RISC Blog

Working with Burton College University Students

2011-01-18T08:26:00.000Z

RISC Ltd is enjoying working with Burton College to develop our brochure, presentational materials and website. This project was initially conceived as a student project to study the needs of a business client and to make proposals, thus providing some real-life exposure to real opportunities.

The students have done such a fine job, with very attractive pieces of work, and there is every chance that there will be a follow up to the first steps.

David sends a big thank you to the students, and to the Department Head for the work done so far.

ISO900:2008 Audit Success

2010-11-30T11:32:00.000Z

Clients will be pleased to hear that RISC Ltd continues to maintain its Quality Management System in line with the ISO9001:2008 Standard.

The formal surveillance audit was done by Bureau Veritas on the 29th November, and the auditor commented that:

Ø The level of compliance in this system was found to be very high ..

Ø The documented system as seen is working for the benefit of the organization ..

Ø The internal audit and management review processes give a high level of confidence that the management system will continue to be implemented and maintained.

Ø The records available in support of evidence for the contracts being undertaken is a good positive strength of the system.

Our certificated scope continues to be : MANAGEMENT, ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR CLIENTS ENGAGED IN RAILWAY TRANSPORT AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS.

FLINT and STEEL

2010-07-27T14:33:00.004+01:00

Neville Billington has revised and updated his earlier version of this book - which describes the story of how tragedy led to the formation of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and how James Edward McConnell changed the course of mechanical engineering during the years he lived and worked in the Bromsgrove railway community.

It is a fascinating story and includes the early developments of the steam engines - both stationary and locomotive - and the people of the day.

Given the skills and materials of the time, it is amazing what could be done - and no wonder that things appear rough and ready to us now. If they had invented the computer in those days, there is no knowing what we would see around us now!

Cover price is £4.99 and it has ISBN 978-0-9563402-1-4, and is available from camehundred@yahoo.co.uk.

It is really good - get a copy !!

Cruachan Train Derailment - Article published by The Scotsman

2010-07-10T23:08:00.003+01:00

David Greenway: A tricky and possibly expensive operation

Published Date: 09 June 2010

By David Greenway

EACH derailment will create a unique situation that demands huge thought and skill to recover the vehicles.

In cases like Cruachan, access for special equipment is very limited and extremely expensive, and the engineer will have to select cranes that are large enough to reach from the road to where the vehicle is resting.

It is highly likely cranes sourced from specialist contractors would have the benefit of being versatile and can be brought quickly by road. This is of paramount importance if the train is in a situation like this.

If the access is really difficult and a crane can't be used, then freight haulage companies would be contacted for air-bags to prop the carriage until jacks and winches are used to move it.

A train, such as one involved in Sunday's incident, would weigh circa 45 tonnes, so it would be necessary to find a crane able to lift 100 tonnes or more, as reaching without the jib creates a leverage effect that reduces the weight the crane can lift.

This alone could cost something in the region of £100,000.

On top of those difficulties, the engineer must satisfy himself the ground on which he places the crane is safe for the total weight of crane and vehicle – a road supported on piers will need a lot of bracing and load-spreading beams to stop the crane's balancing outriggers from punching through.

Once the train is back on the road, it will be transported by a low-loader road vehicle to a workshop.

David Greenway is from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' railway division.

Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 09 June 2010 12:22 PM
Source: The Scotsman
Location: Edinburgh

This article was published to complement a larger piece - see http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Mission-impossible-to-rescue-derailed.6349122.jp

Future of Station Design

2010-03-30T22:36:00.003+01:00

19th March 2010 - I attended a pre-conference meeting with speakers and the organisers of the Future of Station Design conference. Sim Harris (Railnews Editor) gave a fascinating introduction that included a review of station design over the years since railways began in the UK. It was interesting to hear that stations were not really focused on passengers in the beginning - they were places to deal with freight of coal and other goods (hence the multiplicity of small rooms for the different people who worked there).

