Closeup of black dust particles explosion isolated on white background.
Ballast dust continues to be a priority issue, with several high-profile campaigns such as ‘No Time to Lose’ and Network Rail’s Ballast Dust Working Group championing and educating the industry for greater control measures on dust.
But the rail industry is not alone in the issue. Construction, quarrying, waste and recycling all face the same challenges. So how can exposure to dust be reduced when it’s an inevitable outcome of heavy construction and engineering works?
Identifying the problem
A survey published by the Construction Industry Partnership and IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health), which was commissioned to gather information on how the construction sector manages the dust risk, revealed that almost half (44.3 per cent) of survey respondents felt that “very little” priority was placed on how the sector controls the dust risk.
In rail, it is well documented that ballast-handling activities increases exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS). Breathing in these harmful silica particles at high concentrations, over long periods, can have a serious impact on a worker’s health.
According to research from the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), it estimates that almost 800 deaths a year are caused from occupational silica exposure, with at least 900 new cases being diagnosed annually according to results from studies by Imperial College London.
With the number of national cases for silica exposure rising year on year, coupled with the growing number of policies on managing air pollution in our towns and cities, of which construction dust and rail repair works are cited as some of the key contributors, it will only be a matter of time before more robust measures and limits are in place; particularly as the government reviews its Clean Air Strategy, which will look at reducing total emissions and protecting health.
Of course, education, collaboration and monitoring are fundamental requirements in creating and implementing a strategy to control and measure any hazard, as well as the burgeoning green agenda. Dust prevention strategies will be critical in reducing exposure to silica dust for workers in rail, but also supporting managers as they look to implement sustainable best practice. Engineering control measures, featuring equipment and technology such as dust suppression, will be key elements of a sustainable dust prevention strategy.
Alternative strategies
Dust suppression systems offer efficient and portable alternatives to traditional methods such as sprinkler systems, manual water hose operation and water bowser trucks that run alongside the ballast wagons. Often on site, teams can be standing for hours at a time with a hose, or inside the bowser vehicle, waiting for the ballast to arrive.
Dust suppression systems speed-up the control process and manage the hazard. Unlike traditional methods, the suppression systems use nebulized water – water particles between 50 and 150 microns in diameter that can capture dust particles with an average diameter of 80 microns. As such, they hold and drag dust particles to the ground, completely covering the ballast and dust cloud, thereby preventing contamination.
Trials undertaken by primary health and environmental firms have certified a decrease of the dust particles by at least 50 per cent in the worst operational conditions through using dust suppression systems which have been deployed as part of a dust prevention strategy.
Updates to technology have seen many mobile power tank dust suppression units operating through start/stop remote technology. This simple feature means that the suppression system can be activated, by a single operator, when the ballast is there. This reduces the health and safety risk to workers who manually dampen dust with a water hose as ballast wagons move along the tracks. It provides greater control of water and means manpower can be focused on getting the project completed, not waiting for ballast to arrive.
Power technology has also evolved the design and efficiency of dust suppression systems, delivering greater fuel economy and projection range.
Once switched on, mobile power tank dust suppression systems can operate autonomously, as many have their own generator and water bowser unit, making them suitable for almost any site.
They can deliver a projection of between 30 and 120 metres, while the automatic rotation systems of the unit enable managers to direct the coverage, plan and place these mobile power tanks intermittently along the ballast or upgrade routes, providing a consistent flow of dust control at height and at ground level.
On the sustainability front, the advances in technology have enabled site managers to keep OPEX costs in check, as the dust suppression units consume up to 90 per cent less water, resulting in a greener operation as well as greater control over water consumption and reduced waste.
Effective control
Last year, Skanska implemented a dust control strategy during the upgrade works at Waterloo Station. As a key health and safety requirement, the dust suppression units were deployed to control, cover and reduce dust contamination into neighbouring platforms, across operational train routes and indoor passenger terminals.
Working collaboratively with partners, it was agreed to place different dust suppression products according to the range, strength and volatility of the dust cloud during the works period. For example, all-in-one mobile power tanks were used to dampen down ballast dust being loaded and unloaded into the wagons and covered a distance of up to 40 metres.
Significant steps are already in place to help tackle dust. Yet traditional dust control methods often need to be in constant use for any positive impact on controlling the issue. Even then, it is somewhat resource intensive and inefficient in terms of managing costs and manpower, as well as reducing water use.
