Railstaff January 2018

JANUARY 2018 | ISSUE 242

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PLUS NEWS PEOPLE HEALTH & SAFETY COMPANY FOCUS TRAINING EVENTS CAREERS

RECRUITMENT & CAREERS PAGE 32

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CONTENTS JANUARY 2018 | ISSUE 242

Cover image: Ailsa, scheme project manager, thameslink.

NEW YEAR HONOURS FOR RAIL | 06

Several dedicated railway colleagues from the railway community have been recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.

RAIL'S FESTIVE FERVOUR DELIVERS | 07

London Bridge station, now fully reopened following its £1 billion redevelopment, was at the centre of a huge programme of works completed over Christmas and New Year.

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FINDING THE PEOPLE TO MAKE HS2 HAPPEN | 34

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Kate Myers, Head of Skills and Employment at HS2 Ltd, discusses the skills challenge being undertaken to build Britain’s high-speed railway.

FLYING HIGH | 38

Heathrow Express employees talk about life at the airport’s rail operator as it prepares to celebrate a big birthday.

HELPING MIND THE GAP | 42

A look at the work the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) team do within Siemens Rail Automation.

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T H G I L T PO

LIDENTIA| 26 F N O C H CALL APPROACworld A NEW r enters the playe g.

A new reportin dential fi n o c f o

THE FACES OF CHANGE | 52

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Stewart Thorpe attended a HS2 ‘hackathon’ to meet the innovators who want to introduce non-rail sector ideas.

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

NEWS

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Reasons to be cheerful

Matthew Stokes News Editor:

Stewart Thorpe

Senior Writer:

Colin Garratt

Track Safety:

Colin Wheeler

Event Sales:

Jolene Price

Advertising:

Asif Ahmed Craig Smith Jake Flower

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,

We all have our own Christmas rituals.

They often include a healthy helping of gravy and a second serving of some sort of rich festive pudding. For those planning and delivering the £260 million worth of Christmas works the gorging has had to wait.

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Projects big and small were completed this Christmas and New Year. From a large-scale platform remodelling scheme in Liverpool to installing new drainage inside a leaky Sevenoaks Tunnel in Kent.

One of the most high-profile projects was in the heart of the capital, as Thameslink engineers finally completed the complex track works around London Bridge and fully reopened the station to passengers. In our round up of the Christmas works we’ve featured a photo taken on New Year’s Eve by one of the engineers working outside London Bridge. You can just about make out fireworks in the long-exposure shot.

Members of the executive team from CAF alongside landowner and developer St Modwen and principal contractor Bowmer & Kirkland.

With the madness of the Christmas period over, now is a time for reflection. It is no surprise that it is this time of year that so many of us think about what we want from our careers. The second half of this issue focuses on railway skills and the companies that could help our readers make their next move.

But what do we as an industry have to look forward to in the new year?

The rolling stock market remains buoyant, with new fleets due to arrive in the North West, Scotland and East Coast. We will also learn more about the future fleets for HS2 and London Underground’s deep-level lines.

At the end of the year, Londoners will finally have the chance to explore the Elizabeth line for the first time and as the Crossrail project draws to a close plans will be progressed further for Crossrail 2.

Midland Metro is continuing its expansion alongside increasing levels of activity around the future site of Birmingham’s Curzon Street HS2 terminal.

The Government has also promised to explore options to revive more disused rail corridors and will continue to target investment into the railways that link the major cities of the North.

For all the reasons to be cheerful there are some persistent challenges. Questions about how we address the depth of the industry’s skills base and its diversity have come up time and time again throughout the creation of this issue. As a reflection of the industry, we too know we have a responsibility to promote the industry as an inclusive sector that isn’t bogged down by past perceptions or oldfashioned attitudes.

Let’s begin the new year with a positive spirit. The opportunities outweigh the trials.

The challenges we face can be overcome they’re not unassailable. marc@rail-media.com FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Class 800 milestones Class 800s have made milestone runs on both the Great Western and East Coast main lines.

Virgin’s Class 800 ‘Azuma’ made its first visit to the Scottish Highlands in December, 2017.

The train, built by Hitachi through the Intercity Express Programme (IEP), will be rolled out by Virgin Trains East Coast from December, 2018, as part of a two-year rollout of the 65-strong Azuma fleet.

As it journeyed north of Edinburgh to Inverness for the first time on 15 December, the Azuma passed through some of the

UK’s most iconic scenery before travelling back to the Doncaster IEP depot in the early hours of the next morning.

Meanwhile at the other end of the country, Great Western Railway continued its introduction of the Class 800s into passenger service.

On 2 January at 7.30am, the first Class 800 was introduced to the Carmarthen to London Paddington service while the first Class 800 Pullman dining service ran from London Paddington to Swansea at 10.45am. GWR said that the new trains have also reached Great Malvern, Worcester and Oxford for the first time too.

New Year honours for rail

Several members of the rail community have been named in the New Year’s Honours list for their services to the industry and society as a whole.

Clifford Perry, business coordinator of IMechE’s railway division, has been awarded a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to railways. The same honour will be presented to Cindy Beckford, principal programme controls manager at Network Rail.

Neil Buxton, former chief executive of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), is to receive an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to local and rural railways as will David Buttery, former deputy director of high-speed rail legislation and environment at the Department for Transport.

Tom Crosby, a Network Rail volunteer, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to rail safety. Tom, who suffered serious burns after receiving a 25,000 V electric shock while playing trackside at the age of 14, talks to young people about how

to stay safe on the railway.

Eddie Martin, a train manager with CrossCountry, has had his extensive charity work recognised.

Eddie, who won the charity award at the 2013 RailStaff Awards, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for helping to bring clean drinking water to tens of thousands of African villagers.

Eddie set up the charity ‘Myra's Wells’, which raises money to build wells in Africa. To date, Eddie has raised more than £500,000 and funded more than 100 wells across Burkina Faso.

The initiative is named after Eddie’s late wife, Myra, who was killed in 2005 in a car crash on her way to work.

Reflecting on the award, Eddie said: “This is a tremendous honour.

While I might be ‘the face of Myra’s Wells’, we are very fortunate to have enjoyed the support of CrossCountry, and also to have brought together a team of people, in both the UK and Burkina Faso, who freely give so much of their time and skills - enabling Myra’s Wells to be a ‘straight-thru’ charity where 100 per cent of donations are channelled to wells. I see this award as a tribute to the whole team.”

There was also a British Empire Medal for Jane Owen, for services to the LGBT community, and a Queen’s Policing Medal for BTP officer Matthew Wratten.

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Enter the knowledge hub The 12th edition of Infrarail will feature a new theatre dedicated to industry knowledge and learning, it has been announced.

Infrarail 2018 will host a standalone Knowledge Hub for the first time, creating a dedicated space for visitors to find out about the latest project updates, hear industry briefings and take part in platform discussions at the leading biennial industry exhibition.

The free-to-attend exhibition, which takes place from 1 to 3 May at the ExCeL London, is the perfect platform for companies to network, understand new demands, present their latest innovations, make connections and do real business.

Kirsten Whitehouse, exhibition manager for Infrarail 2018, said: “The next Infrarail event will be our first ever to host a dedicated space for educational purposes, bringing together the teams responsible for the implementation of current UK rail projects and leading industry figures, to share and discuss the key issues and ideas surrounding rail infrastructure, all under one roof.

“It is exciting to have this theatre available for the first time, and it is just one of our many feature areas and events which promise to make Infrarail 2018 an unmissable event for industry professionals. We are already experiencing a fantastic demand

for exhibitor spaces, and anticipate visitor numbers to be equally impressive.”

Amongst Infrarail 2018’s key features will be the CITE Hub - a space dedicated to companies specialising in products and services for the civil infrastructure and technology sector, extending beyond and interconnected with rail. There is also the Rail Alliance Hub - held specially for member companies of this organisation, the On-Track display as sponsored by British Steel, and a dedicated area for Heavy Plant and Machinery exhibits. All these features are located on the show floor and are free-to-attend for those registered for the overall event.

Kirsten added: “Our exhibition has been a highlight in the industry calendar for many years, and we expect the 2018 event to once again be a widespread success.

We look forward to bringing together some of the leading thinkers, legislators, organisations and engineers from across the UK rail industry, and helping our visitors meet, connect and inspire; sharing knowledge and making valuable contacts.”

A complete programme of events in the Knowledge Hub is set to be confirmed closer to the exhibition.

Entry to Infrarail 2018 is free for visitors who pre-register online, with registration opening in January 2018. For more information, visit www.infrarail.com.

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

NEWS

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Rail's festive fervour delivers

London Bridge station, now fully reopened following its £1 billion redevelopment, was at the centre of a huge programme of works completed over Christmas and New Year.

Network Rail said more than 260 projects across 3,400 work sites, representing an investment of around £160 million, was delivered over the festive period - an increase on the £100 million spent last Christmas. All the work was delivered within a 10-day period by a team of more than 32,000 without a major incident.

Major milestones

London Bridge and the remodelling of the railway either side of the station has been one of the biggest stories of the Christmas blockade. It isn’t the end of Network Rail’s occupation of the London terminal, however, with work set to continue at the station into the spring as new retail units and cafes are finished off.

Progress was made on major infrastructure schemes up and down the country.

In the North West, work continued at Liverpool Lime Street where platforms are being lengthened, widened and renumbered.

A new platform 8 has opened, the former platform 8 has reopened as platform 9 and platforms 6 and 9 have now been closed for remodelling. In Manchester, a £3 million project to replace the track serving platforms 13 and 14 was also completed.

In the Midlands, new signalling equipment was installed between Birmingham and Wolverhampton as part of the West Midlands resignalling scheme. Preparations were also made at Derby station ahead of this summer’s remodelling works. Engineers were busy on Christmas Day replacing the track layout into the depot.

Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: “We’d like to thank passengers for their understanding over the festive period while we worked to deliver our Railway Upgrade Plan and continue to improve both the capacity and reliability of our railway.

“Mega-projects like this at London Bridge, as well as hundreds of smaller projects across the continued on page 8...

Photo taken by MPI installation team leader Phil Hammond on New Year’s Eve

Exec committee reshuffle at Network Rail Network Rail has appointed a new non-executive director to its executive committee and added two new members.

Mike Putnam (below left) has replaced Malcolm Brinded CBE as the committee’s non-executive director. Malcolm retired from the board in July 2016.

A chartered engineer, Mike is a former president and chief executive of Skanska UK. Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy CBE said: “I welcome Mike who will bring valuable engineering experience to the board.”

In addition, Caroline Murdoch (below right) has joined as group communications director and Alison Rumsey (bottom) as group human resources director.

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

continued from page 7... country, will bring real benefits to millions of passengers. We have been working tirelessly across the Christmas break to deliver these improvements and I am pleased that passengers will begin to see the benefits they will bring.”

The Tube network was also a hive of activity. New cabling was installed on more than 3.5 km of line as part of the Four Lines Modernisation (4LM) resignalling scheme. Three junctions were also replaced at Earl’s Court and two new track junctions installed to connect the Northern line extension tunnels to the Charing Cross branch on the Kennington loop.

Other stories from around the network Great Western Railway (GWR) has been able to launch electric services between Maidenhead and Didcot earlier than planned

after electrification works were completed as part of the Great Western electrification programme.

Also on the Western route, Network Rail completed a complicated signalling data upgrade on the Paddington station approach on Christmas Day. As a result, the connection between the railway and the new Crossrail tunnels now appears on the signalling screens at Thames Valley Signalling Centre.

For all of the good news stories on the Western route, there was a sad moment for staff at Old Oak Common who closed the depot’s doors for good on 2 January as the HMF and wheel lathe were decommissioned. The depot, which maintained GWR’s HST fleet, is being demolished to make way for the new HS2 station.

In the South East, engineers installed a new drainage system in Sevenoaks Tunnel.

Funding withdrawn for GCR museum project © GCR

Timely reminder Mark Hopwood, Great Western Railway’s managing director, took to LinkedIn to deliver a cautionary new year message after the cab of one of the operator’s HSTs was struck by a tree.

On New Year’s Eve, the 18:57 Paddington to Plymouth service was forced to stop outside of Plymouth after a tree fell and seriously damaged the train’s cab.

Thankfully, the driver, although

shaken, was left unhurt and there were no passenger injuries, but it serves as a reminder of the risks sometimes unusual - that frontline staff face.

The HST was eventually hauled to safety, arriving at Plymouth almost two and a half hours late. Unfortunately, it was a memorable New Year’s Eve for all the wrong reasons for the passengers onboard, but the outcome could have been a lot worse.

© Network Rail MOM

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Heritage Lottery will no longer be giving the Great Central Railway more than £9.5 million to build a new museum in Leicestershire.

Plans for the new museum in Birstall are now in jeopardy following the announcement, although the team involved are confident it is not the end for the project.

According to Leicester City Council, Heritage Lottery decided to withdraw its funding because of concerns about the “stage of development of the project and perceived delivery risk”. Heritage Lottery was due to provide more than half of the estimated £18 million cost.

The Main Line project, as it is known, is a partnership between the Great Central Railway (GCR), the National Railway Museum (NRM) and Leicester City Council.

Due to open to visitors in 2021, the new museum would sit alongside GCR’s Leicester North

terminus on the site of the former Belgrave and Birstall station.

GCR’s managing director, Michael Gough, said: “We were genuinely astonished to hear the news about the HLF’s decision on our round two funding and I have to question their rationale.

“Since joining the GCR I have been highly impressed by the support that the project had from the City Mayor and his team and I was confident that the strength of our combined proposal would be a winning solution.

“Our proposal to the HLF consisted of, as requested by them in October 2017, a comprehensive strategy and action plan from the city council, and a detailed business plan from the railway. Taken together this provided an approach that had almost zero risk.

“We will now explore a number of alternative plans. In the meantime, I can’t help but feel hurt that Leicester appears to have been overlooked yet again.”

