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“The TRU Principal Designer team is made up of knowledgeable, passionate and most of all dedicated bunch of people, led by an experienced and highly regarded individual in the railway industry, Jeff Boden.
Since taking on the role of Principal Designer, the team have standardised the approach to CDM to the whole programme, whilst putting people and passengers first by the Safe by Design culture, and the Health, Safety and Well-being Principles which they have promoted throughout the programme. The core focus areas the team are promoting are Principles & arrangements, risk management, communication & co-ordination, pre-construction information and health & safety files, with successes in developing a CDM compliance tracker and developing a CDM Plan Template for TRU as well as writing a memorandum of understanding template for use across the project where there are multiple contractors.
The team in being proactive, working closely with the ORR to score 2018/19 RM3 Model has been a major milestone in the way the programme functions, the collaborative approach the team has taken has led to open communications and discussion points. The team are take great pride in providing the best PCIP information to the Alliances working on the TRU programme and are at the forefront of promoting the Common Data Environment (CDE) for the single source of truth. I have personally witnessed several times the lengths Billy Smith is willing to go, the level of effort, taking time out, going beyond what is expected of him to explain how important the PCIP process is. Billy has single handily spoke at more forums programme wide than I have time to tell you about, passionately speaking around CDM regulations and the importance of these. On another note, the Team is visible and more importantly approachable. There is a real bond among the team which is admirable and a must, the level of reporting is benefiting the programme tenfold whilst looking to add value continuously.“
“I am nominating the TRU Principal Designer team for recognition in the Rail Staff Awards 2019. The team is led by Jeff Boden and members are
Martin Lafferty
Wilhelm (Billy) Smith
Michael Orridge
Jason Markland
Kevin Paylor
The team are being nominated for this award for the following reasons:
• Adopting and delivering a different approach to CDM for the programme, compared to Network Rail standard practice.
• Developing and rolling out the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Principles across the programme that are re-setting and growing the Safety by Design culture.
• Raising the profile of CDM across the TRU programme leading to stronger levels of engagement and compliance throughout.
• Developing and rolling out best practice methodologies and processes for ensuring compliance with legal duties for all duty holders.
• Standardising the approach to CDM across the whole programme.
Jeff Boden and the Principal Designer team have taken the delivery of CDM Compliance and Safety by Design to a different level within the TRU programme. As the biggest and most complex infrastructure project currently being undertaken in the North of England the associated hazards and risk are at a level that is new to almost everyone on the programme. Application of and compliance with CDM 2015, plus a strong commitment to Safety by Design are therefore critical elements to ensure a successful outcome for the programme.
The PD team are appointed independently of Network Rail and are provided by Jacobs, with a PD lead being allocated to each of the Alliances on the Programme, covering East of Leeds - Martin Lafferty (now Kevin Paylor), Leeds Central - Mike Orridge and West of Leeds – Jason Markland. In addition, Billy Smith provides Route-wide cover including liaison with the Common Data Environment management team.
The PD leads work closely with the design teams in the Alliances to ensure that the Principal Designer and Designer duties are delivered in compliance with CDM 15 and Network Rail requirements as an absolute minimum standard. They play a key role in hazard identification and work with design teams to maximise application of the principles of prevention
One significant area that the team have taken ownership of and rolled out across the programme is the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Principles, which comprise 12 aspects of the Safety Culture that the programme aspires to and provides a way of sensibly measuring progression towards Excellence in all areas. Whilst these principles do not fall directly under the CDM or PD ownership, the team have stepped up to drive engagement across the programme and provide the ongoing monitoring of improvement, recognising that a strong safety culture will inevitably impact on Safety by Design.
Jeff Boden has set up forums which meet each period to discuss Safety by Design and CDM, which are attended by the Alliances and Network Rail client team to share experiences and learning, compare notes and take collective ownership so that we can gain a consistent standard and strong interfaces over this very wide programme. These forums have been very successful to date and should continue to grow in strength as teams move toward GRIP 5 and detailed design.
Working with the ORR has been another area of particular success. Monthly meetings with the ORR, attended by key project team members and chaired by Jeff Boden has become a focus for open and frank discussion with the appointed inspector, leading to a very good working relationship and two-way dialogue. This relationship allows the project team to take early action in respect of any concerns that the ORR might have and also early sharing of proposals can head off the potential of nugatory work by the design teams. The ORR inspector is very supportive of the CDM approach taken on the programme and appreciates the level of CDM competence that the PD Team brings to TRU.
As part of the drive to deliver better and more timely Pre-Construction Information to the design teams, TRU has engaged Jacobs to create a Common Data Environment based around Project Mapper (Jacobs proprietary system), Track Record (Jacobs proprietary system) and Projectwise to provide a single source of truth for all pre-construction information.
Billy Smith is the liaison between the CDE system and the alliances and puts a significant effort into ensuring that the information within the system is accurate, Alliances know how to use it and maximise it’s benefits to the design teams. This is a significant step forward in data management in that the system can be updated real time with results of surveys, hazards spotted on site and a multitude of other information which reduces the risk to those who go to site. There’s also a very clear benefit in saved time searching for information from multiple sources. Billy’s efforts in this area have been and are still critical to the success of the system.“
““The Jacobs team acting as the Principle Designer for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) have brought an impressive level of rigour and professionalism to the role, and have driven improvements to the wider safety management processes way beyond CDM. The Health Safety and Wellbeing Principles that they promoted are now embedded within the entire programme, underpinning everything we do. This legacy will serve the Programme well throughout its life cycle. Their value and influence as an integrator working within the programme is matched by the outward facing, collaborative work they have done with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), where a strong relationship has been built on the behaviours of openness, honesty and a desire to improve Health, Safety and Wellbeing to all involved or impacted by TRU.–
“The Principal Designers team on the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme have added a lot of value. The knowledge and experience of the team has brought independent thinking and challenge around the approach and decision making in development, design and delivery on the Programme. They have been very influential in establishing approaches to safety, notably the TRU Principles for Health Safety & Wellbeing, which underpin the safety vision for the Programme. All this supports the TRU Programme in meeting stakeholder expectations, as they see the positive intentions brought to life and put into practice. The Principal Designers team have been at the forefront of the safety conversations, converting the Programmes aspirations into reality.“
“What a NIGHT!”
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