Lorna Richardson

Said the following about Phil Corns:

“Through his work ethics and willingness to support and encourage others, Phil continuously sets good examples to all those he works with, colleagues, customers and suppliers. He is currently mentoring two Signalling Installers, involved in weekly conversations and the progressing of their next IRSE License grades. As well as having IRSE Engineering managers competence he also possesses IRSE assessor's competence which he attained to aid in the progress of staff working under his control. In addition to his day to day job, Phil also acts Safety Representative, and regularly champions internal and client safety initiatives. Phil always has a 'can do' attitude and his innovative approach to Signalling works is exemplary, setting a great example to those around him.

Starting as a Trainee Signal Technician and progressing to Signalling Installation Manager today Phil has worked on multiple challenging Signalling Projects throughout his 18-year career on the railway. A natural born leader and someone who inspires confidence in others, Phil typifies what to expect from someone who falls under the category of 'Rail Person of the Year'. Phil prides himself in being involved and influencing all aspects of Project delivery, from ensuring materials are ordered correctly with lightweight and environmentally friendly items used where applicable. Ensuring any on site activities are risked assessed, briefed and ultimately improved, helping to maintain the continued safety of all. Phil takes his position as Safety Representative seriously, championing improvements learned from industry incidents and actively driving improvements to avoid reoccurrence in future. Through his project work, Phil bridges the gap between site works activities and the design phase to ensure elements of works are ultimately designed correctly first time with site implementation and safety in mind. Pushing the importance of undertaking site inspections and the importance of close call reporting and the lessons to be learnt from the findings.

Having worked on the challenging CrossRail programme of works for almost 4 years, his positive and problem-solving nature has been refreshing to work around. Recent scope of works included multiple signal head changes within the Paddington area. On top of the multiple site risks and integration amongst many other 3rd party contractors, short programme timescales and limited access, Phil successfully delivered these works on time and without incident. His innovative approach to Working at Height and the risks it posed saw Phil develop a truly forward-thinking approach to all site aspects of work and ensured all works occurred without incident. Not only involved in the planning and implementation of the site works, Phil was actively involved during the design phase going as far to amend designs to ensure easier method of delivery. Phil personally oversaw all relevant signal head changes over a period of 12 months, with records of previous experiences being fed back to design, using lessons learnt to drive improvement in the process and ensure better safety to all involved.“