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New year move for Turner

First community partnerships manager

Nick Turner has begun 2018 as the new managing director of rail electrification contractor AM1 Projects Limited.

Greater Anglia has appointed its first-ever community partnerships manager to work alongside the region’s five Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs).

Previously director of operations for rail at Jacobs, Nick took up the post on 2 January.

Nick has experience in the transport, technology and professional services sectors.

He has held senior level positions within the UK rail industry tier one supply chain and was an elected main board director for the Rail Industry Contractors Association (RICA) .

In addition, his CV includes programme management roles with Network Rail and London Underground.

AM1 Projects chief executive Andy Mardell said: “I very much look forward to working

with Nick and know he’ll add real value to the business. His broad experience and intimate knowledge of the rail industry will reinforce our position as a specialist ETE/E&P contractor, and will be pivotal in the strategic growth of AM1 Projects through CP5 completion and into CP6.”

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Paul Haynes, who has a background in transport marketing and is a station adopter for Greater Anglia at Greater Chesterford, will aim to support the area’s economic growth, tourism and promote social inclusion.

Greater Anglia is more than doubling its community rail funding this year to £240,000 and is currently organising an annual community rail conference.

Paul said: “It’s a great time to be joining Greater Anglia, with new trains on the way along with significant investment Greater Anglia is placing into the current Community Rail Partnerships and a focus on developing new ones.

There continues to be a real emphasis on the economic benefit of the railway to the community and I’m looking forward to working with the CRPs and the wider

community to promote these opportunities and benefits.”

Jonathan Denby, head of corporate affairs for Greater Anglia, said: “At Greater Anglia we’re committed to playing a positive part in the communities we serve. Community Rail Partnerships have been a great success in building the role of rail in local life, helping to improve services, station facilities, promote rail travel and improve integrated transport links in line with community aspirations.

With the appointment of Paul Haynes as our Community Partnerships Manager, we intend to build on that progress and make our local rail lines even more successful, with the great opportunities presented by the arrival of new trains in 2019/20.”

Experienced heads join new rail recruitment venture Two board advisors have been appointed to ie people, a new rail recruitment firm that specialises in executive search.

Kathryn Cooper-Fay is chief executive of JPPD Consulting Group and has previously held senior positions with Kier and ATOC (now the RDG).

In her part-time role with ie people she will guide the board with design and implementation of the customer experience strategy.

Colin Morris, managing director of programme advisory firm One CHM also joins as a part-time board member.

Colin was most recently an executive director for strategy

at HS2 and will be directly responsible for operational performance and governance in his new role.

Geoff Banks, founder and managing director of ie people, says he believes his new venture can challenge the world of executive recruitment in the transport sector.

A rail recruiter with more than 20 years in the industry, Geoff previously oversaw group sales and business development at RTC Group prior to launching ie people and has previously worked as an internal recruiter for CH2M and Bombardier Transportation. He also sits on the Rail Supply Group’s SME council board.

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Alstom appoints new director Maria Griffin Alstom UK and Ireland has appointed Maria Griffin as its new director for quality, railway safety and performance.

Maria started her career at Alstom 26 years ago as a mechanical engineering graduate, where she was the first female to work on an Alstom UK shop floor as part of the company’s graduate training programme.

She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the youngest and only female engineering manager at the age of 29.

Maria then moved into project management, both within rolling stock and signalling, eventually becoming technical director of signalling.

She then became quality and technical safety director in April 2017, before taking up her current post.

In her new role, Maria will be responsible for maintaining the quality and safety conformance of Alstom’s products and services.

She will also oversee operational functions, including engineering, industrialisation, sourcing, supply chain and cyber-security.

Maria Griffin said she was especially proud to have come from a graduate engineering trainee to Alstom’s senior management team.

Head hunt for Ballyclare Workwear manufacturer Ballyclare has appointed Paul Hunt as the company’s new regional sales manager for Southern England and South Wales.

Paul joins Ballyclare’s sales team with 25 years’ experience behind him. He has previously worked for both distributors and end users in a variety of markets, including rail, defence and construction.

“I’m delighted to have joined Ballyclare at such a key point in its development,” said Paul. “The company has recently expanded and restructured its sales team so that it’s perfectly placed to serve the growing demand for its workwear. There is tremendous potential in the market, and with the quality of its design and manufacture Ballyclare is ideally placed to benefit from that

potential.”

Ballyclare’s sales and marketing director, Roger Foster, said: “Adding Paul to our team is another important step forward for us as we continue to develop the Ballyclare offering.

“His expertise, particularly in working with the distributor market, will be very beneficial, both for us and for our customers.”

TfL appoints new rail MD REPTA 2018 STILL GOING STRONG

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Transport for London (TfL) has appointed a new managing director (MD) for surface transport.

Current director of public transport and TfL strategy Gareth Powell will replace incumbent MD Leon Daniels - who leaves the organisation after nearly seven years - with immediate effect.

Surface transport covers the London Overground, the Docklands Light Railway and London trams.

Gareth joined TfL’s business improvement and performance division in 2003 from Atkins.

He held a number of roles in group business planning and performance before moving to colead the re-organisation of many parts of TfL. Gareth went on to join London Underground as director of strategy and service development before his most recent post in which he has driven significant improvements at TfL and helped to further modernise the organisation.

London’s transport

commissioner Mike Brown said: “Gareth Powell has held key roles at Transport for London for many years. He will bring great drive, energy and experience to the vital work of delivering the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and making London a safer, greener, fairer and more accessible place.

“I congratulate him and also give my best wishes to Leon Daniels, who is leaving TfL after nearly seven years as the managing director of Surface Transport. Leon has made a massive contribution to TfL and London. Our progress under his leadership has been considerable and I am very grateful to him both personally and professionally for all his invaluable hard work and support.”

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Final Class 707s due South Western Railway (SWR) is set to receive the last of its new Class 707 EMUs from Siemens.

The final sets will be delivered to Clapham Junction by the end of January 2018, completing SWR’s fleet of 30 trains.

The first pair of five-car 707s was delivered at the end of 2016 and the first train of the Desiro fleet entered service last summer.

Class 707s will only operate on the SWR network until mid-2019.

FirstGroup/MTR, which took over

the franchise from Stagecoach, plans to replace them with a new fleet of Bombardier Aventras.

Speaking to RailStaff at the launch of the SWR franchise, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The franchisees have no obligation to use the existing trains.

“This is a different strategy. It’s about having a more harmonised fleet of trains that improves efficiency, improves ways of working.

“It does mean that Angel Trains has a fleet of Siemens trains that

won’t have a home after 2020, but we’re not in a position today where we have got a surplus of trains on our network, and I’m

absolutely certain they will find a home and help deliver longer trains and more capacity in other places.”

© Shutterstock.com

Business case published for £286m Birmingham International station

Train drivers protected

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council has produced a business case worth £286 million for the development of Birmingham International station.

Anyone who shines a laser device at a train driver’s cab could be jailed for up to five years under new laws unveiled by the Department for Transport.

The Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Bill, published in December, expands the list of vehicle operators beyond just planes - of which it is an offence to target with lasers.

Laser pens have become a growing concern with their beams capable of impacting a driver’s ability to control their © Shutterstock.com

vehicles.

The bill removes the current fine limit of £2,500 and also makes it easier to prosecute offenders by removing the need to prove an intention to endanger a vehicle.

Commander Simon Bray is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for lasers. He said: “Recklessly shining a laser at an aircraft or another moving vehicle is deeply irresponsible and dangerous.

“By causing a distraction or, in some cases, short or long-term eye damage, laser attacks can lead to catastrophic incidents.

“These new and robust measures send a clear message to perpetrators: laser attacks are a crime and serious consequences will follow from committing this offence.”

In 2016, 1,258 laser incidents were reported to the Civil Aviation Authority. Last year, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ran a call for evidence on the selling of laser pointers and plans to announce any proposals to restrict their sale this year.

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The Urban Growth Company, a special-delivery vehicle set up by Solihull Council to deliver infrastructure improvements around the station, produced a study which informed the business case.

It said that since Birmingham International station opened in the 1970s, passenger numbers have “exceeded all expectations”.

Urban Growth Company chairman Nick Brown added: “We now have a scenario where there simply isn’t enough capacity and the passenger experience could be so much better.”

Nick said that with the HS2 Interchange station on its way, major growth at Birmingham Airport and the NEC, and nearby Jaguar Land Rover going from

strength-to-strength, passenger numbers at Birmingham International station are forecast to triple over the next 20 years - potentially making it one of the UK’s busiest stations.

Under plans in the business case, a multi-modal hub will be created, bringing together future high-speed rail, existing rail, air travel, trams, buses, taxis and bicycles with seamless connections to Birmingham Airport and the new HS2 Interchange station by 2025.

The study was 50 per cent cofinanced from a £875,000 grant awarded by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility, with the rest provided by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Birmingham Airport and NEC Group.

The business case will now be submitted to the WMCA and the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership to secure the funding to progress the project. © Shutterstock.com

Time to upgrade your wiper system?

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Replace your pneumatic wipers with one of our electric motor conversion kits Pneumatic windscreen wiper systems have been around for decades. When new, they work well, but as time progresses they can become prone to failure due to system leaks. Failed wipers result in inoperable trains, causing service disruption (costing both time and money).

Thankfully, there’s an economic alternative. With over 35 years experience producing complete wiper systems, PSV Wipers Ltd have developed a number of conversion kits specifically for older rolling stock.

These are a direct replacement for your existing pneumatic system. They’re reliable, easy to retrofit and can save thousands in maintenance costs and lost operating time.

PSV have been developing and manufacturing robustly engineered wiper systems since 1980, supplying new and replacement components and systems for UK and international OEM train builders, fleet operators and fleet support distributors. Our products are designed to improve reliability and lower ‘Life Cycle Costs’.

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PSV Wipers Ltd, Navigation Road, Diglis, Worcester WR5 3DE, UK Tel. +44 (0) 1905 350500 │ sales@psvwipers.com │ www.psvwipers.com Photo reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Credit Phil Sangwell.

16

NEWS

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

The National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) is to launch a scheme to encourage unemployed youngsters into a career in the digital railway.

Central to the project is the innovative way that technology will be used, working with a specialist technology partner to develop a digital platform, called Trax, which will host a series of videos that explore the roles and skills of specific rail employees.

The aim is for the young adults who complete the video courses to be signposted to job roles within digital rail or be directed to other opportunities through NSAR Connect and the National Training Partnership.

The initial pilot will focus on reaching the 60,000 unemployed young people (aged 18 to 24) in London and the South East of England through the Job Centre Plus network.

Following the pilot, Trax will be rolled out across the UK to support the rail industry in filling the forecasted 5,000 digital roles, while at the same time addressing its diversity targets.

The project has been made

Promoting digital rail careers possible thanks to money from the grant-funding body UFI Charitable Trust.

Rail minister Paul Maynard said: “We are delivering the greatest investment in our railways since Victorian times to give passengers the services they rightly expect. Digital railways are an important part of that transformation and will allow us to run a greater number of services for passengers. It is vital that the next generation of rail employees have the skills to operate in this exciting new environment.”

Blast from the past The country’s first-ever second generation electric multiple unit (EMU) has been painted in its original blue and grey British Rail livery.

Train 313201, which operates out of Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) Brighton depot

along the Coastway route, has been repainted in its original colours - except for changes to meet today’s accessibility requirements - by GTR and Beacon Rail.

The train was the first off the production line at British Rail Engineering Ltd’s York Works in 1976.

It was BR’s first unit designed with both a pantograph for 25 kV AC overhead lines and shoegear for 750 V DC third rail supply.

Originally numbered 313001, it was reclassified 313201 when it was transferred along with 18 other units to Southern and the pantograph removed.

The repainting was carried out as part of a programme of improvement works, including work on the door mechanism, the air system, parts of the interiors plus repairs to the bodywork to keep them safe and fully functional.

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First community rail apprenticeship launched Arriva Trains Wales has launched the UK’s first community rail apprenticeship scheme.

Ex-engineering apprentice Danielle Hopkins, 23, is the first to join the 18-month programme.

She will work to strengthen links between the train operator and communities in the Valleys as well as to boost tourism.

Through research and working with local groups, such as ramblers, Danielle hopes to promote the scenic walking routes that are close to Arriva’s stations.

Supported by community rail officers from across Britain, her work will be focused on the areas between Pontypridd and the surrounding valleys of Rhondda, Cynon, Taff, Rhymney and Merthyr.

Danielle said that, as the country’s first community rail apprentice, she wants to “set the bar high”.

Tom Joyner, Arriva Trains Wales’ managing director, added that the role has the potential to create even stronger links between railways and communities in the Valleys.

He said: “Encouraging people to travel up in to the Valleys through marketing and promotion will help support local businesses and provide better opportunities to access jobs.

“It is more important than ever the voices of communities are heard in how transport services

are delivered, and Danielle will be a passionate advocate for her communities within Arriva Trains Wales and with our partners.”

ACoRP senior operations manager Brian Barnsley added: “We are keen to see community rail further expand, diversify and develop, especially engaging younger age groups.

“This growing, and increasingly influential, grassroots movement, plays a vital role in helping people to access sustainable travel and enabling communities to get the most from their local railways.”

Danielle Hopkins, the UK's first community rail apprentice, pictured at Pontypridd railway station.

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Blue light means danger Blue flashing lights have been installed on one of the platforms at London Paddington station to reduce the number of accidents caused by passengers tripping between the train and platform.

The lights on Platform 6 flash when the doors of Heathrow Express services open.

The idea is the lights will help to draw attention to the gap and bring down the number of reported step board incidents.

Installed by Pod-Trak, it is believed to be the first time this kind of lighting has been used at a national railway station in the UK. The lights were switched on for the first time on 8 December.

Heathrow Express has previously worked with Network Rail to pioneer the use of gap

fillers - rubber brushes that are attached to the platform edge - which have reduced the number of incidents by 85 per cent where they’ve been deployed. However, curved platforms at Paddington meant this particular solution could not be used.

