ALAN MCDONALD

Said the following about Abdul Rehman Savant:

“I've worked alongside Abdul down through the years and think that he is very deserving of recognition for his hard work as both discipline lead and Designer/CRE.

Since I have known Abdul, he has had the passion and determination to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing, whether that is as part of the technical seminars/CPDs he organises on a global level or the professional training, development and mentorship he provides to his fellow industry professionals.

Recently, as director of ASAVRAIL, Abdul has managed to have a significant impact on the rail industry in a short space of time since founding ASAVRAIL in 2022 as he continues his technical support and investment in people.

At GEMENG, we found it challenging to find a suitable training course that would give our Masters Degree Qualified Commercial designers a solid introduction into Rail that could build on their existing knowledge base and experience, with a strong focus on sustainability of design. Until we spoke with Abdul at ASAVRAIL. Abdul designed and lectured coursework that was structured into easily digestable modules followed by rigorous assessments.

Once our engineers had come through these training courses delivered by Abdul at ASAVRAIL, we could be assured they were at a standard and level of competency where they could support us as assistants on our ongoing rail designs if required.

Through designing and delivering these courses so effectively and patiently, Abdul, through his training, is actively contributing towards bringing much needed talent from other areas - like Oil and Gas/Data Centres etc. to the Rail industry, which is welcomed.

Given that the above has been achieved in the past year alone, we feel that this should at least warrant a nomination for the 2023 Rail Staff Awards in recognition for the recent work that Abdul has delivered very thoroughly and professionally.

An award would be recognition for this stand out year in the Rail Industry.“