi-disciplined team offering a full design and build service across the rail spectrum, including stations, depots, structures and track.

We pride ourselves in providing innovative construction and civil engineering solutions across Scotland, offering a collaborative and professional approach to our clients.

For more information and to apply, visit www.storycontracting.com/jobs

net-cert.co.uk

Working with you Network Certification Body (NCB) provides a system-wide approach to railway assurance and certification on infrastructure and vehicle projects, both in the UK and overseas.

We are supporting some of the biggest rail projects and we are always on the lookout for skilled engineers with experience in rail infrastructure and vehicle projects, to help us deliver exceptional service in a rapidly developing sector.

To be considered for future career opportunities email your CV to ncbcareers@networkrail.co.uk

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