Fraser Brown, director of Heathrow Express, said: “Ensuring that our passengers get to their destination safely and as quickly as possible is our key aim and the flashing blue lights together with the footprint vinyls at the curved end of Platform 6 at Paddington, will reduce accidents by providing a visual reminder to passengers and staff to be mindful of their step.”

Mark Langman, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “Our focus on safety is relentless. This is another example of how we are striving to be even better.”

NEWS

17

GBRf founder to head Hector Rail GB Railfreight's (GBRf) founder and managing director, John Smith, has been appointed as the new CEO of parent company Hector Rail.

Hector Rail chair Bo Lerenius said that the board is confident John Smith's leadership will help the Swedish firm to become the leading independent panEuropean rail freight operator.

John said that he will continue to demonstrate the importance of rail freight in sustainable economic growth in his new role.

He added: "I feel there are significant opportunities at closer co-operation between the operators across Europe, and I hope to be the voice for that effort.”

Hector Rail’s former CEO Joakim Landholm stepped down due to personal reasons, prompting the freight operator into an immediate search for his successor in November 2017.

Tel: 0845 450 Tel: 0845 4504190 4190 Tel: 0845 450 4190 Tel: 0845 450 4190 Email: enquiries@pod-trak.com Email: enquiries@pod-trak.com Email: enquiries@pod-trak.com Email: enquiries@pod-trak.com www.pod-trak.com www.pod-trak.com www.pod-trak.com www.pod-trak.com

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18

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Crossrail celebrates 1,000th apprentice A handful of current and former apprentices were at the Elizabeth line’s Tottenham Court Road station to celebrate the project passing the 1,000th apprenticeship milestone.

Thameslink signallers ETCS ready Network Rail has successfully delivered a training programme to prepare Thameslink signallers for the introduction of ETCS and ATO. The course was developed by the Thameslink Programme, working with the Network Rail training team in conjunction with Siemens Rail Automation, and delivered at the Three Bridges ROC in Crawley to prepare signallers for the rollout of the new signalling systems from 2018.

Once in operation, ETCS (European Train Control System) and ATO (Automatic Train Operation) will allow 24 trains an hour to operate through the Thameslink core.

Work initially began in October 2016 and approval was given by Network Rail's professional head of operations to begin the training programme in August this year.

Bill Graham, an operations specialist involved with the Cambrian ERTMS and ETCS National Integration Facility (ENIF), provided support to Thameslink and Network Rail Training in developing the subject matter.

Working on a specially designed ETCS/ ATO simulator, the course was delivered in five modules. The different modules covered the operation of ETCS in normal, abnormal,

degraded and emergency conditions.

Jamie Geraghty, shift signaller manager (SSM) and trainer at Three Bridges ROC, said: “The signaller and SSM plays a vital role in the day-to-day running of the railway under ETCS, which provides us with great new tools to enable us to do our job.

“ETCS and conventional signalling have some similarities, which made converting to ETCS easier, as what we already know and do today have resemblances to terms and procedures that are used in ETCS. “The signalling team are very excited to be involved with the development and introduction of ETCS and ATO. I am also incredibly proud to be here at the start of this fantastic new technology.”

Iona Wakely, head of the Thameslink operational readiness programme, said: “Introducing ETCS to the Thameslink Core is not just a technology change, but it also drives changes to the way the railway is operated and maintained to deliver the capacity we need for the new timetables.

“Completion of this course marks a major milestone for the programme and for South East route as our signalling staff are now operationally ready to signal trains in ETCS Level 2 from early 2018.”

More than 1,000 apprentices have joined the programme since work began in 2009, either employed directly by Crossrail Limited or its contractors.

The group at Tottenham Court Road station included current apprentices and several qualified apprentices who have gone on to secure roles on projects like Tideway and the Northern line extension.

Crossrail Limited has created 710 apprenticeships during the construction and fit-out of the stations and tunnels. In addition, Bombardier and MTR have created a combined 297 apprenticeships during the manufacturing of the Class 345 fleet and network upgrade programme.

Sir Terry Morgan, Crossrail chairman, said: “Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Crossrail project and our commitment to creating quality learning and career opportunities for young people has made a huge contribution towards revitalising our infrastructure skills base.

“Investment in skills and training is essential, not just to the delivery of the Elizabeth line, but also the next generation of projects. I am continually impressed by the drive and commitment of our apprentices and I would like to congratulate each of them on their fantastic achievements.”

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20/10/2015 09:25

NO BETTER TIME

THINGS CHANGE

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 largescale infrastructure projects.

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.

8 MARCH ADDLESHAW GODDARD LONDON WWW.RAILROADSHOW.COM

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The Procurement road show 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!

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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.

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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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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Elizabeth line set to boost UK economy by £42 billion Transport for London (TfL) says that the new stations and travel links opened through the Elizabeth line will boost the UK economy by £42 billion, supporting thousands of new jobs and homes.

The one-year countdown to the launch of TfL's new line has begun, with services set to launch in December, 2018.

Construction work on the Crossrail project - the name of the Elizabeth line before it launches - is now entering the final stages.

Over the Christmas period, engineers completed the largest, most complex signalling upgrade ever undertaken on the three mile approach to London Paddington. Advanced works will also take place on some of the stations.

From May, 2018, the existing Heathrow Connect service will be replaced by a TfL Rail service between Paddington and Heathrow.

Services on the Elizabeth line will be gradually introduced from December, 2018. Initially the line will operate three services: Paddington (Elizabeth line station) to Abbey Wood via central London; Paddington (mainline station) to Heathrow (Terminals 2, 3 and 4); and Liverpool Street (mainline station) to Shenfield.

In May, 2019, direct services

will begin to operate from Paddington to Shenfield and Paddington to Abbey Wood.

Finally, the full Elizabeth line, of which construction began in 2009, will open in December, 2019.

TfL says that, as well as reducing congestion on the Tube, the Elizabeth line will add an extra 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes commuting distance of London’s key employment districts.

The new line - jointly sponsored by TfL and the Department for Transport - will feature ten new stations and increase central London's rail capacity by 10 per cent - one of the most significant increases in central London’s public transport capacity for decades.

Initially 15 trains per hour will run through the new tunnels, increasing to 24 trains per hour through the central section by May 2019.

London mayor Sadiq Kahn described the line as "one of the biggest new transport projects in a generation" and said it will provide a huge boost to the economy.

Rail minister Paul Maynard added that, with 96 per cent of the Crossrail contracts won by UK companies, the jobs, business opportunities and economic growth the Elizabeth line is creating is not limited to London.

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CAF’s factory in South Wales takes shape CAF has released images showing progress being made on its new rolling stock manufacturing site in South Wales.

Due to open this year, the £30 million factory will build trams, suburban, intercity and high-speed trains for the UK. CAF is targeting contracts with Transport for London, HS2 as well as the Wales and Borders, West Midlands and South Eastern franchises.

Previously, the company has supplied rolling stock to the likes of Midland Metro and Edinburgh Trams from its factories in Spain.

At present only Hitachi and Bombardier build trains in the UK. CAF currently has an order book of around 300 trains and coaches for the UK market, including contracts for the new Caledonian Sleepers and new trains for the TransPennine Express, West Midlands Trains and Northern fleets.

Its UK director Richard Garner said that the factory, which has been supported by a grant from the Welsh Government and is being built by principal contractor

Bowmer & Kirkland, will give CAF the flexibility to “respond to the exacting demands of both existing and new customers”.

Before choosing the 46,000 square metre site in Newport, CAF said it considered more than 100 locations in the UK but chose the location because of its links to roads, rail and ports, as well as the availability of local people with engineering skills. CAF estimates that the factory will create more than 300 jobs.

CAF plans to start recruiting people to work at the factory in spring, and will be offering training and apprenticeship schemes from autumn 2018.

Job opportunities include skilled technicians and engineers, management and support staff.

CAF plans to develop a cluster of local and national companies to supply components for its trains and is holding a ‘meet the buyer event’ in January, 2018.

Among a list of the materials it is looking to source are passenger and driver seats, lighting systems, windscreen wiper systems, passenger information systems, CCTV and exterior doors.

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

LAND FOR SALE

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NEWS

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The site extends to circa 4.2 acres (1.7 hectares).

The site houses a variety of outbuildings of different sizes.

LOCATION

The site is located in Purley, a suburb of South London within the London Borough of Croydon. The subject site is approximately 12 miles south of Central London.

The site is within immediate proximity to Purley Station and is bordered by train tracks on the East and West perimeters.

A secure pedestrian access gate is located on the platform at Purley Station with access to the site via a footbridge over the tracks. Towards the south of the site is a vehicular access bridge connecting to Fairbairn Close which is located just off Beaumont Road. The A22 is located towards the east of the site providing access from London to the Sussex coast. The A23 is located towards the west of the site providing access between London and Brighton.

PURCHASE PRICE / Price on application.

TENURE / Long leasehold interest, 125 years from 01 April 1994.

VIEWING / Strictly by appointment with the sole agents.

For more information

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James Hargreaves

t: 020 3257 6187 e: Joseph.Skinner@cbre.com

t: 020 7182 2155 e: James.Hargreaves@cbre.com

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REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED IN 2018

THE INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS DESCRIBED CHALLENGE US ALL TO DO BETTER THIS YEAR

F

irst of all a happy and safe new year to all; and my congratulations to everyone who worked on our railways during the Christmas and New Year festivities. Falling snow at the end of December made the headlines, but the press was unusually quiet about train disruption!

Last month, I referred to the proposed organisational changes to our main line railways. I welcomed the principle of geographical devolution.

Regional management (if I may use the “R” word) with both responsibility and accountability should result in safer working by bringing railway people closer together and making it easier for accountable engineers and managers to be in direct contact with their front line staff (nothing beats face-to-face communication).

Too many inquiries into incidents and accidents have come to a dead end when local concerns have failed to generate adequate responses from remote centralised management.

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Train control not in use

Human fallibility is always a factor, as I am confident will be found by the 20-strong team from the National Transportation Safety Board currently investigating the Amtrak Cascades 501 passenger train accident just before Christmas.

It resulted in three fatalities and 70 people injured when 13 coaches out of the 14 derailed onto the freeway below, near DuPont in Washington State. The train was making the first trip of a new service when it derailed at the underbridge over the freeway. It was travelling at 78 mph as it entered the 30 mph restricted zone for which a “Positive Train Control” system had been installed, but at the time of the accident the system was not in use! Why ever not and who decided to start running without it will doubtless be two of the questions to be answered!

Regulation for tram systems?

Our RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) released a number of reports just before Christmas, including their final report into the Croydon Tram fatal accident on November 9th 2016. It concluded that “the

Colin Wheeler.

driver temporarily lost awareness on the section of route on which his workload was low” and suggests “micro-sleep” as a possible explanation for this.

The Chief Inspector describes the report’s recommendations as “far reaching”. They include the use of current technology to provide automatic braking and monitor driver alertness, a better understanding of tramway operating risks, improving the strength of doors and windows, and improving safety management by encouraging a culture where everyone reports their mistakes.

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© Alex Milan Tracy/SIPA USA/PA

Additionally and for me critically, the report also recommends a review of how tram systems are regulated and the creation of “a dedicated safety body for UK tramways”.

“Fearful of reporting incidents”

Tram 26 was the fifth service of the day and was carrying 26 passengers when it left Addington on time at 0553 am.

By the time it left Lloyd Park it was carrying 69 passengers when it rounded the sharp right curve onto the route of the old railway at just 12 mph.

It then accelerated onto a straight section with three closely spaced tunnels in just 500 metres of track. At the end of the straight, the route leaves the old railway track-bed and turns sharp left before joining the other branch of the network (Elmers End and Beckenham) at Sandilands. Having passed through the tunnels at 50 mph the tram was still travelling at

45 mph when it reached the reflective 20 kph (12 mph) sign although the driver had by then applied the brakes.

Two weeks before the accident a different driver went too fast round Sandilands curve, having mistaken his position in the tunnel. Consequently he braked late and entered the curve at 28 mph.

The report says “the perceived attitude of some managers and consequent fear of consequences felt by drivers led them not to report incidents”.

not up to date.

The report also refers to the absence of any device to detect a loss of awareness by drivers and the fact that tram operating organisations currently have no mechanism to promote the sharing of safety information or the management of risk. It has been a long time coming but I agree with its far reaching recommendations.

Two track worker near misses in four minutes!

One of the last reports published before Christmas by RAIB was a near miss at Camden

South Junction at 1-30 am on the morning of Tuesday 28th February last year.

A passenger train heading for Euston station at 47 mph almost struck a track-worker.

Just four minutes later the same train had a second near miss with another track-worker only 510 metres further up the line towards London. In the latter case the train stopped just before reaching him!

The signaller had authorised the workers to go on the line over which “he had just routed a train having overlooked the fact that engineering work was

More management issues

However, there had not been a tram accident involving overturning in UK since 1953 until Sandilands happened.

RAIB’s report states that the current management of driver fatigue risk is not always in line with published industry practice.

The tram that derailed (2551) had a CCTV system that was not working and some of its vehicle maintenance instructions were FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

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RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

taking place”. The RAIB report 16/2017 is critical of the processes and methods used for managing and communicating information in multi-panelled signalling centres.

A possession in fourteen lines

Two signallers were involved, with 15 and 37 years experience, respectively. The published possession limits were agreed between the Person in Charge of Possession (PICOP) and the Signaller. Another signaller (covering during a meal break) received the call from the PICOP reporting the first near miss. The Signaller then realised that he had overlooked the fact that the line concerned was part of the possession. By this time the train had passed the next signal. It was a complex possession; details of its limits ran to 14 lines in the Weekly Operating Notices (WON).

The report notes that there is no standard template, and the software used by Network Rail (NR) “offers little flexibility for formatting”.

