Steven Johnson Rail Engineering Services

We’ve arrived in Australia

Steve Johnson — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:58:38 +0000

We are now settling into our new life in Sydney. We have a flat in an amazing location on the North Shore with some amazing views. We have the flat for a few more weeks then we need to find somewhere for ourselves, which is easier said than done in Sydney.

This is the view from the balcony of our flat.

I am working just up the road from here on Pacific Highway so only a ten minute walk to work for me! Sure beats an hour and three quarters on the train or in the car!

Unfortunately we cannot see the Opera House from the flat, but we have a great view of the bridge and over towards Balmain.

A view of the bridge at night with a Cruise ship passing under neath.

A move to Australia!

Steve Johnson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:01:46 +0000

I have got a start date for a job in Australia.
I am due to start on 22nd March, working in Sydney. I am going to work for a company called Transfield Services.
Transfield Services is a service provider to the industrial, resources and infrastructure industries.
Their web site is:

Transfield Services

We are now busy trying to decide what to take, and what to leave. We also have to decide where we want to live in Sydney, it is all very expensive!

It’s quicker for me, but is it right for the customer?

Steve Johnson — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:00:14 +0000

I was recently having a discussion with a friend who was explaining some Theory of Constraints training he had experienced some time back.

The training had involved showing that it was faster to do something if a person concentrated on one thing at once. The example given was an exercise involving giving people a pile of mixed up different coloured objects and asking them to sort them in to groups of the same colour.
The exercise showed that it was quicker to work thorough the items methodically picking out the different colours in order rather than picking up any colour and putting it with like coloured pieces.

This is a great learning tool, it helps to teach people to do things one thing at a time, rather than doing lots of different tasks and finishing none of them. This is a good lesson to learn especially in the industry this training was related to.

However, I have a bit of problem with this, as it sounds a lot like ‘batching’ to me.

To continue the example above a little further I wonder what the customer would have wanted? Would they want all the blue pieces followed by all the red pieces followed by…….? Or is it actually more likely they wanted a red, followed by two blues, followed by a green then …… you get the idea.
The solution above may have made sorting the pieces quicker for the people doing the task (lets call them the supplier) but not necessarily enabling them to deliver the items in the order the customer wanted them.

This line of thinking is very common in manufacturing and reasons such as machine change overs and tooling changes are reasons given as to why all one part must be made first, then another part, and so on until all the components are ready and the final product can be assembled.

It is always difficult to translate these theoretical ideas into real examples but I will try.

On a railway project, works are usually split into works occurring in sequential weeks. If I need to book some trains for a project extending over several weeks the usual temptation would be to work out all the trains then send them all through in one go. This is easier for the people planing the work as they can think about the trains all in one go and submit them together.
However the guys that process these trains into train orders may prefer that each week came through as soon as it is prepared rather than waiting for them all then having to rush to get through a big heap of work.

The same also applies to the planning of speed restrictions in association with the work. It may take some time to determine exactly when each speed restriction is to be removed, owing to planning tamping, welding and stressing works. However, again the speed restrictions are often all submitted together after all the speeds have been worked out, this can take some time, maybe weeks, waiting for possession confirmations, tamper bookings to be made etc. All the while some of the speeds will not change as they are fixed for various reasons, however the planning teams are not aware as they are all on the same spread sheet and the whole thing must be finished before it is submitted.

These may not be the best examples, but I hope they illustrate a couple of points.

Firstly, think about the recipient of the information you are preparing as being a customer. Therefore, treat them like a customer, and ask them what they want and in what order.
Secondly, making something quicker for yourself does not necessarily mean it will provide the quickest result for the process.

Please leave a comment below, maybe you disagree!

What is needed to apply Lean to the rail industry?

Steve Johnson — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:28:00 +0000

During my time with VolkerRail they were one of the first companies to look at how LEAN can be applied to the rail industry.
This meant starting from scratch, there is no one to copy.
Below I have tried to help you understand what type of issues come to light when looking through ‘LEAN Goggles’ at the track renewals process.