Through the evolution of suppression and product technologies, dust suppression brings improvement in these areas helping to manage resource and drive down operational expenditure.
New product technologies in dust suppression will support managers further in tackling the issue and provide them with greater flexibility in managing costs and site sustainability.
Beat Nowrooz is product technical manager with Pramac-Generac UK.
On a sunny afternoon in early November, Rail Engineer travelled to Rothley station on the Great Central Railway, at the invitation of Porterbrook Leasing, to see and hear the Class 769 Flex.
The article in issue 168 (October 2018) celebrated the work that Porterbrook and Wabtec Brush have put into this project, but this visit was arranged to experience the unit in action. How would the engines perform? How much noise and vibration would there be?
There was no need to worry; just walking through the car park with the train alongside was a revelation. The two idling MAN diesel engines were almost purring; none of the ‘rattling’ that one is used to from older diesels and no visible exhaust either. A conversation at normal volume was easily possible, sitting on the benches outside the café just four metres away from the train.
Inside the driving cars, fitted with the diesel alternators, it was a similar story. One is aware of an engine running but it could not be described as noisy. During acceleration, the sound is purposeful, but there was no significant vibration transmitted through the floor and the main noise source was airborne, coming through a hopper window left open for an instrumentation cable. Normal volume conversation was easily possible.
Next steps
The demonstration was almost an anti-climax – testament to the quality of the design and development process. Of course, there have been some minor issues to resolve, but Helen Simpson, Porterbrook’s innovation and development manager, said that they were trivial and vindicated the hard work carried out in Brush’s test cell. Helen was also full of praise for the many UK engineering companies that have contributed the 6,500 items required for each unit.
In discussion, Jonathan Wragg, Porterbrook’s Flex programme director, outlined the production programme. The first unit for Arriva Trains North is due for delivery in January 2019, for Transport for Wales in spring 2019 and deliveries to GWR should start in summer 2019 and be completed in early 2020.
Discussion inevitably turned to how the Flex concept might be extended. Rupert Brennan-Brown, Porterbrook’s head of communications and engagement who is always ready with a new acronym, described Porterbrook as a rolling stock asset management company that is adapting trains to accommodate the inadequacies of the infrastructure.
HydroFlex: A hydrogen-powered train being developed in partnership with Birmingham University, using some of the control technology developed for the diesel electric Flex;
HybridFlex: Working with Rolls Royce (MTU) to provide diesel/battery electric drive for class 168/Turbostar including energy harvesting in braking;
BatteryFlex: providing ‘last mile’ battery power on Class 350/2 Desiro units.
There are 86 Class 319 four-car units, all of which were made redundant from the Thameslink route. Porterbrook has been successful in placing approximately 45 units for further use – 32 for Northern (eight of which will be converted to Flex specification) and 13 units with West Midlands Trains. In addition, there are Flex orders for five units for Wales, 19 units for Great Western Railway and one for the University of Birmingham (the HydroFlex). This makes a grand total of 71 of the 86 units, leaving 15 still to find new homes.
Wider problem – and opportunity
This is certainly a success story but is the tip of a large iceberg. With the boom in new trains coming into service, Porterbrook alone will see over 200 electric multiple units (around 900 vehicles) of Classes 323, 350/2, 455, 456 and 458 coming off lease over the next two or three years with no immediate home. The other large rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) will be in the same, or similar, situations.
All of these units could be converted to a Flex format. For example, the re-tractioned South Western Railway Class 455 units could take advantage of their regenerative braking capability to have a diesel/battery Flex arrangement. Equally, it would be possible to provide Battery Flex capability on the Class 323.
Many operators on the non-electrified railway have struggled to expand capacity because of the shortage of self-powered trains. Innovations such as Flex are now providing the opportunity. There will be a large number of redundant electric vehicles with useful life left in them, but placing this large group of vehicles into the relatively smaller pool of self-powered trains will be a big ask. That said, based on the Flex experience, this writer would rather travel on a Class 769 than on a Class 150.
Network Rail, as the infrastructure owner of Britain’s railways, constantly monitors the condition of its assets, particularly its 20,000 miles of track. One of the ways it does this is by using a fleet of inspection trains and vehicles, usually retired passenger stock fitted out with gauges, monitors and sensors of various sorts.
Flagship of this fleet is the New Measurement Train (NMT), although, since it has been in service for the last 15 years, it’s hardly new.