In Wimbledon Box a Signaller leads communications with the PICOP and then writes the blocking points into a book.

RAIB’s three recommendations include improving processes and documentation as well as reducing the exposure of track workers to risks due to being on the track.

Liverpool Lime Street Wall, examinations insufficient

RAIB also published its report into this incident that occurred on 28th February last year at 5-38 pm. Part of a wall at the top of the 20 metres high Lime Street cutting fell onto the tracks beneath. There were two falls of masonry and rubble totalling 170 tonnes ended up on the railway below. The overhead

electrification lines were brought down and all four lines were blocked by the debris. They remained closed until March 8th.

Prior to the collapse developments on adjacent leased land included the “addition of a soil embankment immediately behind the top of the wall”. A small portion of the developed land was owned by Network Rail and was not leased. This increased loading and heavy rain triggered the collapse.

RAIB concluded that Network Rail’s “examinations were insufficient to detect developments on the adjacent land and the infringement of its property” and that they “did not have a prioritisation process in place for retaining walls that have a high potential safety consequence in the event of a failure”.

Cardiff East Christmas/New Year last year.

The final stage of the re-signalling at Cardiff station was also the subject of an RAIB report. Cardiff Power Box was to close with signalling control transferred to the Wales Railway Operating Centre (WROC). Part of the new layout was commissioned on 29th December 2016. On that day the Cardiff to Treherbert train left from platform 7 at 8-37 am. Fortunately its driver realised that the points in front of him were not set correctly for his route, so he stopped his train before reaching them.

Simon French, Chief Inspector, commented “this alarming incident in which a train came close to travelling down a track that would have put it on a collision course with other trains, serves as a timely reminder of how easily things can go wrong”. Referring to the project he added “over the years some bad habits have crept in. Well-meaning people

were taking each other’s word that things had been done, instead of seeing the proof.

The end result in this case was that no-one checked that redundant points due to be removed altogether in a few days or weeks had been locked in the correct position”.

Points were wrongly set

On December 20th RAIB published its interim report of a collision that occurred on August 15th last year. The passenger train from Waterloo to Guildford (10 coaches Class 455 and 456 EMUs) left at 0542 am and was travelling at just 13 mph when it collided with a stationary engineering train.

There were no injuries but both trains were damaged and train services were disrupted.

The engineering train was on a line adjacent to the route of the passenger one. A set of points was not in the correct position due to “a temporary modification to the control system”.

This resulted in both the train driver and the signaller “receiving indications that the points were correctly set”. I await the full report with interest.

Too many rules?

I suggest that all the incidents and accidents included in this article have just one thing in common. If individuals were more empowered to seek agreement to interpreting the rules as they felt was necessary for safety and ease of working, and knew that they would be held personally accountable, the incidents might well have been avoided.

Making new rules and introducing new procedures can easily result in people with ballast scratched boots abiding by the rules to the letter instead of interpreting them, taking responsibility, and making good decisions.

Our railways still have too many rules rather than too few.

Putting passengers first

During the Christmas/New Year season Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was reported as commenting that the industry “is not putting passengers first” and consequently we risk “falling back to the days of British Rail”.

My memories include the creation of Network South East, InterCity and Regional Railways by British Rail with the objective of focussing on the needs of passengers.

British Rail was not all bad. As was revealed in the December edition of Rail Engineer the true cost of the partial electrification (at current price levels) of the Great Western Railway route is no less than seven times that achieved by the electrification of the East Coast Mainline from Kings Cross to Edinburgh by a British Rail project team, and the final cost was just 3 percent over budget!

My hope is that High Speed 2 will equal or better that achievement!

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

26

COMPANY FOCUS

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

CALL CONFIDENT A NEW APPROACH

C

onfidential reporting and analysis was adopted by the mainline railway companies shortly after the catastrophic rail incident that was Ladbroke Grove in 1999 to help address an identified shortfall in safety culture.

There’s an important distinction to be made between confidential reporting and whistleblowing, said Paul Russell, who in 2012 left his assurance director role at Serco Transport to head rail industry confidential reporting body CIRAS. “People confuse confidential reporting with whistleblowing,” said Paul. “There are pros and cons to whistleblowing. With whistleblowing, the identity may or may not be kept confidential. Blowing the whistle is different from sounding an alarm and that is what confidential reporting can provide. It’s an early warning, providing organisations with an opportunity to improve before issues escalate into a loss event.”

Paul has now launched a new confidential reporting service, CallConfidential, which he believes will continue to build on the work undertaken since Ladbroke Grove.

FINE TUNING Based in Sussex, CallConfidential is positioning itself as a multisector confidential reporting tool. The company, which meets RIS3701 - TOM and RISQS requirements for confidential reporting, is independent and is a limited registered entity at Companies House under TRRC Limited, trading as CallConfidential.

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

“CallConfidential was launched earlier in 2017, and we are currently fine tuning our operating procedures and ensuring that the user experience is one that is both high quality and effective,” said Paul. “We launched the business formally early in November and go live in April 2018.”

Paul has already assembled an experienced team with a wide range of expertise.

“We will operate in only those sectors where we have an industry expert as part of our board, which doubles as our ‘Panel of Industry Experts’,” said Paul. “We recognised that to be credible we would need to have identified people with expertise that not only brings subject matter experience to our business - for example safety, human resources, information security and incident investigation - but who also come from a variety of industry sectors, so we have people who have expertise in rail, construction, oil and gas, security and emergency planning, NHS, road and highways and accident investigation.”

So far, the CallConfidential panel includes Paul, an expert in the rail and construction sectors and a former British Rail signaller; Richard Bell, who has held various rail safety and compliance roles throughout a 20-year career; Jean Duprez MBE, vice chair on the Business Development Board at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and an ambassador

for the London Chamber of Commerce; and Rob Miles, a human factors engineering behaviour specialist, former HSE inspector in oil and gas and, like Russell, a former CIRAS committee board member.

Further experts being added to the panel include Paul Richards, who has extensive knowledge of information security; and Martyn Gomersall, an independent safety consultant to large international consulting companies including Parsons-Brinckerhoff, Egis Rail (France), AECOM (Asia) as well as highly regarded contractors such as GE, Impregilo and many others. Within the United Kingdom, he has engineering experience in signalling installation, track works and track welding. Martyn has also worked directly for MTR (Hong Kong) and

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

COMPANY FOCUS

27

NTIAL

London Underground in both operational and engineering safety.

Lorna McDonald is the newly appointed assistant director of rail. Having joined BEIS as a civil servant in May 2017, Lorna brings with her an impressive portfolio in the Metropolitan Police, Counter Terrorism Command (both in UK and Abroad) and her current work in rail.

Bonita Raisbeck, who has 11 years’ military experience as an electrical engineer, has also joined the panel. Bonita has broadened her personal and professional experience with HSQE roles within the heavy engineering, construction, rail, local council, further education and consultancy sectors.

Throughout Bonita’s varied career, she has been involved at all tiers with safety, health and environmental (SHE) compliance – from shop-floor delivery through to strategic decision making at director level.

CallConfidential recognises that to operate in such industries requires strict confidentiality and security of data, and is currently working towards ISO 27001 Information Security accreditation. CallConfidential is being modelled on the EFQM Excellence Model and indeed Paul Russell himself is currently active in assessing organisations throughout the UK on behalf of the British Quality Foundation (BQF).

HANDS-ON SERVICE CallConfidential’s managing director, Richard Bell, explains that the company’s primary objective is to offer a hands-on service that member organisations and their staff feel confident in using. CallConfidential will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The service will be available at times when it is potentially

needed the most, for example during engineering windows at Christmas, Easter or during Bank Holidays and weekends.

Richard said that through business efficiencies and location, the business has been able to keep operational running costs low, which will be reflected in the service’s pricing structure. There will also be flexible membership opportunities for group organisations, and the potential for longer term membership.

In addition, as part of its community engagement programme, CallConfidential will commit to making annual charitable donations based upon the membership subscription levels. Members will be given the opportunity of choosing which charity they would like to see benefit from this commitment.

“It’s an exciting time for CallConfidential, and we are determined to make a difference and add value to our 'members' reporting systems,” said Richard Bell. www.callconfidential.com FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

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TRAINING

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

WHO'S HOO B uilt at the turn of the millennium, the Hoo Junction training facility in Kent has seen some of the industry’s best and brightest come through its doors. Now its new custodian, Amtrain, plans to build on its previous success and bring its own brand of high-quality railway training to

the South East.

Founded by husband and wife Andy and Sheila McKenna in 1997, Amtrain delivers a wide range of training courses for the rail sector, including track inductions and PTS, COSS, lookout/site warden, crane controller and engineering supervisor.

Initially run out of the family home, the company’s headquarters is now located off the A38 in Fradley. In 2017, Amtrain acquired Hoo Junction to expand its offering around the country and has now appointed an experienced manager to oversee the day-today running of the facility.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT Hoo Junction has five classrooms and a large outdoor practical training area. The centre can deliver small plant, machine crane controller/operator and all Sentinel safety-critical courses. It has a large car park and the capacity to accommodate up to 60 candidates daily.

The site will be managed by a career railwayman and passionate track safety advocate, Graham Ellis (pictured above).

Graham began his career with British Rail as a second man in Stratford, East London, progressing through the grades to become train crew supervisor at London Liverpool Street. He briefly left the industry prior to privatisation before returning to the private sector under Railtrack, where he worked on numerous projects as a safety critical operative, eventually reaching the grade of senior PICOP. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

In 1986, Graham set up his own railway training company in Somerset before joining McGinley in 1997 as a senior PICOP. He later became head of safety in 2001 and cites among his proudest achievements the creation of the ‘Safety IN Rail’ publication.

Graham is also a past board member of the Rail Industry Contractors Association (RICA), the Association of Railway Training Providers (ARTP) and was a member of the Network Rail training material review panel.

Following a tragic accident in 2000, he helped to introduce the ‘Blue Hat’ initiative through McGinley to enable clients to instantly recognise inexperienced track workers. This initiative was introduced by Balfour Beatty as a Wessex-specific solution to what was then an industry-wide problem and when Railtrack took control of the national infrastructure it became a norm for the entire industry.

In 2012, Graham became national training manager for McGinley’s inhouse training division, successfully achieving an 86 per cent coverage of all internal training.

TRAINING

29

exciting challenge to bring Hoo back to its former glory days,” said Graham. “The site offers excellent facilities to make a success in the continuing expansion of Amtrain as the go-to company for quality training and assessment in the South East and Midlands.”

GLORY DAYS Graham sees the reopening of Hoo Junction as the next chapter in Amtrain’s growth nationally. “This will be an

T – 01283 792 633 E – info@amtrain.co.uk

NEW training centre open at Hoo Junction LATEST AVAILABLE COURSES

SWL 1-2 – both these courses are three days.

SWL 1 – you must hold COSS to be able to attend the course SWL 2 – you must hold ES to be able to attend the course.

COSS – initial course is 7 days with recert running 5 days.

Level B Strapping and Switching – these courses run over one day.

For more information and to book your course, visit www.amtrain.co.uk email sales@amtrain.co.uk or call 01283 792 633 FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

30

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

S L A N IO S S E F O R P L I YOUNG RA AR E Y W E N Y P P HA FROM YRP

R

eflecting on 2017, YRP had much to celebrate as an organisation at the end of the year! From the second ever Rail Week in October, which brought together more than 80 collaborators from across the rail industry and education sector and saw more than 50 special visits and events hosted around the country, to the successful launch of our North East Committee, helping to deliver more events and activities for our members, 2017 was another huge year for YRP. We are starting 2018 with even more enthusiasm to promote, inspire and develop the young people of the rail industry for another year.

We are now rested after the Christmas break and our focus for the first half of 2018 will be to strengthen and solidify the developments we have made as an organisation to date. One item on the agenda (and arguably our favourite event of the year) is the YRP Annual Black Tie Dinner, which will be hosted in Derby for the very first time on 13 Friday, April 2018. Hosted at the iconic Roundhouse, this event will be held in the beating heart of the global rail industry in a location bursting with railway heritage.

CPC Project Services has once again shown its commitment to developing and supporting young talent by exclusively sponsoring the event, which will celebrate another year of success, growth and achievement in the rail industry and the young professionals who continue to excel and drive the sector.

Each year, we have been proudly supported by an industry leader keynote speaker and 2018 is no exception. Keep an eye out for an upcoming announcement to find out who it will be!

Paul Case, national chair of YRP said: “Our Annual YRP Dinner and Awards is a great opportunity to celebrate the important contribution that young professionals, graduates and apprentices make to the UK railway industry and to give recognition to those who have excelled early in their careers. It is also an opportunity to thank and recognise the support that organisations and individuals give to enhance the development of young professionals.”

Exposure at a national level

For attendees, the dinner presents a unique networking opportunity, bringing together senior professionals and industry leaders alongside the rising stars and future leaders of the industry.

For us at YRP, to promote, inspire and develop also means to recognise the contributions and achievements of our valued members. Through our work, we encounter so many talented and passionate professionals at varying stages of their careers so we will be recognising outstanding individuals through the presentation of three awards on the night; YRP Apprentice of the Year, YRP Mentor of the Year and the longstanding Young Rail Professional of the Year.

We believe we are ideally placed as an organisation to identify and award these individuals, as we are fortunate enough to meet and reach so many inspiring professionals who meet these criteria on a regular basis. We are very excited for these awards to once again be presented at the YRP Annual Black Tie Dinner 2018, with a special

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

segment of the evening dedicated to the presentation of these awards.

Winning these awards is a great opportunity to gain exposure at a national level, with the event being attended by key senior industry figures and young people alike. For the sixth year, we will be presenting the Young Rail Professional of the Year Award to a young professional who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the rail industry during the last 12 months. This category recognises those who, from early on in their careers, have shown passion and enthusiasm for the rail industry and provide a role model, leading by example.

