SMART's Director of Rail Logistics Andrew McCusker conducted a Rail Directions Workshop in March 2012. This is Andrew's introduction and outline of the workshop.
BMT brings leading-edge consultancy, engineering, maintenance, forecasting and planning expertise to clients in the road, rail, water, intermodal and airborne transport sectors.
Presentation by Richard Bickers & Phil White, Arup Engineering.
Delivered to postgraduate students at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, February 2015. Copyright Arup 2015 all rights reserved.
BMT brings leading-edge consultancy, engineering, maintenance, forecasting and planning expertise to clients in the road, rail, water, intermodal and airborne transport sectors.
Presentation by Richard Bickers & Phil White, Arup Engineering.
Delivered to postgraduate students at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, February 2015. Copyright Arup 2015 all rights reserved.
By Ian Walmsley, Engineering Development Manager, Porterbrook.
Delivered on 19 February 2014 to postgraduate students at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) University of Leeds.
www.its.leeds.ac.uk/courses/masters/externalseminars
Presentation by Professor Mark Wardman delivered to an International Transport Workshop: Railway Transport Economics organised by Argentine Railways, June 2014.
Guest presentation by Dr Michele Dix, Managing Director of Crossrail 2 (crossrail2.co.uk). Presented at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS), University of Leeds, Feb. 2016.
[Copyright TfL, reproduced here with permission].
Henrick Christensen, co-founder and Chairman of Silk Route Rail Ltd. speaks at the 3rd China International Logistics Development Conference in Suining City
A presentation conducted by Dr Kang-Soo Kim, Executive Director, Korean Development Institute (KDI), Republic of Korea. Presented on Wednesday the 2nd of October 2013.
Infrastructure development has played an important role in achieving a high rate of economic growth and improving
the quality of life for Koreans. Empirical studies show this to be true, and that such developments have produced a high rate of economic return. This presentation chronologically reviews the infrastructure development in Korea and focuses on how the transport infrastructure development plan was linked to the country’s economic development plan. In particular, this presentation will provide insights on measures to tackle the lack of available resources for the infrastructure development. For example,
earmarked transport taxes, creation of special accounts and PPPs, which enhance Korean government’s fiscal flexibility will be introduced. This presentation will also
provide some experiences and lessons focusing on the infrastructure planning and financing for the infrastructure development.
A presentation by SMART Infrastructure Facility's Geomatics Research Fellow, Dr Tomas Holderness, and Vice Chancellor's Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Dr Etienne Turpin, to the International Symposium For Next Generation Infrastructure (ISNGI), Vienna September 2014.
By Ian Walmsley, Engineering Development Manager, Porterbrook.
Delivered on 19 February 2014 to postgraduate students at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) University of Leeds.
www.its.leeds.ac.uk/courses/masters/externalseminars
Presentation by Professor Mark Wardman delivered to an International Transport Workshop: Railway Transport Economics organised by Argentine Railways, June 2014.
Guest presentation by Dr Michele Dix, Managing Director of Crossrail 2 (crossrail2.co.uk). Presented at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS), University of Leeds, Feb. 2016.
[Copyright TfL, reproduced here with permission].
Henrick Christensen, co-founder and Chairman of Silk Route Rail Ltd. speaks at the 3rd China International Logistics Development Conference in Suining City
A presentation conducted by Dr Kang-Soo Kim, Executive Director, Korean Development Institute (KDI), Republic of Korea. Presented on Wednesday the 2nd of October 2013.
Infrastructure development has played an important role in achieving a high rate of economic growth and improving
the quality of life for Koreans. Empirical studies show this to be true, and that such developments have produced a high rate of economic return. This presentation chronologically reviews the infrastructure development in Korea and focuses on how the transport infrastructure development plan was linked to the country’s economic development plan. In particular, this presentation will provide insights on measures to tackle the lack of available resources for the infrastructure development. For example,
earmarked transport taxes, creation of special accounts and PPPs, which enhance Korean government’s fiscal flexibility will be introduced. This presentation will also
provide some experiences and lessons focusing on the infrastructure planning and financing for the infrastructure development.
A presentation by SMART Infrastructure Facility's Geomatics Research Fellow, Dr Tomas Holderness, and Vice Chancellor's Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Dr Etienne Turpin, to the International Symposium For Next Generation Infrastructure (ISNGI), Vienna September 2014.
