North East Section
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PermanentWayInstitution @PermWayInstit Permanent Way Institution NORTH EAST SECTION The PWI NEWSLETTER September 2020 @the_pwi September 2020 newsletter Welcome to your September newsletter which I hope finds you, your families, friends and colleagues well in these particularly fast-changing times? Sadly we must note the recent tragic rail accident near Stonehaven in Scotland, with our thoughts and prayers reaching out to the families, friends, colleagues and immediate rail community in what are difficult times indeed. A reminder to us all that safety and well-being must always be our top priority, and that in a climate-changing world it appears railway infrastructure will now require an even sharper focus. We’re still here! The PWI continues to function on a daily basis, and like many others we have made a rapid transition to a digital business, generally working from home. Have you engaged in our virtual meetings yet? GoToMeeting To facilitate online meetings the PWI has subscribed to the “GoToMeeting” app. This can be accessed through PC’s, laptops, tablets, and phones, and provides the ability to host meetings remotely, enabling the speaker and members to login and present, see, and hear the presentation from home or other remote location. The application also facilitates Q&A. Please do join in these important Institution on-line activities, especially if you wish to add to your CPD. For example, this week I joined the Notts and Derby section meeting on line for an hour, to see and hear a presentation from and about the role of the ORR (Office of Rail and Road). Very good presentation and very informative indeed. You can find all event details on the PWI website at https://www.thepwi.org/calendar/events, with all the necessary password codes and details on how to set yourself up and log in on line through the ‘Go To Meeting’ portal. (A tip, during these meetings keep your camera and microphone switched off. This gives you more PC bandwidth and a better sound quality. Very soon I believe the portal will change to an alternative provider to further improve the end quality). Some on line meetings are at lunch time, some late afternoon and some in the evening. Community campaigns The exciting programme of Community campaigns and participation continues – have you joined in yet, have you seen them on the PWI Facebook site? Located at https://www.facebook.com/PermanentWayInstitution, take a look and please share with your friends and colleagues. To date we have delivered: • #Mental Health awareness Week • #World Environment Day • #Rail Safety Week • #PWI Engineering Kids day • #PWI International week • #PWI Careers Week • #PWI Family week(imminent) The PWI is with me for my entire career journey within the Rail industry PermanentWayInstitution @PermWayInstit Permanent Way Institution NORTH EAST SECTION The PWI NEWSLETTER January 2020 @the_pwi Covid 19 You will by now be well aware of the national guidelines and additional restrictions directed by Government, and also the additional local measures applicable to us here in the North East at the request of our seven local authorities. These requirements continue to affect PWI plans such as, we are not yet able to stage our face to face section meetings and a number of national events have had to be cancelled or postponed. These are also updated on the PWI web site at https://www.thepwi.org/technical_hub/pwi_seminars_conferences . A brief forward summary for your calendar/diary is shown below, these key events are not to be missed if you are truly serious about your profession and career choice: AUTOMATED RAILWAYS Live seminar, 17 SEPTEMBER & 8 OCTOBER 2020 The seminar will include recorded online content for delegates to view ahead of each of two live seminar sessions (each of duration: 90 minutes inc Q&A). PLANT AND MACHINERY: Plant and Machinery to support Rail Infrastructure renewals and maintenance for the 2020s and beyond Now postponed to 26 May 2021 at SWINDON - please ask your employers to get this in the diary now. SAFETY: On Track for a Safer Railway, 1 December 2020 *ONLINE* - not to be missed! Key on line event for all trackside practitioners - not to be missed ELECTRIFICATION: Electrification: Delivering the business case. 27 April 2021 Glasgow Key seminar underpinning global decarbonisation strategies and incorporation of the profession by the PWI Membership matters We extend a warm welcome to the following new NE section members: Mark Forster, Paul Watson, Joe Medcalf and John Malloy. We also extend an additional warm welcome to our latest PWI Corporate member, The Aln Valley Railway, and look forward to the day when we can arrange a technical visit to the project up at Alnwick. Final warning If your 2020 (and possibly 2019) subscriptions have still not been paid, you now risk being removed from membership of the PWI. Please address the matter swiftly and professionally, ensuring no impact upon your membership and Continuing Professional