Affectionately known as the Flying Banana, due to its distinctive yellow livery, the NMT is equipped with the newest equipment, high-tech measurement systems, track scanners, and a high-resolution camera. A converted Intercity High Speed Train, the NMT covers 115,000 miles in a year and will capture around 10TB of image data every 440 miles.
Travelling at 125mph, it identifies faults quickly and accurately, helping Network Rail to keep the railway safe because it can discover problems at an early stage. Engineers can then make repairs or plan maintenance to prevent serious incidents, such as derailments.
To see what it can do, Rail Engineer was invited to join the NMT at Birmingham International station for a run to Northampton and back to Birmingham New Street.
Collecting and processing data
Steve Quinby, Network Rail’s head of delivery for data collection, and his team operate a variety of vehicles that examine the railway’s infrastructure in a number of different ways. In all, there are currently some 64 vehicles, making up three different trains.
The responsibilities of the Data Collection team begin, perhaps rather obviously, with data collection, “just as it says on the tin”, making use of a series of different infrastructure monitoring systems on the vehicles. These systems are all linked to highly accurate locational positioning systems which utilise GPS, inertial navigation and other methods, to ensure that each and every set of data collected can be identified to a precise location on the infrastructure.
The full array of screens in the development coach.
Once the data has been collected, it is processed appropriately, to turn it into useful information for the management of the infrastructure. This is a crucial step in the process. The systems used generate enormous volumes of data but this is of little use until it is translated into information that can be understood and acted upon either by humans or by other intelligent systems.
The NMT’s predecessor, the High-Speed Track Recording Coach (HSTRC), had a bit of a reputation amongst track maintenance people for generating reams of computer paper, covered in numbers, much of which were meaningless. The useful outputs it generated were those that summarised this data in meaningful reports which directed maintenance staff to the important defects in the track, and the places where new defects were beginning to develop.
The next and vital responsibility of the team is the planning of train runs. This becomes quite a tricky process. It means balancing the requirements of carrying out infrastructure inspections at set frequencies on the one hand with, on the other, the demands of customers running increasing numbers of trains on the ever-busier network.
Occupying train paths with infrastructure monitoring trains might perhaps seem a waste, but standards rightly demand that inspections occur at appropriate intervals in order to ensure the safety of the network. If these requirements cannot be met, consequences follow, according to the level of risk implied by the failure. They might mean speed restrictions, or complete line closures, for example, until the missed inspection can be carried out. The use of trains for these inspection and monitoring activities is often the only realistic, safe and economic method.
Equipment racks in the development coach.
As an example, the systems for track monitoring used on the NMT replace the old track patrols carried out by staff on foot. These were hugely time consuming, a significant safety risk for the staff, and less effective than the modern systems on the train.
In consequence the trains very definitely need to run, and to cover each route comprehensively, every time they are designated to do so. Steve’s team works very closely with train planners and operators to ensure that this happens. Of course, things do occasionally still go wrong, and so inspections get missed or are only partially completed. For instance, a monitoring train may be routed onto a Slow line when it was due to examine the Fast, or be sent along Platform 1 at a station when it was Platform 3 that was due for inspection.
Alternatively, there might be a failure associated with the monitoring train or its equipment. When this happens, the team has to generate a recovery plan that will get the missed infrastructure covered and, wherever possible, covered before some protective restriction, such as a speed restriction, has to be applied. Consequently, the plan for the trains is a critical responsibility for Steve and the team.
Finally, the team is responsible for ensuring that the monitoring vehicles and their systems are correctly maintained and calibrated. This is no small task, given the number of vehicles and the number and complexity of the systems on board them. In many instances, the systems are supplied and maintained by external specialist suppliers, who alone have the expertise required.
From primitive beginnings
Infrastructure measurement has a long history on British railways. Devices that measured the ride quality in passenger vehicles go back to the original private railway companies in pre-grouping days. One such was the Hallade system, which used pendulums and a paper reel recording system to record the displacements experienced on board a coach where it was placed.
Steve Quinby explains the purpose of Network Rail’s inspection train.
Then there was the “Porcupine”. This was a primitive means of gauging the infrastructure around the track and was, in fact, a converted brake van to which were attached a series of poles. These stuck out all around the profile of the vehicle, which was hauled along a stretch of track to “gauge” it. Typically, it would be used at a tight bridge or in a tunnel. The poles would be shifted inwards when they struck an obstacle, and the theory was that, after the journey was completed, each pole would indicate the worst clearance along the measured route at the point on the vehicle’s profile where it was attached. A composite drawing representing each of the various pole positions would then be taken to be the worst-case profile of the route, and the limit of the allowable vehicle profile.