Alex Murray, Teaching Fellow and Research Assistant, UCL, visited SMART Infrastructure Facility to present "The progress and performance of UK PFI" as part of the SMART Seminar Series, on 13 July 2015.
"Unsimple truths: A very abbreviated and highly opinionated account of why science and engineering (as usually practiced) do not cope well with the complexity of environmental and infrastructure systems – what we need to change and why"
Professor Graham Harris, Honorary Professorial Fellow, SMART Infrastructure Facility, presented a summary of his research as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 25 November 2015.
A presentation conducted by Dr Rohan Wickramasuriya, SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong. Presented on Tuesday the 1st of October 2013.
Business Intelligence (BI) has popularly been adopted as a process that enables easy access, analysis and visualization of information through specialized set of tools for informed decision making. Two most noticeable characteristics of traditional BI is that it (a) is largely used in single-organization environments and (b) uses predominantly aspatial data. We believe that BI has applications beyond single-organization environments, but it very much requires integration of geospatial capabilities given the increasing availability of large volumes of spatial data and a growing interest to see things spatial. The SMART Infrastructure Dashboard (SID), our innovative solution that fuses BI and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), fills this significant gap. In this study, we demonstrate how SID can be used to perform spatio-temporal analysis and
visualization of diverse sets of data to uncover complex interrelationships among utility usage, demographics and weather patterns at local and regional scale.
A presentation conducted by Mr Ross Love, Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group, Australia and New Zealand.
Presented on Wednesday the 13th of August, 2014.
Ross Love is a Senior Partner of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Australia and New Zealand, and until July 2014 the Managing Partner of BCG’s Australian and New Zealand Offices,and a member of the firm’s Asia Pacific Management Team.
He has over 20 years experience consulting to senior executives and boards in the transport, consumer, industrial goods and public sectors. He has been the global leader of BCG’s Travel and Tourism Practice and is a member of the leadership team for BCG’s Consumer Practice and Business Transformation Practice.
He consults on issues of strategy (including acquisitions), operations (including pricing), supply chain effectiveness and workforce productivity, and organisation (including design and change management).
Ross is a Director of Jawun – Indigenous Corporate Partnerships, and a Special Advisor to the Wunan Foundation, an Indigenous development organisation in the East Kimberley. He has recently supported the Australian B20 leadership team, and in particular the Infrastructure and Investment Taskforce chaired by David Thodey.
Before joining BCG in 1993, Ross was the Chief of Staff to the Premier of Western Australia. This followed four at Harvard University and consulting in California, and three years as an economic policy adviser to the Government of Western Australia.
Ross has a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in Politics from the University of Western Australia, a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and has completed further business studies at the London Business School. He was a Harkness Fellow for Australia in 1986. Ross is a Past President of the Harvard Club of Australia.
This talk by Professor Felix Schmid discussed a systematic approach to the analysis of railway system complexity, with a particular focus on interfaces and interactions. Case studies related to conventional railways, high-speed railways, light rail transit and novel technologies. For more information: http://goo.gl/qLtzY
What is DevOps and how do SysAdmins participate in it? Explains what DevOps is and is not and provides tools, tips, and tricks for SysAdmins to participate and find value. Presented at Indianapolis VMUG's November 2014 meeting.
Proyectos arquitectura y servicios desde cobit5itService ®
Cuando la gente entiende el propósito del cambio, cómo va a afectar a ellos ya su trabajo, y cuando creen en la importancia y los beneficios del cambio, entonces las iniciativas de mejora son mucho más probables que tenga éxito.
Presented by Dr John Nellthorp
http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/people/j.nellthorp
at The Railway Engineers Forum technical seminar ‘Rail Freight – The way forward’ on the 15th June 2015 held at the IET, followed by a Parliamentary reception on the House of Lords Terrace.
Transnet freight rail corridor development programme and road to rail strategyTristan Wiggill
A presentation by Ms Nisha Jones (General Manager: Commercial: TFR) at the Transport Forum special interest group in collaboration with MCLI in Mbombela on 4 February 2016.
The theme for the event was: "Transport Corridors". The topic of the presentation was: "Transnet Freight Rail Corridor Development Programme and Road-to-Rail strategy."