The YRP Apprentice of the Year recognises the talent and outstanding commitment of our industry apprentices, who sometimes can be the unsung heroes of many an organisation.

These apprentices are often not only working a full-time job, but studying at the same time - a feat many of us would rather not take on as we get slightly older (and wiser!) in light of the huge personal commitment this takes. We wish to reward apprentices for their contributions, especially seeing as they are often the youngest

cohort of our industry – we want to promote, inspire and develop this budding talent, and there is no better place to do this than at the YRP Annual Black Tie Dinner.

Last, but by no means least, is the category of YRP Mentor of the Year. At YRP we really couldn’t do what we do without the guidance and support we have received from many key senior figures, who constantly advise and look out for us as an organisation. We want to thank these stellar individuals and other industry mentors as yet unknown to us, by giving them the chance to be nominated for this award.

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YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

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Mentors We know better than most how advice, support and having an approachable and accessible older or more senior person as your mentor can shape and guide your career, and your ability to make key career or high level strategic decisions – so if you know of, or have been helped, inspired and guided by a mentor who has had a positive impact on your personal and professional development, this will be your chance to nominate them for the YRP Mentor of the Year Award.

We will be on the lookout for someone who is committed to aiding personal development, who values and respects their mentees’ professional views and is willing to share the breadth of professional knowledge and understanding they have gained from their experiences across the rail industry!

Following the launch of our new website in December, nominations can now be submitted via the YRP electronically through a dedicated portal on the YRP website. This enhanced interface makes nominating chosen individuals as easy as possible, to ensure our industry’s most dedicated young professionals, apprentices and young people have the opportunity to gain recognition for their contributions. Submissions can be made by a colleague, mentor or anyone who knows the candidate well enough to give sufficient information of their achievements. This page will go live shortly so keep an eye out for the launch of our awards nominations, which will be coming soon!

If you want to get involved in this great organisation, helping to promote the rail industry and inspire and develop the next generation of leaders in rail, please feel free to contact us: www.youngrailpro.com/ contact/ or see the Join Us section of the website.

If you have any questions about the YRP Annual Black Tie Dinner 2018, or require information on tickets and tables please email dinnerenquiries@youngrailpro.com. The YRP Annual Dinner 2018 is proudly sponsored by CPC Project Services.

April

13

YRP ANNUAL BLACK TIE DINNER AND DANCE 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

32

Rail Asset Management Summit EVENTS

28th February 2018, London

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

ASSET MANAGEMENT SUMMIT FEBRUARY, LONDON

EVENTS

JANUARY 2018

FEBRUARY 2018

MARCH 2018

HS2 - NETWORK RAIL INTERFACES

THE EDINBURGH HYPERLOOP STORY

RAIL PROCUREMENT SUMMIT

www.irse.org

www.youngrailwayprofessionals.org

www.railsummits.com

NEXT STEPS FOR INTELLIGENT MOBILITY & DEVELOPING A SMART TRANSPORT SYSTEM

ANATOMY OF A RAIL DISASTER

MIDDLE EAST RAIL

9th January Crewe

1st February Edinburgh

6th February London

8th March Addleshaw Goddard, London

12th-13th March Dubai

www.terrapinn.com

With millions of assets 11th across the rail network, how the industry manages those assets directly January www.theiet.org London correlates with the bottom line and a network that runs efficiently and safely.

IEP MAINTENANCE FACILITY Moving from BIM to Asset Management TOUR HOW AND WHY SUPPLY 14th February Managing rolling andSHOULD associated assets CHAIN stock LEADERS Doncaster CHAMPION Infrastructure - how toCUSTOMER manage so many www.railwayoperators.co.uk diverse assets CENTRICITY INITIATIVES How could assets be better managed in the future?

16th January 6TH INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY SUMMIT London www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/

SESSION 1: SESSION 2: SESSION 3: SESSION 4:

Secure your place at:

www.ciltuk.org.uk/pages/psf/ strategicrail

www.railsummits.com

FTNX THE NEXT GENERATION TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK FOR THE UK RAILWAY 16th January York

21st-23rd February Prague, Czech Republic

15th March York

www.railwayoperators.co.uk

WINDSOR RAIL LINK 20th March High Wycombe www.theiet.org

www.irits.org

ASSET MANAGEMENT SUMMIT

28th February Addleshaw Goddard, London www.railsummits.com

www.irse.org

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

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

UNDERSTANDING TOC ALLIANCES

APRIL 2018 MACH (ENGINEERINGBASED MANUFACTURING) 9th-13th April NEC, Birmingham

www.machexhibition.com

RAIL TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT 26th April Bird & Bird, London www.railsummits.com

RAIL EVENTS 2018

BOOK YOUR PLACE ON THESE ESSENTIAL EVENTS 28th February 8th March

26th April May TBC

BIM Summit Rail Procurement Roadshow

Asset Management Summit Addleshaw Goddard, London London Launch Addleshaw Goddard, London

BIM Summit Rail Procurement Roadshow HS2 Rail Technology Summit Bird and Bird, London

Shakespeare Martineau, Birmingham

@Rail_Media

www.railsummits.com www.railroadshow.com

www.railsummits.com www.railroadshow.com

7th June

Network Rail Partnership Awards The Vox, Birmingham

TBC

18th June

Rail Procurement Roadshow Northern Hub Addleshaw Goddard, Manchester

www.railroadshow.com

7th, 8th, 9th September

RailSport Loughborough Uni, Loughborough

11th September

Safety Sport Summit WinnersRoadshow Rail Procurement and Drinks Reception Bird and Bird, London Sport It’s a Knockout!

22nd November

29th November

Sport Games

Safety Summit Addleshaw Goddard, London

RailStaff Awards NEC, Birmingham

Sport Badminton

www.railsport.uk www.railsummits.com www.railroadshow.com

www.railstaffawards.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 01530 816 448 OR VISIT WWW.RAIL-MEDIA.COM

34

CAREERS

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

YOU AND YOUR CAREER IN 2018

T

he industry’s target to secure 100,000 job opportunities across the UK by 2027 is further evidence - if any more was needed - of the railway’s longterm commitment to the growth and development of its workforce.

While the opening of new colleges and the creation of new apprenticeships offers exciting opportunities for newcomers, the new year will present people at all different stages of their careers with the chance to take on new challenges and find their dream job.

For anyone launching a job hunt this January, here are a few pointers to help make your search a successful one.

Assess your options

If you’re thinking of changing jobs, ask yourself why? Salary is often not the primary reason people choose to leave. What are you looking for from prospective employers?

Decide what type of

employment contract suits your needs. Are you looking for a permanent position? Are you open to contract or part-time roles?

Retraining and upskilling

If you’re looking to take your career in a completely different direction, there are various opportunities out there.

For example, the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR), which has sites in Birmingham and Doncaster, is keen to attract existing railway employees who are looking to add high-speed rail engineering skills to their CVs.

Set up job alerts

RailwayPeople.com can have up to 2,000 jobs online at any one time so you need to be smart about your search. If you register as a candidate and upload your CV, you can set up alerts to email new vacancies that fit your experience and competencies straight to your inbox. You can also make your details visible to recruiters, who can contact you directly about roles.

Get your CV fighting fit

Your CV may need a bit of work if it’s been a while since your last job hunt. With so many examples of ‘the perfect CV’ online it can be difficult to know what’s right for your sector. There are lots of companies that offer professional CV writing services but a good place to start would be to use the National Careers Service’s free advice line, which can be contacted either by phone or web chat.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

It can be disheartening to go through several rounds of interviews and assessments to ultimately find out you were unsuccessful for a job you seemed perfect for. Try to stay positive and keep responding to ads even if you’re confident about another opportunity.

Upload or update your candidate profile on RailwayPeople.com.

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

12 th INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE EXHIBITION

INSPIRING BETTER RAIL NETWORKS PLANT & MACHINERY

THE TRACK

EDUCATION & TRAINING

LIVE PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS

HIGH-PROFILE SPEAKERS

INNOVATIONS

NETWORKING

PROJECT UPDATES

HUNDREDS OF EXHIBITORS

THOUSANDS OF ATTENDEES

1- 3 MAY 2018 EXCEL, LONDON, UK For more information: Tel:+44 (0)1727 814400

Supporting Organisations:

www.infrarail.com

36

CAREERS

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

FINDING THE PEOPLE TO MAKE

HS2 HAPPEN

EVERY TIME I WALK INTO WORK, I NOTICE BIRMINGHAM IS IN THE MIDST OF A RENAISSANCE. NOT A MONTH GOES BY WITHOUT A NEW COMMERCIAL BUILDING OPENING OR ANOTHER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT BREAKING GROUND

I

n 2017, the project to build the UK’s first intercity high-speed railway was at the centre of this flourishing England’s second city. Work to build the new HS2 Curzon Street station got underway in Birmingham city centre in November, with enabling works to clear the ground, the start of archaeological digs as well as utilities surveys.

Meanwhile newly opened office buildings have filled up with hundreds of staff who are delivering these enabling works. They work at joint ventures like Fusion (Morgan Sindall, BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial Agroman) and the LMJV (Laing O’Rourke and J Murphy & Sons). They are already being followed by the organisations responsible for the civil engineering and construction contracts: CEK JV (Carillion, Eiffage and Kier) and BBV JV (Balfour Beatty and Vinci).

In total, 25,000 people will be employed to build HS2, including at least 2,000 apprentices. HS2’s apprentices aren’t only young people taking their first steps in the working world or switching industries with HS2; they are also existing railway, construction or engineering workers who are taking this opportunity to upskill and get to grips with the technology that makes highspeed rail travel possible.

Once operational, a further 3,000 people will be required to work full-time to run, maintain and operate the high-speed railway. Some of these jobs will be in traditional engineering, manufacturing and construction roles; while others will be in newer disciplines, including data science, computer-based design and Building Information Modelling (BIM).

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REPORT BY KATE MYERS HEAD OF SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT HS2 LTD

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

CAREERS

37

ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION OPPORTUNITY

These numbers are not to be sniffed at. HS2 offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow the UK’s railway and construction skills base and get more people into these industries by attracting experienced and enthusiastic talent from other sectors. HS2 will also help develop the higher technical skills required in the existing rail and engineering workforces in order to build this new railway and upgrade the wider UK transport network.

Current forecasts show that an additional 186,000 engineers will be needed every year until 2024 to fill all the engineering roles required by the UK’s pipeline of infrastructure projects. More than 100,000 of these will be needed to fulfil advanced and higher technician or supervisor jobs at “advanced” Level 4. Today, fewer than one in four are qualified at higher or advanced technician level.

Alongside Highways England, Network Rail, Crossrail, Transport for London and the Trades Union Congress (TUC), HS2 is part of the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce (STAT), established in April 2016 to deliver on the ambition of the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy: to create more apprenticeships; improve diversity and promote transport as a career.

To make the UK’s infrastructure project pipeline a reality, we need to expand and upskill the entire talent pool in the construction, engineering and transport industries. This includes attracting and retaining diverse and previously underrepresented people, including women and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups.

We are reaching out to attract the widest possible pool of aptitude, helping train a workforce that not only supports our delivery of this project, but one which will also help cultivate the country’s other major infrastructure projects, as well as being able to one day export their skills abroad.

FIRST APPRENTICES The first crop is evidence of the progress that is already being made. HS2’s first 25 apprentices started working with us in September. In the rail industry, 13 per cent of employees are women, while only 6 per cent come from BAME backgrounds. Forty-four per cent of HS2’s apprentices are female and 36 per cent are BAME. Ninety-two per cent of them are under the age of 30, which is essential to replacing an existing workforce which is overwhelmingly within sight of the retirement paddock.

All of HS2’s apprentices are spending time training at the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR). This new institution is dedicated to creating and retaining the highly skilled and diverse workforce which will lead the UK’s emerging high-speed rail industry. Built on state-of-the-art campuses in Birmingham and Doncaster, all learning materials, equipment, staff and the curriculum have been developed with - or supplied by - employers, including HS2, giving the college’s attendees a direct link to industry and ensuring they are gaining the specific skills needed to be able to start work straight after graduation.

The college provides students with the technical skills required to build HS2.

It also offers new pathways to people starting a career in transport infrastructure, while training the existing workforce. Initially, an intake of industry apprentices will specialise in either civil engineering (at Birmingham), track systems (at Doncaster) or systems engineering (available at both sites). From the start of the 2018 academic year, apprenticeship options in power, rolling stock and command, control and communications (CCC) will be added, as well as a Level 5 management apprenticeship and a Level 4 higher national certificate equivalent.

I feel an immense sense of pride as I walk into work and survey Birmingham’s transformation. HS2 is committed to encouraging young people to become interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects that lay the groundwork for careers developing the UK’s cities and the infrastructure which connects them. We deliver 60 STEM inspiration days every year, attended by an average of 3,000 students between the ages of 11 and 14, more than half of whom are girls, like me.

If the railway and engineering industries are to look forward to the kind of growth and prosperity Birmingham has in store, it will be the long-term, strategic and pride-inducing infrastructure projects that not only plant the seeds but also nurture them through to maturity so we can all reap the benefits for generations to come.

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

On track to an inclusive railway GWR sets out its target to boost diversity and inclusivity throughout its workforce in 2018.

One of Britain’s biggest train operators says it is stepping up its efforts to create a diverse workforce that better represents the communities it serves.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is looking to recruit between 500 and 600 new members of staff in 2018 as major upgrade works near completion and its service offering continues to expand.

GWR is in the middle of a major renewal of its rolling stock fleet and in October began the rollout of its new Class 800 bi-mode fleet. The modernisation of GWR’s fleet will continue in 2018 with the introduction of the Class 802 fleet between Devon and Cornwall, and the launch of new electric services between Reading and Didcot Parkway.

Employers – a body which seeks to support employers to create inclusive workplaces. Steps have already been taken within the business, including providing interview training for senior management and reviewing company procedures, particularly to support families.

