CEO's Blog

I would like to start my blog this month with an apology. Unfortunately due to the tight timescales associated with the handover and production of the last journal, a draft version of Robert Hall’s article on Embedded Rail was published. We apologise unreservedly for this error and the final version of Robert’s article will be published in the next journal due for publication at the beginning of July.

As we approach our AGM, there’s a big focus on looking forward, based on our experiences of the last year. The annual report accounts and my review of 2011 are on the website, but there are key points that are worth mentioning here. The number of new members has started to grow, albeit from a low base and our technical events have been very well received. These events are vital, both in giving a service to our members and in showing to the rail industry that the PWI is an organisation which makes a very positive difference. The annual report also acknowledges the challenge that we face to transform the knowledge we have from its traditional textbook format into accessible 21st century media.

I attended the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering’s (NSARE) Infrastructure Policy Group meeting in late April. I was there to support a bid to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to set up a Level 2 qualification for track workers, jointly sponsored by Network Rail, Transport for London and Crossrail. We expect to know the result of the bid in late July and, if successful, the PWI will be involved with NSARE in advising on the ‘professional review’ element of the qualification. Our alliance with NSARE is vital for both organisations’ futures. We complement one another’s skills and are very well placed to make a hugely positive difference to rail infrastructure capability at all levels in the industry.

The seminar on Practical Rail Stress Management, which I attended on 25th April, was a tremendous success. Organised by our London Section, it attracted almost 200 delegates to a very practical presentation of this perennial challenge. It was opened by Andy Jones, Network Rail’s Head of Track Engineering and supported by speakers from TfL, Network Rail, railway contractors and suppliers. In contrast to many events, it didn’t just pose questions it also answered them and so was excellent CPD for practising infrastructure engineers at all levels. Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive which encourages all those who worked hard to make it happen. The London half-day seminar has become an annual event that is eagerly anticipated by the industry. I am sure that 2013’s event will be just as good – please look out for our publicity early in the New Year.

Last month started well for me – I went to the Milton Keynes Section meeting and heard a fascinating presentation on development of the Docklands Light Railway. One of my former roles was as Engineering and Projects Director for the DLR. It was good to learn that the railway that was my every waking hour concern for four years is still growing and still delivering a great service, founded on the excellent management of its engineering infrastructure.

In mid-March we held a national technical seminar on asset management and engineering. It was given to a packed and enthusiastic audience, half of whom had arrived the day before to take advantage of the networking dinner the previous evening. To me this was a first-rate demonstration of the role of the PWI. We are broader than just our meetings and seminars. We offer valuable opportunities for practising railway professionals to meet, discuss current issues and share experiences and solutions. Finding time to do this is difficult in the relentless pressure of the rail industry, but the potential benefits are huge and it’s well worth the time invested.

Development of the PWI’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn presence was completed in March. All that now remains is to put the links on the PWI’s homepage, which is planned for mid-April. I am confident that these links will be of great benefit to existing and potential PWI members as they develop. Speaking of which, we’re keen to involve more people in development of these facilities. If you are able to give just a little time – and your opinions – please get in touch with Alison Stansfield, our Communications Director (alison.stansfield@permanentwayinstitution.com). On other website matters, I have still some concerns. As its use increases we are finding problems buried, we believe, in its coding. This has led to issues, some of which are internal management matters for the PWI but some are visible to members. For instance, as I write this, the site has lost the ability for members to download copies of the Journal. This is clearly unacceptable, but please be assured that we are working hard with our website support company to resolve issues as they are discovered. Please use the ‘Contact us’ form on the website to let us know of anything you discover that you think needs fixing.

At the end of the month we held one of our regular meetings for Section Secretaries. The PWI is very well supported by its Section Secretaries and these meetings are an opportunity to discuss progress and have an input to the future of the PWI. At the meeting the 2011 accounts were reviewed and the PWI’s activities that lay behind the numbers were explored. The accounts will be formally reviewed and accepted at the PWI’s Board meeting on 27th April and published on the members’ area of the website in early May. Our most important discussion was on the benefits of PWI membership. We agreed a comprehensive list of benefits which will form the core of a membership push to be launched in the autumn. A key to the PWI’s ability to bring benefit to the rail industry is the strength and expertise of its membership, so increasing membership is vital.