Find more like this on www.transportworldafrica.co.za
A presentation done by Mr Elvin Harris (Executive Manager: Strategic Knowledge: TFR) at the Transport Forum SIG 4 June 2015 hosted by University of Johannesburg.
The theme for the event was: "Back to Rail - a Critical Analysis" and the topic for the presentation was: "Rail, the track to efficiency"
Morris Cheung, President of MTR Academy, Hong Kong explains the challenges facing railway operations in OBOR countries at CILT International Convention 2017
A presentation by Dr Andrew Shaw (Associate Director: PWC) at the Transport Forum SIG 21 April 2016 hosted by T-Systems SA Pty)Ltd. The theme for the event was: "Innovation in Transnet" and the topic of the presentation was: "Innovation in Transnet"
Keolis tramway expertise: Making cities more attractive places to live and workKeolis
Keolis is the world’s leading tram operator, at the forefront of light rail network operations for over 40 years. Today we are bringing that knowledge to seven countries on three continents, operating and maintaining more kilometres of tram network, and carrying more passengers, than any other company. We share our experience with public transport authorities and partners to deliver industry-leading standards of safety, punctuality, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.
Frost & Sullivan's Rail Capability Document.
We offer various syndicated reports and consulting projects for the Transportation industry (eg. Rail, Infrastructure, Mobility, Value added services, Business Models & Strategy)
Specialties: Market Intelligence, Competitive benchmarking, Scenario based forecasting, Statistical Analysis, Market entry assessment
A presentation by Mike Daniel, managing director, KPMC, South Africa. Delivered during African Ports Evolution 2015 in Durban, South Africa.
More like this on www.transportworldafrica.co.za
I gave this presentation to the department Technology and Operations Management to explain my thoughts on how sea ports act in global supply chains through organisational, logistics, and information networks.
Rail Technical Strategy, Key Capability 6 - More Space on TrainsJames Brown
Overview of Key capability 6 of the UK's Rail Technical Strategy - More Space on Trains.
Presents an overview of the key projects being commissioned as part of this R&D program aiming to boost rail capacity in the UK by maximising the size of vehicles running on the network and optimising the use of the space available.
Master class 12 December 2013 Chokepoints in transport corridorsMaurice Jansen
Masterclass on chokepoints in transport corridors, centered around research by PhD researcher Patrick Witte, with speakers from DB Schenker, Port of Rotterdam and Contargo Waterway Logistics. This Masterclass is a joint cooperation between Erasmus Smart Port Rotterdam and 'HBO in de Haven'.
Richard Skarbez presented a seminar titled "Cognitive Illusions in Virtual Reality: What do I mean? And why should you care?" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on the 4th March 2019.
More information:
https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/cognitive-illusions-in-virtual-reality-what-do-i-mean-and-why-should-you-care/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility
Dr Ricardo Peculis presented a seminar titled "Trusted Autonomous Systems as System of Systems" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 19th February 2019.
More information:
https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/trusted-autonomous-systems-as-system-of-systems/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility"
David Kennewell presented a seminar titled " "The Evolution of the Metric System: From Precious Lumps of Metal to Constants of Nature" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 1st November 2018.
More information:
https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/the-evolution-of-the-metric-system-from-precious-lumps-of-metal-to-constants-of-nature/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility"
Dr Ilya Budovsky presented a seminar titled "The Evolution of the Metric System: From Precious Lumps of Metal to Constants of Nature" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 1st November 2018.
More information:
https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/the-evolution-of-the-metric-system-from-precious-lumps-of-metal-to-constants-of-nature/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Johan Barthelemy presented a seminar titled "Using AI and edge computing devices for traffic flow monitoring" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 11th October 2018.
More information: https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/using-ai-and-edge-computing-devices-for-traffic-flow-monitoring/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Prof Willy Susilo presented a seminar titled "Blockchain and its Applications" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 20th September 2018.
More information: https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/blockchain-and-its-applications/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Prof Theirry Monteil & Fabian Ho presented a seminar titled "From an IoT cloud based architecture to Edge for dynamic service" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 24th August 2018.
More information: https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/from-an-iot-cloud-based-architecture-to-edge-for-dynamic-service/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Bobby Du and Paul-Antonin Dublanche presented a seminar titled "Is bus bunching serious in Sydney? Preliminary findings based on Opal card data analysis" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 2nd August 2018.