Excavation of spent ballast

When excavating the old ballast we start at one end (usually) and work through to the other. We may use one or two machines to do a rough dig, then use one machine with a dozer to trim to the finished level.
This causes waste, waste in the Lean sense rather than the more conventional sense, i.e. those activities in the process not adding value. For the example described above the following wastes exist:

Reworks as a result of a defect – using the dozer and another machine to complete the dig means we are effectively doing the dig twice.
Unnecessary motion – each time the machine working with the dozer lifts a bucket of spoil to the train it is unnecessary if the first dig had been done properly.
Inventory – the area of the dig between the first rough dig and the trim can be considered to be inventory, this area is not having any value added to it.
Defects – associated with the above point we don’t know if the rough dig is right until the dozer gets to it, perhaps the area has been over dug and is now too deep?
Inventory again – the area behind the dozer does not get any ballast dropped on it until the dozer has gone all the way through.
Transport – the dozer now needs to travel all the way back to the beginning, this is waste as is the fact the first area to be dozed has been waiting to be worked on again.

You are probably reading this thinking, ‘Yeah but the train needs to move.’, or ‘We cannot afford to have two dozers’, or ‘It would be too slow to do the whole dig in one go.’ Well yes, that is how it is now, but how could it be in the future?
Could there be a machine that can complete the dig in one pass? Could we have new trains that can take away old ballast and bring in new ballast at the same time?
This is what is meant by the term ‘LEAN Goggles’ when one learns to use these one sees things in a completely new way. It can be quite frightening.

LEAN in action

One example of attempting to improve how the track renewal process works can be seen in the experiments using a Road Planer to excavate spent ballast.

Very good cut following excavation with planer

The trial was used to understand if the machine could improve the speed and quality of the excavation phase of a track renewal project. Excavation had, for a long time, been a process which took a large proportion of the renewal possession, and the quality was variable at best.
The planer produced a very good quality cut but with only one machine the work rate was not perceived to be great, especially considering that several passes were required to achieve the correct excavation depth and width.

Planer loading to wagons

So why has this idea not been taken further? Perhaps there exists a reluctance to change, perhaps without constant pushing people do what they have always done. But perhaps there is no real data to prove which technique is best. We need to have real data to compare outputs and quality.

We also need to have the vision to enhance the existing equipment to make it do what we want to do more precisely. The next steps for the planer were quite obvious, work them in multiple, or use a wider drum and some changes to the chute to stop it betting clogged in very poor ballast conditions.
Link the laser levelling equipment to the hydraulics, so the idea is not dead, just waiting to be taken forward again.

This solution does not provide a solution to all the wastes listed above, but perhaps it forms part of the new solution, however that may look.

A final look at Manchester Metro

Steve Johnson — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:50:49 +0000

The metro is back up and running and appears to be working well.

There do not appear to be any major problems, and it is difficult to believe all the work that has been done to get it up and running again.

Here are a few photos from around Shudehill, they are a little blurry but they were taken in the dark.

Looking from Shudehill towards High Street

Shudehill Station

View towards Victoria from Shudehill Station

Shudehill Station, again

A little rant about ticket barriers, again!

Steve Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:34:38 +0000

Are ticket barrier really necessary?

Yesterday I was travelling back from London on the 15:30 train from St Pancras. A ticket barrier is now in operation at St Pancras and so I begrudgingly got my ticket out of my wallet, holding my coat, bag and a file in the other. Successfully through the barrier I found a seat, got out my laptop and settle down to prepare some notes from the meeting I had attended.

Seconds after we departed we were advised that a fully ticket inspection would now take place. Hang on a minute, I had just passed the challenge of getting my ticket in the machine whilst juggling the rest of my gear, now my ticket was to be inspected again. What is going on!

I decided to ask.

The Train Manager/Ticket Inspector came to our carriage and I raised my concern that my ticket had been checked by the barrier and now she was checking it again.

