Guy Duncscombe

Said the following about Opus OPSAP Team:

““The Opus Operational Property Structures Assessment Programme (OPSAP) team works for Network Rail to assess and inspect their buildings structures as part of their Building Asset Management Programme.

The team is tasked with the delivery of over 200 Stage 1 inspections and risk assessments of structural assets serving over 90 key station locations on the London North West route.

Under the leadership of Martin Beasley (Project Director), the team brings together a wide variety of project management, logistical and engineering skills. To date, all Stage 1 inspections have been completed (circa 200 structures). The team are significantly under budget by a considerable margin.

This team has worked in close collaboration with the Network Rail OPSAP team. Together, they have developed innovative solutions, new reporting formats and progress engineering solutions designed to expedite work and improve the quality of reporting deliverables. Project workshops are held at regular intervals between both parties with a view to exploring smarter ways of working.

During the course of the contract, site team members have often given up their own time, to assist Network Rail to implement improvements. These include items such as inspection techniques, the direct reporting of incidents, as well as real-time reporting to station managers to address opportunities to improve safety, which ultimately affects the travelling public as well as station staff.

For example, during a site visit to the Carlisle Railway Station, the team noted that the roof glazing situated above a popular café was structurally unsafe. The team immediately notified the station manager and maintenance teams. This area was subsequently cordoned off, the team stayed to supervise and made recommendations on the repair works required to ensure that the glazing was no longer a hazard.

This contract has also provided many junior members of the team to further their engineering knowledge through attending additional technical briefings and seminars organised by the project managers and Client Responsible Engineers (CREs).

Similarly, the contract has acted as a catalyst to further recruit in the rail industry and develop new members of staff including a project administrator and an apprentice, both of whom, have since attained their PTS and have assisted in work on site.

This framework has presented challenges which the team have had to overcome. Often, there is a lack of reliable historical data on the structures, therefore, they are often inspecting from scratch.

The OPSAP team has more than risen to their challenge, their success can be credited to strong leadership, excellent project management, understanding the client’s needs, working smarter and never compromising on safety.”“