More information: https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/is-bus-bunching-serious-in-sydney-preliminary-findings-based-on-opal-card-data-analysis/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Nicolas Verstaevel presented a seminar titled "Keep it SMART, keep it simple! – Challenging complexity with self-organising software" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 24th July 2018.
More information: https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/keep-it-smart-keep-it-simple-challenging-complexity-with-self-organising-software/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Boulent Imam presented a seminar titled "Risk-based bridge assessment under changing load-demand and environmental conditions" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 17th July 2018.
More information: https://news.eis.uow.edu.au/event/risk-based-bridge-assessment-under-changing-load-demand-and-environmental-conditions/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Rohan Wickramasuriya presented a seminar titled "Deep Learning: Fundamentals and Practice" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 29th May 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/deep-learning-fundamentals-and-practice/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Sarah Dunn presented a seminar titled "Infrastructure Resilience: Planning for Future Extreme Events" as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 12th April 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/infrastructure-resilience-planning-for-future-extreme-events/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr George Grozev presented a seminar titled "Potential use of drones for infrastructure inspection and survey: as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 27th March 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/potential-use-of-drones-for-infrastructure-inspection-and-survey/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Professor Timoteo Carletti presented a seminar titled "A journey in the zoo of Turing patterns: the topology does matter as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 8th March 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/a-journey-in-the-zoo-of-turing-patterns-the-topology-does-matter/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Dr Carole Adam presented a seminar titled Human behaviour modelling and simulation for crisis management as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 1st March 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/human-behaviour-modelling-and-simulation-for-crisis-management/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Professor Graham Harris presented a seminar titled Dealing with uncertainty: With the observer in the loop as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 13th February 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/dealing-with-uncertainty-with-the-observer-in-the-loop/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Senior Professor Pascal Perez presented on Smart Cities; The Good, The Bad & The Ugly as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 30th January 2018.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/smart-cities-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/events/category/smart-infrastructure-facility/
Visiting PhD student, Morgane Dumont presented on how to improve the order of evolutionary models in agent-based simulations for population dynamics as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 15 December 2017.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/how-to-improve-the-order-of-evolutionary-models-in-agent-based-simulations-for-population-dynamics/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/tag/smart-infrastructure/
Professor Tierry Monteil, professor in computer science at INSA – University of Toulouse and researcher at LAAS-CNRS presented on OneM2M and the interoperatbility of the IoT as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 13 December 2017.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/onem2m-towards-end-to-end-interoperability-of-the-iot/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/tag/smart-infrastructure/
Professor Peter Bridgewater, Chair of Landcare ACT and Adjunct Professor in Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Governance at the University of Canberra, presented on blue-green vs grey-black infrastructure and which is the best way forward, as part of the SMART Seminar Series on 24 November 2017.
More information: http://www.uoweis.co/event/blue-green-vs-grey-black-infrastructure-which-is-best-for-c21st-survival/
Keep updated with future events: http://www.uoweis.co/tag/smart-infrastructure/
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty, In...Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty,
International FDP on Fundamentals of Research in Social Sciences
at Integral University, Lucknow, 06.06.2024
By Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
4. MTR’s AIMS
o 50 year horizon planning
o Authority at service delivery level
o Total customer focus + always improving
o Improve + innovate delivery systems
o Skilled + motivated people
o Capital invest within capability
5. MTR - UOW PARTNERSHIP
o 16 years: research + education
o Asset replacement modelling
o Limits: wheel set parameters + a/c motor drives
o Inhouse Maintenance Management course
o Supported MTR achieving aggressive goals
o Managing the change risks
6. UOW ENGINEERING
o CRC for Rail Innovation
o Rolling Stock Management
o Engineering Asset Management
o Centre for Geomechanics + Railway Engineering
o Life Cycle management of railway bridges
o Rail noise mitigation
o Non-destructive ballast
o Design: ballast, formation, track
7. WORKSHOP OUTCOMES 2010
o Rail’s future
o SMART’s strategic direction
o SMART’s value proposition
o Success factors: relevance; stakeholder management;
evidence of success; funding
o Research areas – Passenger movement; freight; supply
chain; intermodal; patronage studies; behaviour change;
high speed rail
8. 2012 WORKSHOP
DESIRED OUTCOMES
o Update on SMART Rail Logistics group
o Research streams: your feedback + input
o Industry + Govt priorities: Listen/ascertain
o Ensure compelling + relevant research
o Forge closer relationships
9. 5 RESEARCH STREAMS
o Improving customer service
o Systems considerations in asset investment
o Education + training for rail professionals
o Constraint modelling, enhance rail capacity
o Sensormatics
10. CONSTRAINT MODELLING
TO ENHANCE CAPACITY
o Develop modelling tools
o ‘What if’ scenario simulations
o Model logistic chains
o Network & facilities capacity
11. SENSORMATICS
o Networked sensors in field
o Capturing real-time data
o Monitoring + predicting
o UOW Landslip project
o Future use: bridges, viaducts, track
12. INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
o Capital funding priorities
o High Speed Rail
o Improving passenger/freight conflicts
o More from system + assets
o Capability loss: engineers + managers retiring
o Technology: productivity, resilience, intermodal
o Customer centric service + satisfaction
13. IMPROVING FREIGHT +
PASSENGER NETWORKS
o Opportunities exist in:
o Line capacity
o Port rail facilities
o Intermodal terminals
o Passenger transfer
o Train asset reliability
o Resource + skill modelling
o Resilience + vulnerability
14.
