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“I would like to nominate Nick Wightman for Rail Engineer of the Year for his contribution to the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) and beyond. Since September last year, Nick has been the Contractor’s Responsible Engineer (CRE) for Structures within Sections W1 and W4 of the project. He has worked predominantly on bespoke Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) foundations and attachments to viaducts but has also worked on bridge reconstructions and parapet works. In addition, he leads the structures team in Manchester and is currently part of the Network Rail Accelerated Leadership Programme, one of very few on the programme from outside Network Rail.
The OLE technical director, Adam McCreadie, has said ‘Nick brings a calm, measured approach to the project along with a reassuringly confident and collaborative work ethos. His knowledge of the civil aspects of the work is exceptional and he has a wealth of experience in all matters that relate to OLE-related civils and any other interfacing civil assets such as viaducts and retaining walls. [… He is] confident in his knowledge and abilities but also happy to challenge and accept the challenge without conflict.’
This quality is again demonstrated by Nicks's involvement in the learning and knowledge sharing group on the project. He was involved in the knowledge sharing group in TRU Section W1 and has recently set up a new group, collaborating with ARUP another member of the Alliance partnership, for Section W4. Andrew Jarman, Network Rail Project Engineer said ’This will be useful to bring in lessons learned from the previous sections and allow Nick to continue to deliver his high standard of work’.
Besides his technical expertise, Nick adheres to the Network Rail Life Saving Rules and Amey Zero Code and puts safety at the heart of what he does both in his designs but also when out on site. Recently he reviewed a cab ride video to see his design completed and noticed that some items from the design had not been installed, which were critical to provide safe access during the maintenance of the structure. He raised a close call and notified those responsible so that it could be rectified immediately.
His collaborative work ethic extends to all stakeholders in the project and business which allows him to resolve commercial issues with the project manager in an effective way. He is always clear in his communication on change and risk and their associated impact and costs.
Kiren Rathaur Project Manager for TRU Section W4 said – ‘Nick has exceptional interpersonal skills when it comes to engaging with key stakeholders at all levels of hierarchy. Overall Nick has many commendable qualities and skills both personally and in the workplace. It is an absolute pleasure and honour to have Nick working within our team.’
What makes Nick an all-round Rail Engineer is that even in his spare time he uses his social impact days to help with repairs on the Keighley and Worth Valley Heritage Railway (KWVR). Where he was recently supported with sleeper repairs.“
“Working closely with Nick Wightman over the past year I would like to nominate him for the Rail Engineer of the Year Award for his contribution and exceptional dedication to the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) and other strategic projects. Nick is the structures' team leader in Amey, Manchester. He is the Lead Designer and the Contractor’s Responsible Engineer (CRE) for Structures within Sections W1 and W4. His role is crucial for the project scope formation, design team planning, resourcing, management, planning and supervision of site surveys.
For the W1B/2A phase, Nick has led a bespoke OLE cantilever and portal structure support designs package. He excelled in delivering bespoke designs and in leading Route-wide Structures working groups to drive best practices and share lessons learnt for the design of OLE bracketry and support structure on existing bridges and retaining assets. This is alongside his contribution to bridge reconstruction and parapet works.
While working with Nick I witnessed how keen he is to share his technical expertise and knowledge with both external and internal staff.
With Nick's leadership, the team has grown remarkably stronger technically, practically and at the interpersonal level. This is due to his inspirational, flexible and transformational leadership approach. Nick is known for his caring, calm and focused nature. Working on TRU he thrived to make time to mentor, help and guide everyone in his team regardless of how busy he is. He also gives confidence and assurance to pursue career progression. For example, he encouraged me to apply for the Network Rail Accelerated Leadership Programme which he is currently taking part in.
Amongst all his numerous responsibilities he still managed to support me in my new role as Assessments Lead while working on the M8 Woodside Viaduct propping assessments scheme, during which I extensively benefited from Nick’s technical ability and wealth of engineering knowledge.
Nick’s caring nature was also fully shown when he recently went on paternity leave (to be with his first beautiful daughter). He worked hard to put everything in place and went beyond to leave extensive instructions, links and a well-structured detailed plan to cover every eventuality while he is on parental leave.
Besides his above exceptional attributes, Nick strictly adheres to Network Rail Life Saving Rules and Amey Zero Code and puts safety first when delivering his designs and when planning for visits or on-site. This is apparent in all his designs his site survey planning for TRU and all other site works. His absolute priority is for everyone to get home safely. It is an absolute pleasure and honour to work as part of Nick’s team.”“
“I had a great night and so did our guests. Hope it was a success for yourselves, and from social media everyone had a good night.”
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