Joan Heery

Said the following about Alasdair Bathie:

“I am nominating Alasdair for his role as Engineering Manager on the Northumberland Line project, a position he has held since the project’s Strategic Outline Business Case was developed in 2018. The transformation of the existing 15 mile long railway line between Benton Junction and Ashington from one that carries freight to a mixed passenger and freight service is complex from both a technical and stakeholder perspective. The project team have been challenged to deliver this third party scheme adopting new ways of thinking and working with the aim of reducing cost and programme, embracing industry initiatives such as SPEED. Alasdair has welcomed the challenge with open arms.

From a technical perspective, Alasdair is required to work alongside multiple organisations including colleagues from AECOM, SLC Rail, Kilborn, Cadenza, Morgan Sindall and various parts of Network Rail who are each delivering various design packages. The scheme comprises the construction of six new stations, a number of structures, realignment and in some areas a redoubling of the permanent way along with new signalling and associated works. The ground investigation package of work is also challenging as the original route was built to service mining activity. Alasdair’s role is that of the conductor of the orchestra; he is required to lead the integration of all technical elements of the work to ensure the Project requirements are met whilst maintaining the required level of rigour. The design solutions presented have to meet the requirements of affordability, constructability and maintainability so there are multiple facets to consider in addition to integration between the technical disciplines. At times, there are a lot of “spinning plates” and a constant systems integration approach is therefore required.

With respect to innovation on the project, Alasdair has championed the introduction and use of a digital twin approach; although this has been quite time consuming to set up, once established it will help drive efficiency, reduce rework and understand the impact of any proposed design changes.

In addition to his role as technical lead, Alasdair has been involved with various stakeholder consultations particularly with people who live along the route and will be affected by the proposed solutions. This requires a unique skill set as it is imperative the communications meet the needs of the audience and complex technical scenarios can be explained using appropriate language. Alasdair has a natural flair for this and can engage with a broad stakeholder network. He is now sharing his experiences and lessons learnt in various professional institution seminars and events.

To me, Alasdair demonstrates all the attributes required of a professional engineer. He fully appreciates safe, affordable solutions must be found that meet the needs of both the constructor and the maintainer, whilst balancing technical risk on the project. System safety sits at the core of his decision making along with due regard for sustainability and the environment. Alasdair’s ability to communicate important technical concepts to a non technical audience and gain their trust is a treasured skill.““