15. IMPROVING CUSTOMER
SERVICE
o World best practice
o Gap analysis
o Build customer satisfaction models
o Implementing customer centric capability
o Capture + measure: needs + performance
18. DELIVERING CUSTOMER VALUE
o Make rail services attractive
o Know customer priorities
o Build customer centric organisations
o Achieve best practice
o Be flexible, change + respond to needs
o Improve business efficiency
o Practical standards
Editor's Notes
Good morning let me introduce my self – I am Andrew McCusker Rail Logistics Director at SMART. I joined SMART in October last year. Previous to this I was Operations Director for the MTR in Hong Kong where I spent 24 years in that organization covering a variety of areas includingProjects, Engineering and Maintenance.
MTR has gained the reputation of a well run Business and may be the only railway company that can meet all funding requirements from the revenues received from Rail operations and holds a high international reputation for service performance and Customer Service.The system has 11 lines and work has been underway for a new high speed link to China and 4 line extensions with advanced works which integrate with the running railway being managed with minimum disruption to daily service.
In 2008 MTR reached its highest levels of performance and has maintained this in subsequent years. The company operates under a franchise agreement with the Government against service Delivery Targets but runs the railway to Customer Service Targets that are generally set at 1% above contract requirements Achievement normally exceeds these higher targets.In 2008 I asked my key staff now we have reached 99.9% delivery what do we do nextAnd there was not a lot of response but my challenge to the railway was that what we have to do next is “To make our customer Smile” and I show you now the top agenda set for going forward.
Going forward in the aims of MTR. You will see that it is very high in building enablers for the organization and its people while furthering the business performance and bringing capitals spend well within what the business can afford. One goal that may surprise you was the challenge to grow the Customer Service concept.Basically this relates to growing customer value and penetrating all business activities to deliver more customer value.Now coming to SMART and How MTR has had a long association with the University.
That association started with skill and competency building which was done proactively ahead of needs ,usually linked to network expansion or business efficiency such as multi-skilling or Strategic asset management. This partnership soon moved to more Traditional Research
And it is here that we see a great strength in the University research in many fields in Railway engineering, Business, Social Science and Informatics. The brochure in your pack gives some examples but I would cite the track & Ballast research and rolling stock research done by professors Indraratna and Dwight. Now coming to today our purpose is to identify research priorities for the industry. Our Industry faces many challenges.
In 2010 a similar workshop of Rail Providers, rail customers and government representatives met and raised issues and a report from that day is within your pack. Outcomes of the Workshop:Challenges for rail’s operating environment were capturedHow to position rail for the futureStrategic directions for SMART’s rail researchWhat industry considered to be the Value proposition for SMART Rail – be an independent respected and knowledgeable research institute that improves rail thinking and policyPeople concluded the key factors for SMART’s success are: relevance; stakeholder management; evidence of success; & funding.Key areas of Research – Passenger movement (more people, customer needs, evaluating service); freight – pricing, noise, future practices, supply chain futures, intermodal; Others – patronage studies, behaviour change, high speed rail effects.To date we have developed 5 research stream which I will come back to.