Having used such a vehicle early in my railway career, I can say that this was a pretty crude and potentially inaccurate process!
British Rail went through several stages of improved infrastructure monitoring systems, including Neptune track geometry measurement vehicles that used contact-based methods to record track at up to 20mph, and culminated, as far as track was concerned, in the HSTRC. This used similar track geometry recording systems to the NMT and ran at similar speeds, but it lacked the digitisation systems and did not have the other capabilities of the NMT.
It may not seem necessary to explain why Network Rail uses the modern technologies it now has, but there is more to it than just accuracy. First of all, the old methods, such as track patrolling, required large numbers of people to spend a lot of time out on the live railway, so anything that removes that requirement and the associated safety risks has to be worthwhile.
Modern technology is more accurate, as already suggested, but it is also far faster and more efficient. This means that it is now possible to carry out monitoring vastly more frequently. This is enabling a switch from finding and fixing faults to predicting and preventing them, which significantly improves both safety and performance.
The Hatfield train crash on 17 October 2000, caused by rolling contact fatigue failure of a rail, was the catalyst for a radical approach to track inspection which led to the introduction of the NMT and the other systems that are now operated by Network Rail.
New monitoring systems come about in response to business needs. When a new problem is identified, Network Rail will approach a range of suppliers of relevant technology. These will then propose possible approaches, and Network Rail will select the most promising for joint development with the supplier concerned. Once tried and tested, the new system will be implemented on the relevant monitoring trains.
Between them all, Network Rail’s inspection fleet works 24/7 and covers some 750,000 track miles in 2,000 recording shifts each year. The volume of data generated is enormous, since the NMT alone produces about 7TB for every 350 miles covered. Data is recorded to hard drives and these are delivered to the data centres in cases carrying 21TB.
On-board the development coach
The NMT, which has two monitoring coaches and seven monitoring systems, is manned by on-train technicians (OTTs) who control the infrastructure monitoring processes. The so-called ‘development’ coach contains two main systems – the PLPR, or plain-line pattern recognition system, and the Fraunhofer system.
Plain Line Pattern Recognition System.
The first mentioned utilises extremely high-speed digital photography to capture detailed images of the track as the train passes over it. At up to 125mph, this takes an image every 8mm along the track. Sitting alongside this, a LiDAR system scans the track simultaneously. The digital images are analysed by algorithms that identify anomalies which may be track defects. These, known as “candidates”, might be anything from a missing clip to a rail surface defect. The data and the candidate defect information are all saved onto hard-drives that are transferred later to the data analysis centre at Derby.
At Derby the candidate defects are reviewed by inspectors who confirm whether or not they represent real threats. The LiDAR information is used in this process when the photographic images are unclear – for example, if a rail clip is obscured by debris, the algorithm checking the photographic data would throw up a potential defect, but the inspector would use the LiDAR data to see that the clip was actually present and then delete the defect record.
Output from the forward-facing camera at 53.3mph.
Under Railway Group Standards, Network Rail is allowed 72 hours after the train run which collected the data to get defect information to the maintainers. Of course, there may be defects that need higher priority than that, and there are appropriate measures in place to manage these. For the most serious cases, which need traffic to be stopped, the system would identify these to the OTT by audible and visual alarms. The train would then be stopped as quickly as possible, thus blocking the affected track. Action would then be taken to get the line blocked by normal procedures, have the defect corrected, and get the line reopened.
The Fraunhofer system is a contactless overhead line monitoring system. It employs lasers to measure the position of the contact wire. Like the PLPR system, this one is highly accurate, even at 125mph. It identifies the height and stagger of the wire and identifies any locations where the wire is outside the allowable tolerances. The system includes a digital camera system that looks at the contact wire to measure its wear. The hard-drives with this data also go off to an analysis centre, in this case at Milton Keynes.
Track inspection
The track geometry measuring system, with which many readers will already be familiar, and which would be recognisable to someone familiar with the old HSTRC, is in the ‘production’ vehicle of the train. This system measures the track geometry and calculates, for each eighth of a mile, a standard deviation (SD) for each of the parameters measured. Each SD gives a measure of the extent to which the track deviates from the ideal geometry for the particular parameter to which it relates. Track quality standards lay down threshold SD values for each parameter according to the track category of the line (a measure that takes account of line-speed and traffic intensity). There are planning thresholds and immediate action thresholds.
