Metrolinx Access Planning and Management Support
Client: Metrolinx
Location: Toronto
Start date: 2018
End date: 2018
Duration: 1 Months
Services provided: Planning and Managing Railway Access and Standardizing the Possession Management System
Metrolinx wish to significantly improve possession efficiency for both capital work and routine maintenance, to achieve this the following needs are to be delivered:
- A robust system for receiving access requirements, with the ability to plan, award and track those possessions into a master access plan;
- A clear co-ordination of access requirements with service plans and changes to service plans;
- A mapped operational governance process that shows how all the parties in Metrolinx are involved with planning and access work - supported by role descriptions, organization charts, and process controls;
- A suite of KPIs to evaluate and manage the delivery of access planning that assists in exercising control over access and over the safety; and
- A detailed review of the “safe systems of work” used in possessions, including how the work itself is planned for a safe delivery, how protection is placed, what briefings happen before going to site, what briefings happen on site, what safe systems will be used (e.g. safeguarded green zone), what instruments and equipment can be used to automatically alert worksites of approaching trains etc.
To assist Metrolinx, Network Rail Consulting (NRC) were tasked with the following:
Planning of Access Opportunities
Examine the current approach for planning the access opportunities used to undertake the work on the railway to provide an understanding of the following:
- How work groups make requests for access;
- How access opportunities are agreed with the operator(s);
- The timescales that apply for booking and cancelling opportunities;
- How changes to the plan are managed;
- The tools used to capture the requests for access and their status; and
- Existing standard access opportunities.
Planning of Work into Access Opportunities
Examine the current approach for understanding the work being undertaken in access opportunities and how it is packaged and coordinated. It will provide an understanding of the following:
- The level of engineering expertise available to access planners;
- Different work types and their compatibility; and
- Processes for coordinating different work types into the same access.
Safe Working Arrangements
Assess how safety is built into the planning and execution of the work undertaken in access opportunities, providing an understanding of the following:
- Access protection arrangements, including rule book provisions and use of automated warning systems;
- Safe system of work planning;
- Adequacy of PPE provided;
- Adequacy of briefing arrangements (both on and off site); and
- Site access and management during works.
- Report and presentation outlining the areas that NRC has investigated and recommendations against our findings; and
- Scope of work for Phase 2.