Today’s workshop will give you the progress and our status with some understanding of the research streams delivered. We will hear on the priorities from our speakers and capture issues for further research. I also want to know how you see Research being conducted and how you would measure success so that closer and meaningful relationships can develop.Our workshop after lunch aims to capture what we may have missed in our planning – plus further develop our thinking on issues. I am sure it will be productive, and enjoyable. And getting each other’s views and positions – that will generate solid outcomes.Closer relationship: SMART Rail Logistics – we hope that today is another step in the consolidation of the evolving relationships that we have with each other in the industry – collaboration is our motto and our practice here at UOW.
5 Research streamsSystems Consideration in Asset investmentTo build modelling & simulation capability with decision support tools that cater for technical & funding aspect for asset installation/ replacement. Modelling individual system replacements within infrastructure networks for effects on system capability, service level, system constraints. Allowing scenario review for multiple options for capital and recurrent interventions from multiple stakeholder perspective. Education & Training for Rail professionalsWork with industry to deliver education and learning to support of the generation change and resource constraints forecast for the next decades through modelling education delivery and availability that is more supportive of industry needs. Greater granularity in learning modules, adopting a continuous professional development structure that can build to certification through flexible delivery platforms.
We have developed improved modelling tools to support rail service providers in scenario planning to achieve improved capacity & utility using rail simulation modelling combined with agent based modelling techniques to deliver simulation models on key constraints within freight and passenger systems.Modelling & simulation Mode interchange, facilities capacity for both freight and passenger together with stations, trains and transfer capacity in the passenger environment
The workshop highlighted resilience, condition assessment & modelling, smart tools & technology as key areas for research focus and this has moved ahead at Wollongong where such services have been developed for a number of infrastructure owners. Also supported by sensormatics are efficiency & cost reduction, real time condition & performance monitoring , trend prediction and early warning which are all catered for in this research and development area.
Industry Challenges. Now some challenges will be with us for some time. Capital priorities, high speed rail and improving passenger freight conflicts.In NSW the transport plans are being prepared on things I have confidence they will have in common will be the needTo do better with what we haveTo mitigate the skill loss we faceAnd to bring technology to bear in delivering productivityAnd there are very clear messages to move rapidly in the customer direction.So we have had confidence to move on into two areas.Network efficiency to improve freight and passenger networks and,Improving customer service
Improving freight and passenger rail networks. Apply traditional research and the simulation strength of SMART we will focus research on capacity, performance and productivity. There are opportunities in all networks. In assets, intermodal transfer, reliability.
Improving customer service. Improving customer service starts by knowing the customer needs, where your offering meets this and identifying the gap. Benchmarking against best practice gives you a challenge to attain high customer satisfaction.SMART will assist Rail organizations to establish strong customer centric capability, mindset change and improve customer satisfaction through best in class benchmarking. Closing the perception gap between provider and customer through developing improved customer satisfaction assessment & modelling and building customer satisfaction models incorporating international best practice gained from benchmarking. Using the knowledge and research capability of the university faculties.
To retain and grow market share rail providers must increase their attractiveness to existing and new customers, it is through increasing value to customers that modal shift from the car and truck will be encouraged alleviating growth and congestion. Benchmarking supports rail companies to create improved value for customers in freight and passenger services and assists transforming rail provider offerings to become more competitive with the private car and road freight. A detailed approach for freight customers is prepared.Understanding the value proposition of customers and the driving factors of satisfaction allows companies to close the gap between present service provision and the needs of customers and equips rail companies with an agenda to meet real needs while keeping pace with change. A Customer set agenda will drive customer considerations through organizations and support the paradigm shift from the present financial and engineering focus of decision makers towards one that is more customers centric. Benchmarking that includes the identification of best practice in rail and other relevant industries both in Australia and overseas will provide an agenda to gear up services towards the worlds best delivery and to set standards that are recognized as excellent, providing the opportunity to reduce criticism within the community.
Our research needs to consider the whole customer experience. There are many interventions that impact the end to end journey. Understanding customer needs and priorities is crucial to delivering better customer service.
The foregoing will improve the ability to make rail more attractive to customers and to continually track priorities.The research focus is aimed at improving efficiency and capacity for rail business and to encourage flexibility to respond to needs.
Increase the attractiveness of rail servicesGauge customer priorities and how they changeBuild customer centric organisationsClosing the best practice gapImproving business efficiencyPragmatic standardsFocus for changeUbiquitous customer culture