More than 100 million passenger journeys are now made on the Great Western network every year. With passenger numbers predicted to rise, GWR is increasing the number of staff in customer-facing roles. Over the next 12 months, the operator will be employing more guards and more drivers across its network to ensure it is prepared to serve the ever-increasing number of new passengers using the railway.

Through the current franchise, GWR is also investing in its stations and has helped to fund community projects across the region through a specially created community fund.

“We can’t thrive and grow if everyone thinks the same. Our workforce needs to reflect the diversity of our customers, so we can better understand different points of view,” said Rob Aylward, head of recruitment at GWR.

Inclusive Employers GWR began 2017 with a commitment to diversity. GWR was one of 40 organisations to attend the launch of the BAME Challenge at the House of Commons. The initiative aims to encourage employers to “attract, recruit and retain” BAME talent. Great Western Railway is also a member of Inclusive

The operator is working with advocacy groups to develop a recruitment campaign for 2018 with diversity at its heart. Campaigns geared around inclusivity and diversity will naturally focus on BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) and gender, but GWR intends to look at diversity in its broadest sense.

“We recognise that the railway industry is very traditional, very historic,” said Rob. “Often people that aren’t associated with the railway don’t really think about the career options that there are.

The reality is that whether you’re in an operational or customer service role; or in a HQ function such as marketing or HR, the railway can offer a whole variety of careers.”

One way GWR has addressed this is through the Get Into Customer Service programme it runs with the Prince’s Trust. The scheme includes a two-week work experience placement within GWR to learn about the customer service roles that are available within the rail sector.

Transformation The 2018 recruitment drive is part of a wider transformation of the business – a process which began with the revival of the historic GWR brand in September 2015 and the return of the GWR Brunswick Green livery. For applicants, there is an opportunity to join an operator both with a rich heritage behind it and an encouraging future ahead.

“The railway is as big a part of people’s lives as it’s ever been,” said Rob. “Our challenge now is to attract people from all walks of life who are as passionate about rail as we are.”

Find out about opportunities at Great Western Railway at GWR.com/careers

‘

GWR is looking to recruit between 500 and 600 new members of staff in 2018

40

CAREERS

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

© Shutterstock.com

FLYING HIGH

HEATHROW EXPRESS EMPLOYEES TALK ABOUT LIFE AT THE AIRPORT’S RAIL OPERATOR AS IT PREPARES TO CELEBRATE A BIG BIRTHDAY

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the c e got “We’v want to put y ll a We re

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eathrow Express comes into its 20th year off the back of a strong 2017. Record passenger numbers and increasing customer satisfaction would suggest that the airport’s foray into railway operations has been a successful one.

For staff at Heathrow Express (HEx) - many of whom would say they’ve grown up within the company - now is a particularly exciting time.

“One of the biggest challenges is just the amount of challenges,” said Stephen Head, head of fleet engineering.

Stephen has a formidable to-do list which includes planning two major fleet overhauls, overseeing a depot move and planning future fleet requirements. All this comes on top of the day-to-day responsibility of ensuring fleet availability and reliability.

“Any of those is a big challenge in isolation, and we’ve got it coming together at one time,” said Stephen, who joined HEx in January 2017.

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Karan Suri

Stephen Head

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Nathan Harrison

BRING ON 2018 HEx has a fleet of 19 trains: 14 Class 332s and five Heathrow Connect Class 360/2 units. In May 2018, TfL Rail will replace Heathrow Connect services before it becomes the Elizabeth line at the end of the year and Stephen is currently working out what the future will hold for the fleet, while looking at the potential for a brand new fleet in the mid-2020s. “Lots going on but it’s an incredibly exciting time,” said Stephen, whose interest in the railway stems back to the time he spent visiting the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (RH&DR) as a child.

Stephen was approaching his 30th birthday when he arrived at HEx to lead the operator’s core engineering team. HEx has given him the opportunity and backing to grow into the role, said Stephen, who is being supported by the company to pursue an MBA at the London Business School. He is also able to tap into the engineering expertise within the wider Heathrow group and the airport’s engineering director as a mentor.

Other areas of the business are also busy preparing for the changes arriving in the new year, including a massive overhaul of the ticketing infrastructure. In preparation for the Elizabeth line, new ticket barriers are being installed, new ticket vending machines are going in and staff are being issued with new handheld terminals - all of which requires a substantial training programme to prepare frontline staff.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we’ve done it before, we can do it again,” said Lynsay Collins, head of customer service.

Lynsay has worked at Heathrow her entire adult life, starting on the check in desk at the age of 19. She later joined Heathrow Express as a customer services station manager before becoming a duty manager. “I realised in that role that it was actually the people management that I was really interested in,” said Lynsay, who then worked

her way up to head of customer service – a position she’s held for two and a half years.

HEx performed well in the most recent National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS), improving on its previous customer satisfaction score. “My belief is that customer service and how we deliver customer service stems from the person delivering it,” said Lynsay, who moved from South Africa to Nottingham with her parents when she was 18. “If they have the knowledge and understanding of how to answer the customer’s question they’re not going to feel uncomfortable to give the customer an answer.”

Lynsay heads up a senior team of three line managers that oversee 24 station managers across four stations.

“The thing that I’m most proud of is the station managers going station specific,” said Lynsay, referring to a change in practice which previously involved moving managers around HEx stations. “We’re just over a year in, and I think if you had to ask any of the station managers was it the right thing to do they’d all say yes.”

She added: “That Lynsay Collins has ultimately had Head of Customer Service “My belief is that cus a direct impact on we deliver custom tomer service and how er service ste the station teams person delivering ms from the it.” and consequently the customer.”

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ndo les y Sa rs ema Kirstd of Drive support f it more

uld seeing Hea s co anie e’ll start ry.” p m t o do w indus her c “If ot ch as weross the u ac as m

HEx aligned with Heathrow Airport at the end of 2017 by becoming an accredited living wage employer.

DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY

BUMPER YEAR

A recruitment campaign in the new year will bring new talent into Lynsay’s team and she’s keen to use her story to illustrate the opportunities for progression offered to employees.

Kirsty Sando, the newly appointed head of drivers, is another member of the HEx team who has grown up with the company. A qualified primary school teacher, Kirsty joined HEx 10 years ago, working on the front line checking tickets as a customer host. Three years after joining the company, she became a train driver, holding several other management positions before being named as the new head of drivers last year.

Kirsty said she’s seen her calendar suddenly fill up with meetings.

As head of drivers, Kirsty is responsible for recruiting new drivers, managing training and implementing any new safety initiatives.

Alongside operating their timetabled services, Kirsty and her drivers are supporting the training of Elizabeth line drivers on the Heathrow Connect route.

Kirsty’s career progression illustrates an improving picture across the industry which is showing increasing numbers of female drivers joining the profession.

“I feel in a way I’m very lucky being at Heathrow Express,” said Kirsty, referring to the opportunities she’s been afforded that have allowed her to climb to a senior role relatively early in her career. “I’m hoping other companies follow our lead. If other companies could support females as much as we do, we’ll start seeing it more across the industry.”

One way HEx is supporting the diversity agenda is through its community outreach work. When communications and CSR officer Nathan Harrison joined the business in 2015, he helped to reestablish a partnership with Harris Academy St John's Wood, which has resulted in students visiting Heathrow and experiencing what it’s like to be interviewed for a job. As well as providing employment advice to students, HEx staff have visited the school to discuss career opportunities within the business.

This connection with the communities HEx serves has been engrained within the company. For some staff members, 10 per cent of their performance card is measured on community contributions.

Through the company’s CSR schemes, Nathan also works with Paddington Partnership, which connects HEx with local charities.

Through this initiative, HEx staff have supported various good causes.

Only recently, staff members helped take a group of elderly people on a day trip in London.

“It’s really eye-opening and quite a humbling experience I think,” said Nathan, who was planning for a career in journalism before discovering a passion for internal communications.

“Although I like to think of myself as engaged in my local community privately it never occurred to me that there might be a role that allowed me to do that professionally.”

“One minute I can be doing a website update… and the next I’m organising a group of people to go down to a food bank.”

HEx is hoping to build on what was a bumper 2017. Ticket revenue was up 8.5 per cent on the previous year, as increasing numbers of passengers boarded HEx trains to and from central London.

One of the people who has helped contribute to this rise is Karan Suri, senior pricing and commercial manager, who has developed the future pricing structure for the business.

Karan, who joined HEx just over a year ago, said: “I’ve done quite a few tests on pricing and some of them have worked quite well and so this year is actually our best numbers in terms of passenger numbers. I think that’s not only driven by pricing but pricing is a key part of it.“ Prior to joining HEx, Karan had been a yield manager at another train operator. He says his current role allows him to support other parts of the business and contribute to conversations about things like marketing in a way he hadn’t been able to in the past.

“The depth of experience you get working in HEx isn’t necessarily what you’d get in other TOCs,” said Karan. “The breadth of experience you get is very different. You get a lot of different experience in a small team which actually helps you long term…

When you work in a small team, and you’re more closely involved, it gives you a more holistic view of the business.”

The majority of customers who use HEx buy their tickets at the terminal, but the operator also works closely with airlines and travel companies to integrate its booking software into their website booking platforms.

“We are out there working with key strategic partners, identifying new ones, working with existing ones,” said Richard Young, sales and distribution manager, who is currently preparing for the launch of the company’s new digital platform in February. “We’re really trying to use technology as much as we possibly can and we’re trying to integrate the Heathrow Express booking solution into our partners’ sales booking systems.”

Richard joined HEx 16 months ago, bringing with him a wealth of experience from the travel sector. “It was an interesting opportunity,” said Richard. “It’s a small team but it was leading a team and being given the opportunity to do that.”

Asked about the strengths of the business, Richard said he’s been impressed by the technology at his disposal and the overall ethos of the company. “We’ve got a will to do things well. We really want to put the customer first.”

A lot has changed since HEx carried its first passengers 20 years ago. Passenger numbers at Heathrow Airport have risen by around 20 per cent, mirroring the increasing number of passengers catching the train. A whole generation of rail staff have also come through the business in that time and many more will begin their journey in 2018.

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HELPING MIND TH A LOOK AT THE WORK THE EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (EDI) TEAM DO WITHIN SIEMENS RAIL AUTOMATION

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ompanies across the rail sector are each finding their own way to ensure that the railway’s workforce is reflective of society at large. At the end of 2017, the industry set itself the target of increasing the number of women and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees by 20 per cent. This was announced within a long-term rail partnership plan, which also emphasised the positive steps taken by Network Rail to ensure there is representation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees in the sector.

The drive for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) throughout Siemens Rail Automation is championed by the company’s managing director, Rob Morris, with EDI groups forming at each of the company’s principle offices throughout the UK. Explaining the importance of these teams to the business, Rob Morris said: “Whilst diversity defines our mix of people, inclusion focuses on how we embed and develop a culture which enables us to perform at our best and to work together seamlessly.”

The EDI team at the company’s Birmingham office is a shining example of the work that is being undertaken company-wide. Under the leadership of senior project engineer and regional EDI champion Candiece Henry, the team has been actively promoting a wide range of activities, including raising the profile of both the Women in Engineering and International Men’s days as well as hosting a number of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) events at local schools.

To continue to raise awareness of these key subjects, the EDI team has engaged with a local primary school to support a three-year programme of STEM-based support, which includes sponsorship of mathematics software and a commitment from Siemens to attend career talks and subject-based workshops.

Within the business, the group has organised a number of teambuilding activities, training programmes and health-related talks, with presentations from suppliers and industry-wide support organisations.

To broaden engagement across the business, volunteers are also invited to chair the regular EDI planning and strategy meetings, providing people with an opportunity to help shape Ball planning the group’s efforts and suggest topics for further exploration. committee:

CHARITY BALL A particular focus of the team’s work this year has been to support its nominated charity, ‘Birmingham Mind’, by holding a series of fundraising events including the Siemens Rail Automation ‘Mind the Gap’ Charity Ball. Nearly 200 people attended the black-tie event at the Birmingham Council House in November, which provided an opportunity to celebrate funds raised of more than £23,000 to support the charity’s vital work in the area of mental health. In total this year, the company has contributed £24,072 to Birmingham Mind.

Having had its government funding cut earlier in the year, Mind relies heavily on donations to maintain its work.

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Samantha Zaman, Alison Taylor, Carol Dowe, Denise Copson, Claire Millson and Candiece Henry.

HE GAP

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Speaking on behalf of the charity, Helen Wadley, chief executive of Birmingham Mind, said: “I’d like to thank all the team at Siemens, and in particular Candiece Henry and Denise Copson who were instrumental in organising the November ball, as well as a number of other activities - from a Christmas jumper day to a silent auction featuring amazing gifts.

“The fantastic partnership with Siemens has been hugely beneficial for us. The company’s commitment to mental health and support for us as Charity of the Year has been superb, with this being the largest donation we have received from a single source.

The funds raised will go back into our operation, to improve and continue running our mental health services for the Birmingham community.”

Jane Moore, head office manager and PA to the chief executive, added: “We were so pleased when we heard that Siemens was organising the ‘Mind the Gap’ ball to raise funds for Birmingham Mind.”

Candiece Henry continued: “Our EDI team was well aware that one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, and so working with and helping to raise money for Mind has been a really worthwhile and rewarding focus for us this year.”

“We have been supported at every step by both our operations director, West, Matt Kent and managing director, Rob Morris; both of whom were completely behind the charity ball to the extent that the business covered all the costs, so that every penny raised during the evening went directly to the charity.”

POWERFUL STORY Those who attended the ball also heard a powerful testimonial from Darren Mahon, a former user of Mind’s services in Birmingham, who talked openly about his mental health battles. Darren thanked Birmingham Mind for giving him another chance in life and for their help in enabling him to turn his life around. With continued support from the Mind team in Birmingham, Darren went on to explain how he is now helping others to cope with their mental health issues.