In addition to the actual geometry data and the SDs, the system incorporates a six-foot laser scanner, that checks the distance to the adjoining track, and analysis that looks out for cyclic top and dynamic gauge defects (issue 157, November 2017), both of which are derailment risks that are not easy to identify.
Screen shot from the real-time positioning system.
Like the PLPR system, the data recording and analysis system on the NMT is linked to the highly accurate positioning system of the train, and issues reports to maintainers for action. The data is also used for more sophisticated analysis of the assets and trends in their condition, assisting the development of long-term plans for renewals and more.
The inspection fleet
In addition to the NMT, other units in the fleet include the ultrasonic test trains (UTUs), the structure gauging train (SGT), the radio survey coach and Mentor.
The UTUs use ultrasonic rail examination systems provided by Sperry to check for internal defects in the rails. These can run at up to 35mph, a maximum determined by the speed of sound in the steel.
Laser scanning enables the SGT to capture structure gauging data vastly more quickly and accurately than the old “porcupine” wagons, to facilitate the clearance of vehicles to run on the network and to ensure that the clearances around the tracks have not been reduced in any way, such as through the planned or unintentional movement of the track or through distortion in a tunnel lining.
As one would expect, the radio survey coach monitors the strength of radio signals around the network, to ensure that safety critical and operational railway radio signals are available and reliable as required.
Mentor is a coach fitted with overhead line monitoring equipment, this time employing contact-based systems rather than the laser system of the Fraunhofer units on the NMT.
There are secondary systems in use on the trains as well. Many are fitted with forward-facing video recording. On the UTUs, there is a laser system manufactured by KLD Labs that measures rail profiles to detect wear and unsafe profiles, and GPR (ground proving radar) that allows users to “see” under the track to a depth of between 2½ feet and 6 feet below the surface. GPR results show where there are interfaces between different materials, such as the ballast/formation boundary. They can also show if ballast is clogged with clay or other contaminants and where it is waterlogged.
In order to ensure that the railway network is fully covered by track geometry measuring systems, MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles) are also fitted with the necessary equipment. These are able to cover short sections of track that cannot be reached by the NMT or the Track Recording Unit (TRU), a two-car unit based on a Class 150/1 train, typically in stations or other complex areas which need covering at night. Trials have also been undertaken with track geometry systems fitted to service trains.
The implementation of all this technology has been a real success. The UTUs, with their Sperry nine-sensor ultrasonic wheel probes, have been a major part of Network Rail’s dramatic reduction in rail failure numbers from over 1,000 each year in the late 1990s to only 125 in 2016. This alone has had major benefits in safety, performance and financial terms. It has also attracted the attention of other railways around the world, who wish to understand how it has been achieved and copy Network Rail’s example.
The ability to predict and plan is further improving safety, performance and availability, and is reducing costs.
Around thirty engineers participated in the IMechE Railway Division’s recent Technical Tour (the tour) to northern Italy and southeastern Switzerland. The participants included experts from main line, metro, trams and metre gauge railways, as well as academics and a large contingent of younger engineers, close to the start of their careers. Companies represented were, Angel Trains, Arup Australia, Atkins, University of Birmingham, CPC Systems, East Midlands Trains, Eversholt Rail, Montreux Oberland Bernois SA, Network Rail, Rail Delivery Group, RSSB, SNC Lavalin, South Western Railway, Transport Scotland, Unipart Rail, and Waxwing Engineering.
The mix of people and visits led to a great deal of discussion with learning for all, both young and old. The tour is notable because it allows people to access facilities that would not normally be open to them as individuals. It has a great deal of prestige, allowing the members of the group to talk to senior people, both hosts and delegates.
Over eight days, the group enjoyed technical visits and a number of journeys on technically challenging or historically interesting railways, ranging from 10km/h funiculars to 300km/h high-speed trains. The table outlines the programme and the highlights are described below.
Pistoia heritage
Deposito Rotabili Storici, in Pistoia, one of several establishments of the Fondazione FS, is a large facility for storing, maintaining and renovating heritage locomotives and rolling stock. The visitors were privileged to be guided around the facility and some of its more notable vehicles by one of the company’s experts, who had come specially from Venice.