The first meeting of the PWI’s new Board took place  recently. There was a real spirit of determination to take the PWI forward and  a willingness to help in that transformation. The Board is keen to develop the  PWI’s role as a learned society in the rail industry. What does this mean in  practical terms? It means looking closely at the ways in which rail engineers  develop their knowledge and creating ways in which the PWI can take part actively in this process. This will be a change from past practice where the PWI has generally taken a more passive role, providing technical literature in the form of books and journals. My first step in this initiative was to build a relationship between NSARE and the PWI. We agreed to work together last year and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to that  effect. I now meet regularly with  Gil Howarth, Chief Executive of NSARE to discuss ways in which the PWI and NSARE can work together to aid the professional development of  railway engineers. We’ve decided that this year we will put in place actions to back up the principles – I’ll let you know as things develop.

Unsurprisingly, the Board was also very interested in the PWI’s finances. The 2011 accounts are currently being prepared and I expect them to be ready for publication in the Spring Journal, in good time for their consideration at the June 9^th AGM which will take place on June 9^th at the Derby Conference Centre. The 2012 budget was approved, but the Board was insistent that the PWI must eliminate its current trading loss as soon as
practicable. This has to be achieved by both income generation and cost reduction. The Ginger Group’s focus on local recruiting to drive up membership, which I mentioned in my last blog, is therefore of vital importance. In parallel, we must also look at our single greatest expense, the quarterly Journal. In the past this was a nil-cost item to the PWI, as the costs were covered by advertising revenues. In recent years this has not been the case and the Board has insisted, quite rightly, that the costs and revenues of the Journal be examined to bring it back to break-even. At the same time, the Journal’s quality of content and presentation must be maintained or improved. That’s quite a challenge for the Exec team and the new editor. Our target is to make changes for the Summer Journal – I’ll keep you up-to-date with plans through this blog.

As you may have seen, the PWI has been recruiting new non-executive directors to its Board. The non-executive directors have a very important role to play. Firstly, they bring added experience to the PWI’s Board, ensuring that the Institution’s strategy is well-tuned to the needs of the rail industry. They make sure that the executive team sets challenging but realistic goals for the Institution and then monitors progress, offering support and guidance.

I was delighted to have such a strong response to the advert. Andy Savage – a Past President of the PWI – and I conducted the interviews. All the candidates were PWI members and were united in their desire to help the PWI forge a role in strengthening the rail industry. I am pleased to welcome the following new non-executive members to the PWI’s Board.

Andy Cooper, Managing Director, Cross Country.

Andy has wide experience of transport and travel in technical, commercial, operational and safety matters. He has operated successfully in the public and private sectors as both a senior line manager, financial and business planner and advisor.  He has extensive experience in passenger, freight transport and engineering businesses.

Colin Wheeler, Partner Consultant Wheeler Associates.

Colin is a Partner Consultant with Wheeler Associates, Chairman of the Railway Industry Contractors Association, past Editor of “The Rail Engineer”, columnist in “Railstaff”, railway civil engineer and writer. He is also a professional reviewer for the Institution of Civil Engineers. He has knowledge of a wide cross section of the rail industry including all the main players involved with the permanent way.

John Dutton, Operating Centre Manager UK & Europe, GHD Ltd

John is the Operating Centre Manager (OCM) for the UK and Europe for GHD, a consultancy business with a focus on the Transportation sector within the UK and Europe. He has worked in the railway environment for the last twenty years and over the last ten years was part of the Leadership Team of Collinson Dutton Ltd., growing the consultancy to a multi-million pound turnover international business, ranked 22nd in the recent ICE Consultants file for top firms in rail.

The PWI faces the challenge, against a difficult economic background, of growing its membership in 2012. The Ginger Group has come up with some interesting and challenging proposals. The group is in the process of refining these ready for our next Board meeting on January 10^th. The involvement of young engineers is, I believe, the key to growing the PWI’s membership. Many professional institutions are questioning their relevance to up-and-coming young professionals and are wondering how to reach them. The PWI is fortunate to have a group of young people at its heart, determined to make a difference. 2012 will bring challenges, but the PWI is well-placed to meet them.

