Keltbray Rail Keltbray Rail

Said the following about Paul Murphy:

“Keltbray Rail’s Piling Division, headed by Paul Murphy, has over the years developed various innovative designs over the years.

Firstly he came up with the idea of a portable acoustic barrier which is now being used on our operations throughout the UK. As Piling operations are unavoidably noisy and the requirement to conduct such operations during the night makes for a potentially sensitive scenario for our lineside neighbours. The noise impact of piling operations typically measure at levels of 95 decibel and therefore we developed a sound blanket solution that reduced noise and enabled us to work more night time hours and minimise disruption of rail services for passengers. The blanket absorbs sound and is ‘wrapped’ around each individual pile as it is driven into the ground.

Consultation with local Environmental Health Officials confirmed their acceptance of the system as a credible control for operations and it was agreed that piling operations could go ahead during the night shifts with this system in place.

To confirm its effectiveness we undertook on site monitoring which showed that when 50 meters from the piling activity noise measured is reduced by 20 decibel.

Following on from the above Paul developed a new and unique mobile batching plant for concrete foundations works on railway projects.

The Volumetric plant is track mounted on a road rail trailer and can deliver one cubic metre of the desired concrete mix design in three minutes with no waste. It is the first of its kind in the UK and carries the concrete ingredients unmixed in separate compartments, and blends these according to the mix design. It also has an adapted auger shoot that can rotate 180 degrees for easy despatch of the concrete into the foundations.

Traditionally ready-mix for rail projects is delivered to an access point and carted in skips to where it is needed. This can cause issues if the quantities are wrong, if there are delays or issues with segregation or settlement during the transporting. The cost and environmental impact of returning unused ready-mixed concrete are also considerable.

This batching plant was developed to improve quality of speed of production by concrete on site at desired quantities, which makes it more cost effective and beneficial at remote locations or where demand is intermittent. It is ideal for rail piling and other concreting foundation jobs. It is also better for the environment, as it minimises waste and transport requirements, and ensures no quality is lost in transit. The whole process is computer monitored for quality and accountability.

Paul and his team then went on to develop blue lights, with assistance from Justin Owens from Network Rail, to RRV for Safety on the railway infrastructure, the first company in the rail industry to install LED lights to all of its Road Rail Vehicles (RRV) working on Great Western in Wales to implement clear and identifiable exclusion zone areas around moving and stationery RRVs for improved safety.

Keltbray Rail Plant undertakes much of its work during night time hours and exclusions zones can be difficult to maintain and installing physical barriers is not always possible using the light system give the operatives on the ground the ability to clearly identify where the exclusion zone begins and so it has been decided to equip its fleet of 14 Colmar RRVs with high-intensity blue lights that are directional and clearly illuminates exclusion zone required around the machinery on the ground.

Keltbray borrowed the idea from the highways industry, where lights have been used for some time to create exclusion zone areas around equipment to protect operators as well as the public. Where we operate heavy duty machinery, it is important to use clear safety signage to make people aware of dangerous equipment and the risk moving plant can pose to even the most experienced operatives. As we often work at night, signage is not always visible, and so we have adopted lighting to help operatives visualise the exclusion zone and reduce the risk of accidents.

Paul and his team had to find lights that have high vibration resistance to minimise downtime and the risk of lighting failure, and eventually found these in the USA, where they have been developed to protect factory staff working near moving forklifts. As a UK first, we have now fitted them to a Colmar T10000 heavy lifter RRV, which is working for Network Rail on piling works associated with electrification of the Great Western railway in Wales.

These lights create exclusion zones of 10 metres to the side, back and front of the RRV are proving very effective. We are communicating this initiative through the on-site task and POS briefings and will be introducing this into all training plans for operators and staff.

These high-intensity blue LED lights will now be extended to all the other RRV in Keltbray Rail Plant’s 14-strong Colmar fleet.

Paul then followed on to instigate Empowerment Workshops - this enabled our employees to be consulted on various management system, operational, safety and business issues and they have been now been facilitated by the Keltbray Rail HSQE team.

We believe Paul’s experience, reputation and his passion for the Railway Infrastructure is second to none.“