Class E626 electric locomotive preserved at Deposito Rotabili Storici, Pistoia. This design dates from 1927.
The group learned about the history of Italian railway development in the region, especially the line through the mountains between Bologna, in the Po plain, and central Italy. There have been three lines – the original mountain railway line, a lower level line with more tunnels and, most recently, the high-speed line that is mostly in tunnel. The original line had gradients of up to 2.6 per cent (1 in 38.5). This was challenging for the steam locomotives of the day and, over 90 years ago, the advantages of electrification were identified.
The railways in northern Italy adopted the three-phase system, initially 3.3kV 15Hz and later 3.6kV 16²⁄³Hz. The so-called Porretana was electrified with this system in 1927. Although it required two overhead contact wires and the rails as the third conductor, it also allowed the use of AC machines and avoided the cost and inefficiency of large rotary AC/DC converters that were vehicle-mounted or installed lineside.
Control of the AC machines was far from trivial and included the use of pole switching and series/parallel connections to start the locomotives and to control the tractive effort. These schemes involved liquid rheostats (electrodes that are raised or lowered into brine to control the starting of slip ring motors), which sounded really scary to the modern audience of largely mechanical engineers!
Later on, the Italian railways adopted DC traction, operating at 3kV, delivered at first by rotary converters and later by mercury arc rectifiers, until modern diode rectifiers became available. The original mountain line was converted to DC operation in 1935, after the low level line was opened in 1934, but it was as recently as the mid-1970s that the last three-phase line was converted to DC.
A number of electric, steam and diesel locomotives were on show, the latter with electric and hydraulic transmission. Everyone learned something from the principles and features of the steam locomotives to the water rheostats.
Those delegates who work in the UK heritage sector were jealous that the Deposito has its own wheel lathe, capable of turning steam engine driving wheels.
Hitachi
The following day, the group visited Hitachi Pistoia, where senior executives kindly provided an introduction to Hitachi and the group’s Italian facilities before escorting the group around the factory. The Pistoia site specialises in the construction of aluminium carbodies and the assembly of complete vehicles using components manufactured at other sites in Italy or elsewhere.
Amongst the trains seen were some of the last bi-mode Class 802 units for Great Western Railway, Class 385 EMUs for ScotRail, driverless metro vehicles for Taipai and some very stylish double-deck Caravaggio EMUs for Italy.
Hitachi factory at Pistoia.
Hitachi described the virtues of friction stir welding, which is currently carried out solely in Japan but which is due to be installed at Pistoia over the next 12 months.
Other activities seen included the renovation of the ex-Dutch/Belgian high speed Fyra V250 train for use in Italy, and the tour concluded with a visit to the climatic chamber and the structural test facility for carbodies and bogies. Again, this visit was truly fascinating for all, especially those who had never seen rail vehicles being built before.
Milano
Following the Hitachi visit, the group travelled on an Alstom Coradia Meridian EMU, which had to work really hard over the original mountainous line to Porretta Terme, where we changed to a Stadler FLIRT to Bologna Centrale.
Arriving at Bologna Centrale at ground level, one has no idea that there is a huge four-track high-speed station underneath, from which the group travelled on a 300km/h Frecciarossa train to the huge, 24-platform Milano Centrale.
ATM, Milano’s public transport operator, hosted a visit to one of the construction sites for metro line 4. ATM’s representatives were from its engineering company, which plans and manages the construction of metros, railways, LRT, airports, streets and tramways in Milano and also sells its services around the world.
Tunnel boring machine at Tricolore station.
The group was introduced to the public transport scene in Milano and Italy in general. Italians love their cars – the overall proportion of cars in Italy is about 70 cars per 100 inhabitants. 10 years ago, the proportion in Milano was lower, at 63 per cent, and this has been reduced still further, to 52 per cent today, through the active development and promotion of public transport.
The modal split is approximately 57 per cent by public transport in the city area, which is exceptional by Italian standards. Moreover, the number of new driving licences has dropped by 50%. Public transport use rose to a record level during the 2015 trade Expo, but this record was beaten in 2017 with a total of 750 million journeys; up nearly nine per cent from 2012.
There are currently four Metro lines – M1, M2, M3, M5 – with line M4 under construction. M1, M2 and M3 are conventional metro lines with 105-metre-long trains. M1 uses a third/fourth rail 750V DC system, similar to London, whereas lines M2 and M3 use overhead supply at the same voltage.