Development. If you need any assistance, of course please contact me. Section meetings: Having suspended our programme of section meetings until further notice, I am now working hard to see how we may be able to start up some virtual on-line local section meetings which may require some assistance from Committee members. Until further Government guidance is received, along with authorisation from the Rail Academy at Gateshead, we cannot convene or mingle face to face as a group. More important than ever, please do join us on line and support your staff and students in the early years of their professional career development. Like many organisations, it is likely that we will have to postpone our section AGM this year, as we cannot assemble group attendees. It is vitally important that we complete two issues at the AGM: Nominate and appoint a replacement Section Secretary, and co-opt two student members on to the committee. (See following notes from VPs meeting). Please give these matters some very active consideration, forwarding any nominees and/or proposals to me please. The PWI is with me for my entire career journey within the Rail industry PermanentWayInstitution @PermWayInstit Permanent Way Institution NORTH EAST SECTION The PWI NEWSLETTER January 2020 @the_pwi Report on the VP(Vice Presidents) meeting 15 Sept. 2020 with the PWI Executive and Presidential officers. Thee virtual meeting was undertaken on line to discuss current activity impacts due to Covid and a number of other items in the agenda below. I thought it might be useful to share the event and deliberations with you. 1. Role of the VP – current and future 2. Section management and support 3. Allocation of Sections 4. Section Development Plans 5. 6 monthly meetings 6. What does the future look like for Section Meetings? – Virtual / Face-to-face / Hybrid 7. Current section programmes 8. Managing section expenses 9. Carrying on 2019/20 former outgoing President Joan Heery’s plan: • Young Person’s Plan • 8 point action plan 10. Corporate Members – interaction at local levels 11. President John Edgley’s objective for 2020/21 12. President elect Nick Millington’s objective for 2021/2 13. President elect Peter Dearman’s objective for 2022/23 14. VP nominee to sit on Audit Committee As you can see it was quite a busy agenda to address some particularly important challenges and legacy issues. A short, personal summary is given below: 1. The role of the VP was discussed at length, emphasising the need for the VPs to represent their allocated sections at a national level, be the ‘guiding hand’ for local sections in their areas, and also being the ‘go to’ PWI single point of contact for local senior rail industry and educational establishment partners. (ie Network Rail, Nexus, Port of Tyne, Heritage Railways, Newcastle College and Universities, other local Professional Institutions etc.). Importantly this is why the NE section needs to quickly find a section secretary in order that I can sustain the extending VP role here in the North, bearing in my current portfolio also presently covers the Lancaster, Barrow and Carlisle (as and when needed) , York, West and East Yorkshire areas. I have until recently also been supporting the South West and West of England sections too. 2. Section management and support was then considered. Particularly this is how local sections are configured, how they interact and function and how best they can be supported by using their VPs as the established point of escalated contact. The VPs are best positioned to act as the ‘guiding hand’ and provide that local dialogue, input and support. 3. Allocation of sections. This legacy issue was discussed at length, particularly locations, catchment areas, levels of support and cost effectiveness in these challenging times etc. My intention as VP(N) in future discussions with local sections and their committees, is to prepare a draft consultation document to best consider our wider northern region, then initiate some positive changes to encourage greater local support from our Corporate sponsors and employees. At the same time, building upon our existing support from section members and such as light rail administrations, manufacturers and suppliers, heritage and industrial sectors. More anon. The PWI is with me for my entire career journey within the Rail industry PermanentWayInstitution @PermWayInstit Permanent Way Institution NORTH EAST SECTION The PWI NEWSLETTER January 2020 @the_pwi 4. Section Development plans. These were discussed and agreed at the national section secretaries meeting in Birmingham on 24 January previous, and revisited at the virtual meeting on 19 June last. It is my intention to further discuss these with section secretaries in the coming weeks, as no doubt Covid will have impacted on any progress. 5. 6 monthly meetings. To reduce costs it was agreed that the section secretaries meetings will be reduced to one face to face event (Covid permitting) and one virtual on line meeting to reduce travel/accommodation/refreshment etc costs.