She explained that the machines are a bit useless for the following reasons:

They cannot check the validity of a Railcard,

They are a bit crap at letting the correct advance purchase tickets on to the correct train,

They cannot deal with self print tickets,

And the staff don’t have a lot of faith in them.

The introduction of the barriers at St Pancras has meant that staff have stopped checking all tickets at the end of the platform and now check them on board, actually occupying a member of staff that was previously free to look after customers rather than inconvenience them further. It was clear she was not very impressed with the installation of the barriers.

I have stated in a previous blog that I hate ticket barriers they are an expensive, and if this is to be believed, an ineffective way of protecting revenue for the TOC. They offer virtually no benefit to the customer and are a hindrance to anyone carrying more than an umbrella.

I do not however have the same hatred of the Oyster Card system on the underground. Perhaps this is because it seems to be simpler to operate with hands full of baggage and I don’t have to queue to by a ticket before hand. Or maybe it is just that checking tickets on a metro system is very difficult and so the barriers make more sense.

Either way my dislike of ticket barriers grows.

I wish the industry would look at the whole journey experience and stop putting barriers (literally) in the way to people using trains.

Luton Station

Steve Johnson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:11:41 +0000

The joys of contracting take me to Peterborough for a project at Luton.

I am now doing some work for Jarvis, planning an S&C renewal at Luton North Junction and the permanent way works necessary to remodel the platforms.
This is quite a complicated project, with our p-way works comprising a part of it.

Looking towards the station.

Yes I am behind the barrier!

These photos are from a fenced green zone set up by the civils guys to build the new foundations for the new OLE masts.
The track is to be realigned over the bridge to allow the platforms to be lengthened to the north.
Luton North Junction is to the north of here, but access is not good due to the curves through the bridges and into the station.

The areas shown in these photos are due to be relaid in Week 1 with the works on the Junction spread over Week 4 and Week 6.

A little bit of a tribute to Brunel

Steve Johnson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:42:39 +0000

Nadine and I have recently been on holiday down in Cornwall.
On our journey around the bottom Left hand corner of the British Isles we visited several sites associated with Brunel.
Here are a few photos for those that like this sort of thing.

SS Great Britain

Clifton Suspension Bridge

Royal Albert Bridge in the rail!

All rather impressive, especially considering when and how they were built.

Manchester Metro is looking good

Steve Johnson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:03:34 +0000

City Centre
Well it looks as though the City Centre works will be complete in time for the reopening on 2nd November.

The only small blot on the landscape is the works at Piccadilly Gardens. The upgrading of the tram stop in the Gardens looks like it will not be complete, but this is being done by a different contractor and is not part of our works.
It will be a little disappointing that everything will not be ready but it is no small achievement to have got all the city centre work, that forms our contract, complete in the time available.

Victoria Station
In addition to the works in the city centre we have also undertaken work at Victoria Station. Track on the concrete slab in the station has been replaced by Schweerbau of Germany. They have installed a new track form on the slab, which should ensure the rails stay in the right place. Historically there have been problems holding gauge on the tight radius curves in the station area.

Manchester Metro trams just make it through on the new track at Victoria.

As can be seen from the photo above the clearance to the structures in the station are extremely tight.

When I get some photos of the system finished and trams in operation I will post them as a record of the finished article.

Getting the Metrolink trams running again

Steve Johnson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:36:31 +0000

As we near the planned restart of tram operations on the Altrincham line the pressure is building in the delivery team. The guys replacing the overhead line equipment on the old British Rail infrastructure are pulling out all the stops trying to get everything finished on time, whilst in the city centre what feels like hundreds of orange clad bodies are feverishly trying to get the tracks and road surfaces in position ready for the trams to run.

To add to the stress, it is Manchester Pride this weekend and there are expected to be thousands of extra people in the city making moving materials and guys around even more torturous than usual.

There is a real will to get the work complete and it will not be for a lack of trying if it is not quite ready. I am sure trams will be running again on Tues 1st September.

Update 2nd Sept
Well I wasn’t quite right, but St Peters Station was back up and running as planned. Unfortunaley there have been a few problems down at the Altrincham end.