Matt Kent summed up the role of the EDI group and the company’s association with Mind: “We are delighted to work so closely with this incredibly worthwhile charity, and to help support their invaluable work. I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the event and of course, to everyone who made a donation.

“Whilst this was the main event, there have been a whole host of activities taking place within Siemens to raise money for Mind. From the Three Peaks Challenge undertaken by our Birmingham New Street Project Team, to sponsored slimming, card games and ‘walkathons’. I’m extremely proud of those who has given up their time and talents to make a difference to the lives of others.

“The EDI working group has achieved a huge amount in a short space of time, with the team carrying out a lot of its activities outside normal working hours. Not only have we been able to support Birmingham Mind, but importantly the group’s activities have united the office and helped break down some of the unconscious barriers which may have existed.”

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ON THE RIGHT TR MEETING SKILLS AND STAFFING CHALLENGES IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY WRITTEN BY TOM HADLEY, DIRECTOR OF POLICY & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, RECRUITMENT & EMPLOYMENT CONFEDERATION (REC)

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inding the right staff and skills is one of the biggest challenges for the rail industry and for the delivery of infrastructure projects both in the UK and globally.

As well as influencing public policy on key areas like training, immigration and skills, it is important to look at innovative ways of attracting new people into the sector and developing leading-edge hiring practices. What are some of the short-term and longer-term ways forward for the industry?

IMMIGRATION AND SKILLS Employers in the rail industry must be able to access the staff and skills they need to compete and grow. The government can help, but employers also need to step up and help make a difference.

As well as using data and research to make the case for a balanced post-Brexit immigration strategy, we need to provide compelling examples of how overseas workers contribute to the sector and how staffing shortages can jeopardise the delivery of new infrastructure projects. When

it comes to influencing the political agenda, stories are as important as hard data and employers in the sector can play a key role by engaging directly with Ministers and local MPs as well as working with representative bodies.

In parallel, it is crucial to ensure that people and skills remain a key component of the Government’s industrial strategy.

Employers need to drive this agenda on both a regional and national level to ensure that we create a genuine step-change in the skills base available to the rail industry. A proactive approach to working with local

schools and colleges is an important way forward and is something that the REC’s recent Future of Jobs Commission honed in on as a means of building better bridges between education and the world of work.

DRIVING INCLUSION Many roles within the rail industry need to see a genuine improvement on diversity and inclusion. For example, women remain hugely underrepresented in engineering roles and more can be done to reach out to other underrepresented groups. Rectifying this will take some time and will often involve transforming organisational culture rather than making cosmetic changes.

What other factors can make a difference? Specialist recruiters within REC membership have underlined the importance of female role models - at all levels - as an important way of encouraging more women into the sector.

On the disability agenda, organisations like HS2 are playing a leadership role and specific initiatives like RIDI (Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative) are helping to raise awareness.

HARNESSING NEW TECHNOLOGY The introduction of new technologies is already having an impact. For example, drones are now being used on infrastructure projects to quickly assess delivery options and even make cost calculations.

Will this mean an end to jobs such as quantity surveyors

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RACK? REIMAGINING HIRING PROCEDURES

in the years ahead, or will it open up opportunities for a different type of roles? As in other sectors, the impact of automation and new technology on job roles and future skills needs will remain a key focus area within the rail industry.

Employers working in rail industry supply chains have flagged the benefits of new technologies in enabling people with disabilities to operate in roles that would previously

have been inaccessible.

Artificial intelligence and new software is also impacting on the actual recruitment process itself, but the feedback from employers and candidates in the sector is that the ‘human touch’ will remain crucial and that the work of recruitment professionals will become central to helping individuals and businesses navigate an ever-evolving employment landscape.

Organisations are fishing in the same pool – especially when it comes to digital skills – and the need to shake up current hiring procedures is increasingly recognised. The REC’s June report - Perfect match: making the right hire and the cost of getting it wrong - says four in 10 employers admit that the interviewing and assessment skills of their staff should be improved. UK businesses are currently failing to hire the right person for two out of five roles, and the hidden costs involved in bad recruitment include money wasted on training, lost productivity and increased staff turnover.

As well as driving innovation, employers in the rail industry

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need to get the basics right, including clear job descriptions, understanding how their brand is really perceived by candidates and providing line managers with recruitment training. Regular reviews and benchmarking of recruitment practices with peers will become increasingly important; initiatives such as the REC’s Good Recruitment Campaign will help to ensure that more employers future-poof their hiring strategies.

Recruitment will get harder; the only solution is for employers in the rail industry to get better at it. As the professional body for the recruitment sector, the REC is committed to using ongoing research and forward-looking initiatives like the Future of Jobs Commission and the Good Recruitment Campaign to make this happen.

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APPRENTICES ON TOUR As part of its ongoing commitment to HS2 and improving connectivity, Morson's latest cohort of track maintenance apprentices were treated to a tour of the new National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) in Doncaster.

Accompanied by our, Ged Mason, the 12 apprentices were shown round the state-of-the-art training facility, which features replica track and rolling stock, specialist workshops and advanced digital workrooms.

The tour gave valuable insight into future career opportunities and how their current Level 2 study programme can feed into higher level and advanced apprenticeships.

The aim of the apprenticeship programmes aligns with that of the NCHSR - to help produce the next generation of highly skilled engineers and ensure we have the best labour force to drive forward future infrastructure advancements.

As part of this commitment, Morson Vital Training (MVT) has become a strategic partner of the NCHSR. This partnership will help Morson to continue upskilling their apprentices onto higher level pathways. The agreement also involves group staff attending the college to deliver workshops, presentations and knowledge sharing, as well as helping to shape the ongoing curriculum.

Matt Leavis, head of UK training for MVT, explains: “HS2 is such an exciting project that’s pushing the boundaries on training and safety standards. The sheer scale of the programme as Europe’s largest will require a number of new skills and greater knowledge surrounding cyber and digital advancements, and it’s a big achievement to be working with the college to deliver exactly this.”

Nicola Johnson, stakeholder engagement manager for the NCHSR, added: “We loved having the Morson apprentices on a tour and RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

helping to inspire them into gaining a successful career in rail.

“Every organisation has its shining stars who we want to help progress further than their Level 2 qualifications, into higher technical routes through to degree level that give them the skills needed to work on huge infrastructure projects like HS2 and develop the best talent worldwide.

“This collaborative approach ensures our apprentices have the skills and experience needed in the workplace and this is testament to the fact that our entire apprenticeship programme has been developed in partnership with industry experts.

“Meeting sector needs also meant thinking outside of the box. Unlike other FE colleges, we recruit cohorts throughout the year – September, January and April – to aid businesses with specific resource shortages and challenges, and we look forward to upskilling future Morson apprentices.”

CEO Ged Mason with apprentices.

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Third Safety Unit launched

R WITH HS2 Rail recruitment 2018 When people ask about the future of rail recruitment, there’s naturally one project which immediately comes to the forefront of your mind: HS2.

HS2 is indeed a staggeringly large project, but there are lots of other projects around the world that we’re recruiting for.

With Crossrail set for completion in the near future, there is already talk of a Crossrail 2 project. Closer to our Manchester head office, we have the prospect of HS3, or Northern Powerhouse Rail, that would aim to improve connectivity between Liverpool and Hull. While certainly a long way off fruition, the fact that projects like this are being talked about shows there is a bright future in rail for contractors.

It’s important that diversity remains a key part of the conversation, and it’s vital that we do all we can to encourage women into rail. In 2017, Morson Group made a pledge to double the number of female contractors working for our clients by 2020. This was a direct reaction to the gender imbalance evident across our core sectors, including rail. We have women placed in some key roles for our clients in the rail industry in a variety of high-level positions, and we aim to showcase these to prove that the rail business is just as accessible to females as it is to males.

From high-level executive roles in Canada, to track operatives in the UK, we recruit globally at all levels. If you’re looking to make a career move within the industry – or enter it for the first time – please contact us today. As the leading technical and rail recruiter in the UK, we’re ideally placed to find your next career move within some of the largest and most exciting rail projects on the horizon.

Gary Smithson, Associate Director, Morson International

Morson Group has officially unveiled its new and improved Safety Unit - another leap forwards in site safety.

The official launch of the new vehicle, the third to join the fleet, took place at Morson Group headquarters in Salford in early November. It was attended by Vital’s executive director, Gary Hardaker, John Cullen and other representatives from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

The new vehicle is a refreshed and expanded model of the original unit, first launched in June 2016 and which has since travelled over 25,000 miles across the UK to deliver high quality safety briefs on a variety of sites. A second smaller unit was added in 2016.

The design of the original unit followed extensive contractor research during the development stage to better understand the needs of site employees. The main upgrade to this original is the installation of two extra TV units and external speakers mounted on the side panel facing outwards. Above these screens is a new improved canopy. This allows for a huge increase in the number of staff that can be briefed at the same time (from seven to more than 30) as employees can stand outside the unit in all weather conditions.

The environment inside the unit has also been improved with the addition of a more optimised seating layout and improved

heating to add to contractor comfort.

Executive director Gary Hardaker said: “Through the development of this new unit, we are expanding our capabilities in delivering the sort of high quality site safety briefings that our first unit has been doing since it was launched.

“It was fantastic to have John Cullen and the Office of Rail and Road officially cut the ribbon on the unit too. Special thanks to them for coming along and spending the afternoon with us.”

Morson Group CEO Ged Mason said: “At the top of our Core Values is safety and it is paramount. As a business we’ve tried to ensure that we look at innovative ways at developing briefing and communications, which are so fundamentally vital in delivering key messages.

“We’re still learning, and there’s no finishing line in safety. These briefing units, most notably the newest one, are fantastic and all credit to the employees who really came up with the ideas.”

For more information contact us on: 0161 707 1516 or email rail@morson.com

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NEW YEAR VISION ACQUISITIONS

2018 will be a year of transition. As CP5 draws to a close, the industry is readying itself for the future and the challenges it may bring. Markets are changing driven by mergers, skills shortages and succession planning shortfalls.

Established in 2011, Advance TRS has grown into a multi-million-pound company operating across four sectors within the built environment throughout the UK. As an expert in providing skilled technical resource to industry-leading infrastructure projects, the company believes its consultative approach will help to meet the industry’s skills needs.

2017 proved to be a landmark year in Advance TRS’s short but impressive history.

Two new key senior appointments to the company and a company-wide re-brand mark a step change for the rapidly growing company. The team also marked passing a third consecutive RISQs audit retaining our 5-star status with no observations, no nonconformances and top marks in all areas.

In spring 2017 the Advance TRS board appointed Paul Metcalfe, former founder and managing director of recruitment giant Fusion People in a non-executive CEO role, followed by the appointment of Michael Schruyers, as Infrastructure Director in the autumn.

Schruyers joins the business, bringing a huge wealth of experience leading teams to deliver the best results for clients and candidates alike.

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To date, Advance TRS’s growth has been achieved organically, expanding into new sectors, following the expertise of the expanding team. Going forward into the next few years the board will be looking to couple this organic growth with a series of acquisitions.

Advance TRS non-executive CEO Paul Metcalfe is responsible for assisting with the businesses strategic talent acquisition.

Metcalfe joined Advance TRS in spring 2017, with a proven track record of delivering business growth.

“When I decided to move on from Fusion People I spoke to several recruitment businesses but was particularly taken by Andy’s ambition and energy. His drive, together with Advance TRS’s culture fits in well with my personal vision as it offers recruiters the opportunity to develop their careers by offering a consultative approach to the clients rather than just being job fillers.”

“Personally, I take particular enjoyment from growing and developing businesses and I truly believe I can use my experience to support Advance TRS achieve its ambitious growth plans.”

“We are now embarking on an exciting process of strategic talent acquisition, looking for entrepreneurial individuals, established recruitment teams and small businesses with a shared vision to join the Advance TRS team.”

FUTURE PLANS

Last year the team doubled their head office space, taking an extra floor in their central Guildford office building. This year Advance TRS are excited to continue their expansion, opening a new Southampton office in March 2018 with plans for a London office followed by a Northern one in the not too distant future.

Company founder and group managing director Andy Ridout explains: “I am thrilled that our growth trajectory has attracted recruitment leaders from across the built environment to the business, further propelling our development. These industry leaders bring with them established networks and decades of experience to supplement our own, enabling our consultants to tap into a rich pool of the industry’s best talent.”

“Each year in business I find myself amazed by the ever growing team of people I am proud to work with each day. These new appointments and exciting strategic talent acquisition plans for the coming year indicate 2018 could be our best year yet.”

To discuss how you can get involved with our strategic talent acquisition contact Paul Metcalfe on 01483 361061 or email info@ advance-trs.com. For more information as to our service offering and how we can support your next career move visit; www.advance-trs.com.

Tel: 01795 890152

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THE FACES OF CHANGE Stewart Thorpe attended a HS2 'hackathon' to meet the innovators who want to introduce non-rail sector ideas

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izza boxes piled in a corner, eyes fixed to laptop screens and sugary foods scattered around the room. It might sound like a student’s typical night in but this is actually the setting for innovation.

Techies, coders, strategists, designers. These are the figures striving to make HS2 as efficient, effective and safe as possible by developing new ideas and reengineering the most advanced technology around.

Organised by HS2 Ltd in partnership with Transport Systems Catapult, more than 100 innovators from non-rail sector organisations met in Milton Keynes in December to offer a fresh perspective on a number of safety, training and maintenance inspection challenges.

Pinching with pride

“A lot of the capabilities that we need - things like condition and health monitoring - are really prevalent in our automotive and aerospace sectors, and we have some of the best expertise in the world,” says HS2’s head of innovation, Iain Roche, who previously held the same role at Rolls-Royce.

“A big part of what we’re doing is bringing in some of that knowledge and thinking from other sectors and looking at how that would translate into our world.”

Iain might lead on innovation but it isn’t his sole job to innovate. Instead his role is to act as the catalyst for innovation by creating an environment that enables an increased uptake of it. Crucially, his remit is to do this in a way that delivers good value to the taxpayer.