Map of Milan Metro.
M5, and M4 once it is opened, are designed to operate on a somewhat different principle. Platforms and trains are shorter – approximately 50 metres – and the trains run at 90-second headways. M4 will also use 50-metre trains operating at 90-second headways, but with the ability to reduce to 75 seconds. This provides almost the same capacity as a conventional metro operating longer trains at 2-3 minute headways, but allows for smaller and easier to build stations, which are therefore much cheaper – a 30 per cent reduction in civil engineering costs was claimed. The lines are/will be driverless with platform screen doors.
The IMechE group was able to visit the site of the forthcoming Tricolore station and see two tunnel boring machines being assembled. It was explained that earth pressure balance machines are being used to cope with ground conditions.
Although shorter stations are a lot easier to build, there is still not much available space in central Milano. They will therefore be using two forms of construction for the stations, all of which will have island platforms with a central circulating area. In the suburbs, the excavation for the station box is the full width of the station whereas, in the central area, the excavation will be much narrower, confined to the central circulating area between the tracks. At tunnel level, cross passages are mined and the running tunnels enlarged to form platforms.
Cross-section of a suburban left) and city-centre station.
Alstom has a facility in Sestro, a suburb of Milano. This plant had been manufacturing electrical equipment for Alstom Italy, but is now running down manufacture and is becoming a component overhaul facility. The plant is also the maintenance control centre for some 600 Italian trains that Alstom maintains. The group watched as control technicians monitored the status of hourly downloads from their trains.
Bergamo
A journey to Bergamo enabled two visits. The first was hosted by the city’s public transport operator and included a visit to the tram depot.
AnsaldoBreda trams at Bergamo.
The current tramway runs from the main railway station to the community of Albino using the track bed of a railway that closed in 1967. It is standard gauge, double track, 12.6km long and serves communities with 220,000 inhabitants in total. It uses 750V DC overhead, has 16 stops, seven of which are interchange stops with over 700 parking spaces, and has 32 level crossings. There are 14 trams, of which nine are used in peak service, and they are low floor throughout.
Unusually, the system uses red and green colour light signalling and it was mentioned that there has been some confusion between tram and car drivers.
The depot has a 12-track stabling shed and a four-track maintenance shed with a wheel lathe, lifting and workshop facilities. Trams were originally maintained by their supplier, AnsaldoBreda, but maintenance was brought in-house to gain better knowledge of the tram in order to improve the management of these expensive assets.
Cast small-radius fan in Bergamo’s tram depot. Note only the first switch, nearest the camera, has a right-hand switch rail.
The trams are 32 metres long with five sections and three bogies, two of which are motored. For those engineers who had not seen under a tram before, the individual resilient wheels with no axles were a surprise. The Network Rail engineers were particularly interested in the depot track layout that includes some incredibly tight radius curves, below 20 metres, although the minimum on the main route was 25 metres. Considerable time was spent examining the long cast points fan, where only the “high rail” was equipped with switch rails, and the lubrication system.
“Riding the train or tram” is as important to the Railway Division as visiting control centres is to the IRSE and, following a tram ride, the group’s second visit was to the WEGH concrete sleeper factory to learn about their manufacture and the technology applied to the design of slab track. This included work to develop repair techniques for slab track damaged by derailments or other incidents.
Demonstration of concrete slab track and fixings at Wegh Group factory.
The day ended with a visit to Bergamo’s Città Alta (High Town), appropriately on two funiculars, neither of which conform to the traditional system of two cars that counterbalance each other on the end of a single rope. The lower funicular uses two independent cars, each on a single track with a counterweight system below the machine room at the upper station, while the higher level funicular features a single car connected to a top-to-bottom cable loop.
Bergün
The journey from Milano to Bergün in Switzerland was effectively another visit! The Italian part of the journey was through a very scenic part of Italy – substantially alongside Lake Como. At Tirano, the group joined a Swiss Rhätische Bahn (Rhaetian Railway, RhB) train for the scenic journey over the railway’s Bernina line.
The RhB is metre gauge and the Bernina line climbs just over 1, 800 metres from Tirano (430 metres) to Ospizio Bernina (2,253 metres) with gradients of up to six per cent using adhesion only.
The line, famous for the loops used to help gain height, the most impressive being on viaduct Brusio, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
RhB Bernina line train climbing one of the many spirals as it gains height. (Michael Edwards)
The group travelled in a 40-50 year old coach in excellent condition, with large opening windows, much appreciated by the photographers. Indeed, even the newest air-conditioned coaches with panoramic windows have some areas equipped with opening windows for tourist photographers.