Now, of course, the station is where people start and end their rail journeys (and change trains) and the purpose of the station is entirely different - yet many stations are still laid out for the original purpose. After so much rail investment has been made to improve the journey itself - new rolling stock and improved infrastructure, speed and reliability - many stations are a poor 'shop-window'. Sim says that now is the start of the Age of the Station - to follow up on the 'Age of the Train' !

Chris Green, the 'Stations Champion' who (with Sir Peter Hall) recently advised the government on improving stations, also gave an introductory talk. He showed that there is much to do, with needs to improve many stations , but also a fantastic opportunity to create some new iconic structures that can excite the imagination and be a real showpiece at the entrance to the rail network and to create regeneration in towns and cities.

The Future of Station Design conference will be held at the London Transport Museum on the 28th April. The conference is organised by Murray Media and will have Maggie Philpin as host. See http://events.linkedin.com/FOSD-Ltd-presents-Future-Station-Design/pub/244583

RISC Ltd support Virgin and Pendolino Expansion Project

2010-03-25T21:46:00.000Z

Paul and David continue to assist Virgin Rail Projects Ltd as they supervise and manage aspects of the safety approval process for the additional Pendolino trains and vehicles that are being supplied by Alstom, and procured by Angel Trains.

Modern rolling stock projects have aspects that are within the scope of European Directives for Interoperability and their associated 'Technical Standards for Interoperability'. Other aspects of a 'new trains' project come in the scope of the UK ROGS Regulations. These two high-level requirements mean that Notified Bodies are required, as well as safety verification processes that may or may not require an Independent Competent Person depending on novelty and risk.

For situations such as this, clients benefit by developing documents that are used to describe the approval processes, including project and safety strategies; written safety verification schemes; and project quality plans. For complex projects, documents created to control different aspects may contain overlaps or have gaps, so a document map is a useful tool to help all project participants understand the parts that are relevant to them, and help to create a set of compatible documents that can be easily maintained.

David Greenway

RISC Ltd enjoy TfL success with Jacobs

2010-03-25T20:50:00.000Z

David is proud to announce that RISC Ltd has been appointed as a specialist sub-consultant to Jacobs Engineering in connection with the Transport for London Engineering & Project Management Framework contract for 4 years from the end of 2009.

We look forward to working with Jacobs on London projects. This will compliment the work we have done with Jacobs on the Hong Kong - China high-speed rail link, and our listing as a specialist T&RS engineering resource available to assist Jacobs in their UK rolling stock procurement advisory work.

Our services continue to be focused on railway engineering, safety and railway operations, and supporting London railways, whether LOROL, Crossrail, Underground or the mainline railways.

We maintain Link-Up rail industry approvals, and this appointment is a further endorsement of our wide capabilities.

MyTestTrack.com

2009-09-11T19:21:00.000+01:00

David, Peter and Allan went to the Wyvern Rail 'Corporate Day' on the 11th Sept 09, to inspect their facilities for on-track testing. Not only is this site well-equipped with facilities for testing on-track and road-rail plant, it also has over half a mile of 1 in 30 gradient, and a section of 1 in 27 gradient. As well as the outdoor facilities, there is a training / presentation room and a mess room, so there is room to talk about products and test results under cover. See more on www.MyTestTrack.com

The pictures caught Allan and Peter at the controls of the shunting loco LJ Breeze.

All in all, this is an excellent facility.

We are grateful to Wyvern Rail for inviting us.

RISC Summer Lunch

2009-08-25T20:35:00.001+01:00

The boys celebrated another half-year with lunch, and catching up on projects done and pending.

Terry was away on his grand trip sailing round Ireland, so missed all the fun.

The photo catches us in the garden, celebrating Roger's near-50 years of working on the railway.

In the picture: RISC team: Roger, David, Peter, Allan, Paul, (Terry was floating somewhere off Ireland)

The first entry...

2009-08-06T16:03:00.001+01:00

The RISC blog has been started. We aim to keep our customers and followers up to date with the latest developments. We will use this space to discuss our recent projects, case studies and news from the safety industry.

Stay tuned.