Good news!! The Track Maintenance textbooks are now back on the shelves. We apologise for the delay but we had some unexpected publishing difficulties which had to be resolved.
While I’m very happy with the look and feel of our new website, the number of glitches that we have found is too high. If you’ve been affected by these, I apologise. Alison Stansfield, the PWI’s Communications Director has been spending long – and sometimes frustrating – days resolving problems. However, if you are affected by a website glitch please tell us. While no-one likes problems, we are committed to sorting them out. It’s amazing how fast you forget that this website is hugely better than the old one!
The Board has agreed subscription levels for 2012. There was no increase in 2011 and the increase for 2012 is below the rate of inflation for the last two years at £2.80 for members and £3.46 fellows. There is no change in subscriptions for student members, so the cost for them will have stayed the same for three years. We feel that it’s important to encourage young members. The rates for those who pay through payroll will rise to £1 and £1.50 weekly for members and fellows to reflect the increased costs to the PWI of this method of payment. We want to encourage as many members as possible to transfer to direct debit as it benefits both them and the PWI. If you currently pay your subscription through payroll we will be writing to you – but you can contact the Secretary first if you want to take the initiative.

With the start of September comes the start of the PWI’s programme of events. I was delighted to be at the Liverpool and Manchester Section’s meeting on 8^th September. I heard Andrew Cunningham give an excellent technical paper on Floating Slab Track and the challenges faced by Crossrail to minimise noise and vibration experienced by the properties it passes under. The lunchtime meeting was very well attended by local practising engineers.

We’re reprinting the PWI guide to plain line maintenance (British Railway Track, 7^th edition vol. 4) as this excellent and popular book had sold out! We expect it to be back ‘on the shelves’ by the end of this month and, of course, it can now be ordered on-line.

There has been a very good response to the advert for a non-executive director for the PWI and shows that there is strong support at the most senior level for the new direction that the PWI needs to take. Andy Savage (a Past President) and I will be holding interviews in late October and I’m looking forward to welcoming new members to the Board team.

On closing this blog, I must end on a sad note following the death of Dr David Cope on 8^th September. The PWI and the rail industry as a whole benefited hugely from his expertise, dedication and enthusiasm, not least in the authoring of the plain line maintenance textbook that we are just reprinting. I was fortunate to work with him on a number of occasions and whenever I spoke to David, I learned something. His legacy, like most good engineers, is that the things he discovered and developed are now part of the normal fabric of a safe and efficient railway.

The plan proposed by the President, Phil Ransom, was put onto action at our August Exec meeting. It covers the three areas of specific initiatives, communication and corporate governance.  The specific initiatives are:

• Produce and deliver the strategic plan for the PWI.
• Produce technical publications including the Journal and textbooks.
• Develop the website.

Obviously, under each of these there will be detailed action plans. We’ve already started work on these and will make further progress at our September Exec meeting. I’ll keep members updated through the blog and Journal.

Improved communication features in every management action list – but it’s valid nonetheless. The specific actions are:

• Communicate the strategy and progress widely, seeking feedback.
• Provide support to members and the sections, remembering that good communication is as much about ‘listening’ as it is about ‘telling’.

Good corporate governance is essential for every enterprise and includes the Board’s strategic objectives. For the PWI the specific items are:

• Promote the PWI as a learned society in the Rail industry.
• Encourage growth in the PWI’s membership and stature.
• Implement the new organisation and comply with the new Articles of Association.
• Ensure that the PWI’s finances are properly managed and its legal obligations complied with.

 As part of our commitment to good governance, we are looking for a Non-exec Director to join the team. Our Non-exec Directors have a vital role, bringing their knowledge and experience to the PWI’s strategy and ensuring accountability of the Exec team. Interviews will be held in October, but we need applications by 15^th September. If you’re interested, please look in the ‘Latest News’ section for more details.

I’ve now had a few weeks to reflect on the AGM that was held in Birmingham at the end of June. Views at the meeting were mixed. Some members were happy with the progress the PWI has made over the last year, others less so. I have found, in the last year, that the business of ‘just’ running the PWI takes up well over half of my team’s time. For our second year, the lesson is clear. We need to increase the time we spend on doing things to make the PWI better, if necessary by getting hold of the extra resources we need to deliver more. This will be the main topic for discussion at our team meeting in mid-August.

July and August are months when the busy Section calendar becomes quiet. However, I’m looking forward to seeing the events calendars for the new season that starts in September. I’ve already got two dates in my diary for the autumn; 8^th September in Manchester and 16^th November in Glasgow. I’m expecting to visit fifteen Sections during the course of the year – so if there’s something particularly interesting happening in your area, let me know. Dairies have a habit of filling up fast!