“If you look at the world class high-speed railways - Japan is a good example, from an operation performance perspective it is the benchmark.

However it delivers this operational performance at significant operational cost. We need to use innovation to deliver the same or better operational performance, but at a much lower cost, therefore delivering better value to the tax payer,” he added.

Iain said that a lot of the technology that HS2 needs is already being used in other sectors and that it shouldn’t “create technology for the sake of it”.

Outsiders

Led by the former head of innovation for one of the world’s largest makers of aircraft engines, with support from university researchers and specialist tech firms, it is not from inside the rail industry that HS2 is looking for its innovators but outside.

RailStaff spoke to some of the hackathon contributors to find out how

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their ideas could impact the delivery and operation of Britain’s second high-speed line.

John Donovan, software engineer

Using augmented and virtual reality to data crunch is John’s area of expertise. Having previously worked for Ordnance Survey, helping to develop a new generation of mapping software, and later a number of games developers, where he honed his real-time 3D programming skills, the lead software developer has been looking at how virtual reality specialists Clicks and Links can use big data to help HS2.

John (below) and his

colleagues showcased the use of augmented reality (AR) to visualise real-time information on HS2’s track, tunnels and trackside infrastructure at the hackathon.

They demonstrated how a worker trained in track safety could inspect an asset using an AR headset while specialist engineering colleagues watch the feed and communicate from the office, removing the need for everyone to be on site.

RAILSTAFF JANUARY 2018

Dr Claire Ellul, geographical information scientist

AR could allow the operator to access information on what needs to be done to fix an asset, for example, just by looking at it.

Andrew Cowen, innovator

Andrew (above) is hoping to improve safety culture by reengineering wearable technology that is used in the health sector.

Innovation may be at the forefront of his mind at the moment but it hasn’t always been. In the 1960s, he started out as a professional contemporary dancer and later ventured into photography. After switching between creative roles, he put it all aside to become a full-time family carer and then set up his own homecare agency.

From his firsthand experience, Andrew saw the potential to

exploit technology for the benefit of patients and developed wearable technology to monitor their health. Teaming up with Aurora Computer Services, specialists in facial recognition technology, Andrew and his company, The Future Care, hope to develop a system for detecting and raising the alarm if employees are showing signs of fatigue or illness whilst working on the railway.

Similar to the trucking industry, the technology could be used to monitor train drivers and recognise if they had fallen asleep and react by applying the brakes.

After graduating as an electrical engineer from the University of Malta, Dr Claire Ellul (pictured left) has worked in the field of geographic information systems (GIS).

Currently, Claire, a data scientist, lectures and leads a team conducting research into 3D GIS and building information modelling (BIM) integration at University College London, working out how to combine the best of both - GeoBIM - for improved asset management. 3D GIS enables linking, visualising and analysing information that otherwise couldn’t be joined.

GeoBIM would see BIM contribute information on the quantity and type of materials needed for a construction project while GIS calculates the most cost-efficient route for bringing materials on site while avoiding school traffic and the historic town centre, for example.

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co-founded Biosite in 2010. The company has created a number of biometric access control systems which use fingerprint scanners to control site access.

Biosite products already increase safety at hundreds of construction sites across the country, but Li wants to measure, monitor and manage competency, training, fatigue and general welfare through the biometric linking of HS2’s workforce. This would enable the effective tracking of each member of the workforce from site to site to ensure that health, safety and security is optimised.

Li previously worked as a mobile phone engineer for Motorola and worked as a scientific programmer developing cancer detection software.

Li Wang, algorithm engineer

Building on a background in algorithm system design and development, Li (right) FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

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A

rollercoaster of a ride.

That’s how Paul Smith, technical sales director at Deploy Rail, describes the company’s development from its beginnings in 2013 to its standing almost five years on.

From one location in central London with three employees, to offices in Glasgow and Southampton - and an imminent opening in Manchester - for a cohort of almost 30 recruiters, it has been a successful white and blue-collar recruitment ride that has seen Deploy Rail's base grow from zero to a sponsor list of more than 750 workers.

LEARNING CURVE But becoming a preferred supplier of signallers, civils, plant operators, electrification and telecoms workers for Britain's railway, as well as London's Underground, hasn't been easy.

Director Paul Smith, who has more than 15 years' experience in the industry, has been in the business since the beginning, using his industry contacts to build it from the ground up. He said: "I have personally been through a huge learning curve from being part of a large successful company to taking and shaping a business from scratch and convincing not just clients and candidates to work with us but the right people to join and believe in the business and its vision.

“My role has now developed into not just leading rail but maintaining and growing the other successful construction and security divisions within our recruitment brands. This has given myself and the team a unique opportunity to be able to offer our clients a more complete service and dedicated resources to upskill and offer more work.”

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION NORTH AND SOUTH

Deploy Rail is part of the DE Group, a company which provides a range of specialist services to the construction, rail, property and health and safety sectors.

The rail division has traditionally focused on London but in 2017 offices were opened at far ends of the country.

In July, a four-person team was set up in Glasgow and in September two recruiters established the Southampton base.

Paul said that, although these bases are in strategic locations in the UK, it was the opportunity to welcome some talented recruiters onboard that prompted the expansion. He added: "Scotland is very much a growth area. You forget how much a vast area it is, how much work is being done in the country and how much investment is being undertaken - especially with HS2 and HS3 in mind.”

LOCAL PEOPLE, LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES Looking ahead, Paul wants to build on the successful model that Deploy Rail has applied to grow its base in London and the South East, where its local presence, knowledge and experience has helped it secure new clients and customers to supply local people for local opportunities.

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For more information please call 0207 434 0300 or email railteam@deployuk.com

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R

ehabilitating offenders into society is a crucial part of the UK’s justice system. Without the opportunity to put spent criminal offences behind them, a convicted person may not reintegrate and could in fact reoffend.

Employment is one of the most important building blocks to ensuring offenders can make a fresh start but many people with spent criminal convictions are being prevented from accessing work because of discriminatory recruitment practices.

Under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a spent conviction - a conviction of less than four years that can be effectively ignored after a period of time - does not have to be disclosed when applying for most jobs. However, employers sometimes deliberately, if

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not inadvertently, exclude people with convictions - who are either unaware that they do not need to disclose convictions or feel pressured to - from recruitment processes by including a tick box for any convictions on application forms. Crucially, employers can only refuse to hire someone on the basis of spent convictions for certain types of employment, such as working with children or vulnerable adults. It is against the law to refuse someone a job because they have a spent conviction or caution.

Nevertheless, survey results from a YouGov study found that 50 per cent of employers would not consider employing offenders or ex-offenders. Figures from the work and pensions select committee reveal the extent of the problem with just 26.5 per cent of prisoners entering employment after release, despite the fact that having a job can aid the rehabilitation.

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BAN THE BOX CIVIC DUTY

Business in the Community (BITC), a Prince of Wales community charity established in the wake of the Toxteth and Brixton Riots in 1982, has promoted the “Ban the Box” campaign to, quite literally, ban the tick box in job applications which ask if the candidate has a criminal conviction.

The campaign is a worldwide one and has been endorsed by former United States president Barack Obama. In the rail industry, the likes of Carillion, Costain, Amey, ISS and Virgin Trains have all committed to creating fair employment opportunities for exoffenders.

Virgin Trains has banned the box since February 2016 and has run an employment programme for ex-offenders since 2011 driven

by Richard Branson, who said he hopes that ex-offenders can represent 10 per cent of the Virgin Group’s future workforce. Virgin Trains now only asks candidates about criminal convictions once an initial job offer has been made.

Lead recruiter Kathryn Wildman said it was about assessing the candidates on their capabilities and where they are in their lives now. She added: “We already work with people with convictions so banning the box seemed a logical step to take given our

current work. We do not want to put people off applying for roles with us and would like to make our decisions based on where the candidate is now and what they can add to our business.”

Costain joined the list of Ban the Box employers earlier this year as part of its goal to create a workforce that is reflective of society. Corporate responsibility manager James York said: “[Ex-offenders] have something to contribute to society, and they’re being unfairly prevented from a second chance. It isn’t just our civic duty to give ex-offenders a fair chance of finding work, it makes total business sense for us and the wider UK economy.”

BENEFITS TO SOCIETY Earlier this year David Lammy MP released a report into the treatment of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups in the criminal justice system. The Lammy Review highlighted that for every 100 white men sentenced to custody after being convicted at crown court, 112 black men go to jail, despite BAME people making up just 14 per cent of the UK. This racial disparity consequentially means that more ex-offenders with a spent conviction of a BAME demographic could find obstacles to

finding employment. Banning the box could therefore help to increase diversity of the workforce.

BITC employment campaign manager Nicola Inge said that research has shown that having a job can reduce an individual’s chances of re-offending by up to 50 per cent - saving society up to £15 billion a year.

She added: “Research we conducted earlier this year highlighted legal concerns that employers could be falling foul of indirect discrimination laws if they are not assessing candidates with convictions fairly.

“A culture change is needed within [the UK] to ensure qualified applicants with criminal records are treated fairly – and Ban the Box, asking employers to remove the tick box from recruitment forms, is a critical part of the solution.”

By banning the box, employers are making it easier for ex-offenders to find employment.

They are also showing they are open minded, socially responsible businesses and increasing the pool of skilled and experienced workers they can access - 10 million have a criminal record according to BITC. At a time when the industry is suffering from a skills shortage, this talent pool could prove to be a valuable addition to the workforce.

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MODERN SLA

REPORT BY KATIE KINLOCH, PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT LAWYER, ADDLESHAW GODDARD

M

odern slavery is a global problem. It has been estimated that around 40 million people are currently in modern slavery around the world, over 11,000 of them in the UK*. Slavery can take many forms, but a common feature is for a person to be treated as if he or she were “owned”. Victims are typically deprived of their freedom, often living and working under a threat of violence. What makes these terrible crimes worse is that they can be hard to detect.

Stories of appalling “sweatshop” conditions in the clothing industry are not new, but fashion is far from being the only affected industry.

Wherever there is a demand for unskilled workers, and poor legal oversight, there is a risk of exploitation. In the UK, the biggest risk occurs in relation to services, particularly in the market for unskilled agency labour (for example, in farming, warehousing and office services like cleaning and facilities management). In other parts of the world, the focus has been on areas such as mining and raw metal extraction, and manufacturing. © Shutterstock.com

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© Shutterstock.com

UK LEADING THE WAY

Law makers around the world are coming to realise that this is a problem that must be tackled, and the UK is leading the way. As a result, this country became one of the first in the world to require businesses to publish information on what they are doing to tackle the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking taking place in their supply chains.

Specifically, large businesses (those with a turnover of £36 million and more, including turnover of subsidiaries) that do business in the UK must publish an annual statement on their websites setting out the steps they are taking to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in their business or supply chains.

The statement must be approved by the board and signed by a director. Guidance from the Government (which is essential reading, available at www.gov. uk/government/publications/ transparency-in-supply-chains-apractical-guide) suggests that the statement should be published

within six months of financial year end.

What must the statement say?

Interestingly, businesses are not required to say that they have taken any particular steps to eradicate exploitation from their supply chains. The law does suggest, though, that businesses may wish to comment on six areas: • information on the structure of the business, including its supply chains; • its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking; • its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains; • the parts of its business or supply chains where there is a risk of slavery, and the steps taken to minimise that risk; • the effectiveness of the steps that the business has taken to address the risks of slavery and human trafficking occurring in its business or supply chains; • the training that the business has given to its staff.

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AVERY

AND WHAT IT MEANS TO YOUR BUSINESS

© Shutterstock.com

PREPARING A STATEMENT

Where should businesses start in preparing a statement?

In tackling this issue, a good place for a business to start is to ask two questions: 1. What are our values as a business?

Clearly, the law gives businesses the freedom to determine their approach. Many businesses already have a clear values framework, which can be a guide to shaping their response to the issue of supply chain vigilance.

2. Where do the key risks lie for our business? Many large businesses commission independent risk studies from professionals in this area. However, a simple risk assessment can start by mapping the supply chain for a business, and assessing the modern slavery risk based on the country of origin.

Businesses should consider their “supply chains” in the broadest sense, as encompassing all of the purchases that the business makes in order to operate.

What if a business does not publish a statement? There are no specific penalties written into the law itself. The government could seek an injunction requiring a company to comply. However, the government has not yet taken any such action and it is unlikely to prioritise doing so. The intention is that scrutiny from customers, the public,

the media, pressure groups and more will encourage businesses to take more interest in activities of their suppliers (and their suppliers’ suppliers). It is hoped that a “race to the top” will see businesses compete with their peers in terms of the steps taken to tackle slavery risks, and the quality of the statements that they publish.

STRIKING DIFFERENCE How have businesses responded? The law came into force in 2015 and many businesses have now published their second supply chain transparency statement. What is immediately striking is the difference between the very best performing businesses and the very worst. At one extreme, there are businesses who have yet to publish a statement at all. Marginally better are those who have published a statement but not complied with all of the mandatory elements of the law, for example, by not putting a prominent link to it on their homepage, or not demonstrating that the statement has been signed by a director and approved by the board.

Of more interest, though, are the contents of the statements that have been published.

Analysis from activists and pressure groups has focussed on how well businesses have addressed each of the six areas described above. For example, has a business carried

out a detailed risk analysis to understand what risks of slavery there are in relation to all components of its supply chain? Has a business demonstrated that it operates within a clear values framework and takes steps to ensure that its staff and suppliers are fully aware of it? There are a range of things that businesses can do, including implementing specific anti-slavery supplier policies, including Modern Slavery Act compliance clauses in supply agreements, and providing staff and supplier training.

Are standards improving? Unfortunately, slavery is still a huge problem, but we can be encouraged by the fact that it is a topic which is now being discussed at the highest levels of business more now than ever. *figures published by the Global Slavery Index FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK

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