Proceedings 2002/2003 - IRSE

19
The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers
(COPYRIGHT RESERVED)
Presidential Address
of
P W STANLEY BSc CEng FIEE FIRSE
Making the Possible Happen
I have no doubt that at the start of their
presidential year, every one of my predecessors has
looked with some amazement at the demands and
current problems of the Industry and the number of
things that need to be done, with just a slight
concern as to how the President can make a
meaningful contribution in the space of one short
year. It is certainly the way that I feel at this moment.
Like most incoming presidents I face an immediate
difficulty. What can I say that has not been said
before? What ideas can come to mind that have not
been thought, debated and acted on many times
before? What actions can be proposed that have not
been tried before? I shall start by saying thank you
to all my many colleagues who, during the 14 years
that I have served on Council, have been a source of
help and encouragement. Without such support, I
could not be here today.
This time last year Bob Barnard ended his address
with a look forward to things that the Institution
should do in future; I intend to start where he left off,
and with time being short, the best place for me to
start is with my conclusions.
CONCLUSIONS
Modern train control systems are dependent on
communications as an integral part of the system to
the extent that old divisions between ‘S’ and ‘T’ no
longer apply. I believe that my comments apply to all
railway S&T engineers, whatever their specialisation
may be.
Today we have the possibility of applying new
technology to railways, capable of delivering
systems that are safer, more reliable, more available,
more adaptable and with greater functionality. If we
do not also have the skilled people, workable
procedures for gaining safety approvals and
sufficient economic benefit to justify investment,
then the possibility will remain just that; we must
make the possible happen.
I believe that our Institution can and should
develop its services to members and its role within
the industry by offering guidance, giving leadership
and developing services in five important areas:
• Meeting the demand for S&T engineers;
• Introducing new technology;
• Harmonising safety acceptance procedures;
• Delivering additional functionality and economic
benefit;
• Making the benefits of membership of our
Institution more widely available in developing
countries.
THE DEMAND FOR S&T ENGINEERS
RECOGNISING PROBLEMS – AVAILABILITY OF
EXPERTISE
If I want to say anything even slightly revolutionary,
I had better start with the wheel of progress, which
as it turns, sooner or later brings up old railway
problems in new guises.
Even if recurring problems are recognised as such,
essential details could be elusive, existing only in the
memories of the original experts who might not be
around to be consulted.
Many organisations are now structured to deal
with current tasks and have neither a company
collective memory that could recognise old
problems when they recreate-occur, nor easy
access to records of solutions that were considered
previously, nor knowledge of why one solution was
selected and others rejected, nor the expertise to