Approach / Solution
People, Process, and Technology (PPT) Framework:
- People: Conducted interviews with stakeholders across signalling, telecoms, maintenance, asset management, operations, and third-party contractors. Captured undocumented practices, procedural assumptions, and knowledge gaps.
- Process: Reviewed maintenance records, escalation workflows, and change control documentation. Assessed procedural weaknesses including inconsistent configuration management and fragmented fault triage protocols.
- Technology: Investigated SDH/PDH nodes, fibre links, remote comms shelters, and backup power systems. Cross-referenced firmware states, configuration histories, and legacy routing anomalies.
Contextual Risk Factors Considered:
- Analysed each failure within its operational context:
- Weather exposure (e.g. thermal stress, ingress risks)
- Industrial action, which delayed or reduced response capabilities
- Time-of-day dependencies, affecting fault detection latency and operational risk
Root Cause Analysis:
- Applied FMEA and fault-tree analysis to map propagation chains and assess failure likelihood, consequence, and detection controls.
- Correlated SCADA logs, NMS alerts, site inspection findings, and asset schematics to build a unified timeline for each incident.
Remediation Reporting:
- Compiled a structured, audit-grade report for submission to Network Rail and the ORR. Included event summaries, RCA evidence, annotated diagrams, and remedial actions categorised by priority and impact.
- Recommendations spanned from immediate field fixes to long-term improvements in process ownership and asset assurance.
Outcomes / Results
Root Cause Clarity:
- Traced each event to a unique root cause:
- Legacy hardware with an increasing intollerance to temperature changes
- Severe weather causing microbends in fibre optic cabling
- Siloed departments preventing effective use of resources
ORR Compliance Achieved:
- Investigation and remediation report accepted by Network Rail and forwarded to ORR. No follow-up clarification required—closing the regulatory action item.
Process & Governance Enhancements:
- Recommended the establishment of a cross-functional configuration control board and improved post-incident RCA workflows with multi-department participation.
Resilience Uplift:
- Actions initiated to address identified gaps in telecoms power resilience, fibre routing assurance, and firmware governance.
Recognition:
- Praised internally by AtkinsRéalis and Network Rail for the clarity, rigour, and stakeholder coordination shown under regulatory pressure.
Key Technologies & Methodologies
- SDH/PDH network systems and legacy transmission infrastructure
- People–Process–Technology (PPT) analysis framework
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA), FMEA, fault-tree techniques
- Alarm log correlation via SCADA/NMS systems
- Fibre optic attenuation diagnosis and backup power system evaluation
- ORR regulatory remediation reporting (Network Rail compliance format)
- Stakeholder engagement: NR Operations, Maintenance, Design, ORR
Specialists in Rail, Telecoms, and Automation