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The vital role asset engineers for compliance play at Network Rail

Gov Dhinsa, asset engineer (compliance) for Network Rail’s Anglia route, in the buildings & civils asset management team, brought with him the skills and experience gained from his previous roles at Network Rail HQ. He describes his role, the challenges he faces, and offers insight into the vital and unique role the asset engineer (compliance) carries out.

After working at the centre of Network Rail for over seven years in asset management, it was time for a new challenge – and what better way to do this than to join a devolved route and to gain some real hands-on experience at the frontline.

Looking back over the last year, I can confidently say that my time in the centre really did prepare me for the day-to-day challenges faced on the Anglia route. Our diverse route covers two direct commuting routes into the City of London, the densely populated areas to the north, east and west of London, the largest container port in the country at Felixstowe, the major cities of Cambridge and Norwich, as well as the rural countryside.

Safety is the key

My team and I offer a vital support function that allows our engineers to remain focused on safety, managing and mitigating risk in our asset portfolio (Buildings; Structures; Geotechnical; and Drainage).

Essentially, the compliance role exists to ensure that the route asset management (buildings and civils, or B&C) team is compliant with all relevant legislation, policies, safety procedures and processes – and that these are in place and embedded in our management systems.

A typical day

Providing asset intelligence to the engineers allows us to build a picture of the asset to manage the risk: its current condition, performance, useful lifecycle and priority. This allows asset engineers and senior management to take a pragmatic look at the risk of asset failure and deliver interventions to safeguard the performance and safety of the route and its users.

A typical example of the B&C team’s work includes the support provided to Liverpool Street, a Network Rail-managed station that is the third busiest in the country, with 63 million entries and exits each year. Liverpool Street scooped the ‘major station of the year’ prize at the National Rail Awards 2015. The recognition for Liverpool Street comes at a time when the station is undergoing significant upgrade works.

The compliance team also provides regular reporting to the Office of Rail and Road, providing key information about the condition of the asset base. This reporting function also satisfies a number of legal and compliance requirements.

By liaising with key contractors and suppliers on a day-to-day basis, we ensure our examination regime remains on track and that our assets are getting the attention they deserve.

When things don’t go to plan

We’re on standby, ready at all times to offer a rapid response service to support investigations into failures that affect the safety and condition of assets. We assist with the management of actions to mitigate the risks of recurrence and, more importantly, keep our commuters safe by sharing lessons learnt with other routes.

As a unified team, we are developing technology, tools and methodologies to support fact-based whole lifecycle decisions on maintaining, renewing and enhancing the route infrastructure and improving our capability for predicting and preventing failures.

Looking forward

I regularly work on politically and commercially sensitive projects with the aim of developing the foundations of a robust approach to buildings and civils asset management, allowing us to rise to the challenge the future brings.

As a compliance team, we endeavour to understand our assets and the environment better. We do this using:

• Experienced personnel
• Adopting the right culture
• Managing assets intelligently
• Embracing data and technology

Our B&C teams incorporate a unique blend of rail experience, asset management and specialist expertise of their core disciplines. Over time, our teams have built a unique understanding of the asset base that provides an extra dimension when scrutinising asset profiles.