Proceedings 2002/2003 - IRSE

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 21
in terms of S&T Engineering!
Perhaps as a start I could relate my own experiences.
Like most youngsters I had ideas about what
I wanted to be when I left school, first a policeman,
then a train driver then a boat builder then a
musician, but at some stage reality intervened. After
graduating in electrical engineering, I looked at a
number of opportunities that seemed to involve
being tucked away in the corner of a design office
dealing with some small area of product design.
In extreme contrast, British Rail offered accredited
training with involvement in such a wide range of
technology, in specification, design and test and
what is nowadays called system integration
engineering. A key decider was the level of activity in
finding ways of applying the very latest technology;
there was simply no contest, I became a railwayman.
I count myself very fortunate to have made that
decision, to have experienced a wide range of jobs
and to have known and worked with so many fine
engineers. In due course I was able to indulge some
of those childhood interests as hobbies and now, I
sometimes sit and contemplate why the job has
been so enjoyable and why the grass never looked
greener elsewhere.
I think it was simply because I worked in an
industry that provided a public service, with a visible
technical and safety strategy and clear lines of
responsibility, that provided opportunity and
encouragement of personal development both
technical and managerial, offered a great variety of
job opportunities, supported Professional Institution
activities and looked on membership of this
Institution as an essential requirement. When
problems arose, advice was at hand and when technical
problems seemed insoluble, there was an R&D
organisation to call on. In short, there was order and
structure and a dedication to safety and technical
progress.
Today a new entrant to the Industry can still find
companies that operate accredited training
schemes. Afterwards the entrant might see a very
different world in which company goals do not
translate in the same way into technical strategies,
where technical management tends to be multidisciplinary
and significant responsibility is taken at
an earlier age with limited access to expert advice.
If the company role is restricted, for example to
maintenance or projects, the opportunities for
gaining a breadth of experience will also be
restricted, so that career development and progression
will often involve a change of employer,
without the benefit of advice and assistance.
In this situation it seems to me that our Institution
must be able to offer support and guidance. There
are a number of ways by which this can be done, for
example by:
• Taking the concept of mentoring beyond the
training and initial development stage and into
the role of a personal advisor, especially in the
area of continuing professional development.
• Maintaining and expanding the Licensing
Scheme modules, by which competence can be
demonstrated and independently verified.
• Providing a comprehensive programme of
Institution activities specifically aimed at informing
and developing younger members.
• Encouraging employers to support the
Institution and encourage those employed in the
industry to make use of its services.
By doing so, we can expect to generate a positive
view of a career in S&T engineering among new
entrants during their training and to maintain that
view subsequently as their career develops.
But, whatever the Institution does to further the
acceptability of a career, the result can be no more
than a help to employers in recruitment and retention
of staff. The shortfall in resources can only be
addressed by recruitment and training programmes
that require long term commitment and agreement
between infrastructure operators and suppliers. The
Institution is able to support such programmes, for
example with advice on training and development
objectives.
INTRODUCING NEW TECHNOLOGY
Throughout Europe at this moment, railway
administrations and their suppliers are working to
introduce ERTMS technology into pilot projects and
then into full commercial service. It has taken ten
years to achieve the present position, during which
time the European Commission and the Industry
have invested much money and many man-years of
development and testing.
A purpose-built test laboratory has been set up in
Madrid, equipped to permit the ERTMS components
to be tested together as a system.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
In a nutshell, on the scale required for the planned
programme of ERTMS implementation the
necessary technical knowledge, application
engineering experience and operational experience
simply does not exist.
At the basic technology level, the number of
experts in the areas of the Eurobalise/Antenna/BTM
sub-systems, Euroradio, RBC, GSM-R and Data
over radio, is very small indeed and is largely
confined to the six manufacturers. The available
expertise in the simulation and test facility is
similarly limited.
If the Industry is to deliver a Europe wide roll-out
of the technology, a positive programme of
knowledge transfer must be set up, so that sufficient
numbers of trained people are made available to
carry out effective application engineering, operations
planning and maintenance planning.
Also, if safety approval is to be obtained, it will be
necessary to ensure that those concerned with
validation and verification, testing and commissioning
are able to devise and apply appropriate
procedures and tests.
Such knowledge transfer will not happen by
accident; it must be planned and delivered as an
essential part of national implementation
programmes. I believe that the Institution can help in
this process.