A typical train on this route is a Stadler dual-voltage (11kV 162/3Hz, 1000V DC) three-car unit with eight out of the 12 axles motored and a combined output of 2,600kW on AC and 2,400kW on DC, with a peak tractive effort of 260kN. These are known as Allegra sets and can usually be seen hauling four or five trailer coaches. Indeed, it is not unusual to see passenger trains with freight vehicles attached, most often tankers and open wagons loaded with big tree trunks.
Friday included a visit to RhB’s Albula museum, illustrating the challenges of building and operating railways in mountainous conditions, and a visit to the work site of the new Albula tunnel, which was extensively described in issue 166 (August 2018). Many of the group took a 90-minute walk from the tunnel workings to Bergün, with an opportunity to view the many bridges and spiral sections on the line, all in excellent short-sleeves weather. Just two weeks later there was deep snow (pictured above).
Landquart
The final visit was to the RhB workshops at Landquart (16km from the railway’s headquarters in Chur). There was a fascinating talk about RhB’s approach to installing continuous train protection, using some of the principles and components of ETCS, but tailored to the particular needs of Swiss metre gauge railways.
RhB is the lead organisation for the specification of continuous train protection on Swiss narrow gauge railways, many of which run intensive services on single-track railways with passing places.
The timetable often depends on trains approaching the passing loops at the same time. However, in many of the passing loops, the signal protecting access to the single track is located quite close to the points and the loops are often not long enough to provide the length of signal overlap and flank protection that UK signal engineers would expect. Figures of 20 metres and, sometimes, zero metres, were mentioned.
The current RhB signalling system includes a system of train stops using track magnets, but these are located at signals and are clearly no help if a train passes at danger a signal with little or no overlap.
The continuous ATP uses Eurobalises, both with fixed data (speed limits) and variable data (signal aspects) to provide information about the route ahead, very similar to ETCS Level 1. The train driver inputs the type of train and its length. This basic approach provides a safe system, but RhB has identified timetable issues with the basic system.
For example, the system might inform the train that the next signal is at danger. As a result, the train driver would have to keep within an ATP braking curve as the train approaches that signal. In the meantime, the signal might have cleared, but the train would have to continue to brake until it passes the next balise, at the signal position.
To cater for this situation, RhB has added loops to extend the range of critical balises, so that the train may be released from the braking curve earlier. In addition, RhB told the visitors that it will be installing the system on the entire network (over 1,000 signals and 120 vehicles) for approximately 60 million Swiss Francs (£46 million) and plans to complete the deployment by 2022.
Both the novelty of the system and its relatively low-cost installation caused a great deal of interest from those of the group involved in signalling, especially the representative from Transport Scotland.
As a footnote, RhB mentioned the challenge of the sections of dual gauge track they share with the SBB (Swiss Federal Railway), which also has a legacy system and is installing ETCS. For a time, some sections of this track might have four ATP systems!
Traditional RhB series 1 trailer coach, approximately 50 years old awaiting painting. (Michael Edwards)
The visit then moved on to the rolling stock workshops that carry out routine and heavy maintenance on locomotives, multiple units and coaches. The group saw some vehicles that had recently arrived from the manufacturer, 40-year-old equipment and a serviceable heritage locomotive over 90 years old (already equipped to read ATP balises).
Many of the features of the works and the rolling stock within were unusual to UK eyes. For example, the works itself has been extended over the years to accommodate multiple units and the turntable that serves the works’ roundhouse has been modified to include a second, curved track to allow trains longer than the turntable to access their maintenance shed.
Landquart depot turntable and roundhouse. Note two tracks on the turntable and that the overhead catenary converges on the centre of the turntable. (Michael Edwards)
The team saw locomotives and carriages still in front line service that were over 50 years old and one of three restaurant cars dating from the 1920s that have been extensively modified to allow use in push-pull mode on the RhB’s prestigious Bernina Express.
Historic vehicles. Nearest the camera, one of three 1920s restaurant cars being returned to front-line service; a red trailer car – approximately 50 years old – and three 1930s ex-Montreux Oberland Bernois Pullman cars. (Michael Edwards)
In another part of the works, rotary snow blowers were being serviced ready for the winter, and there was a long line of exceptionally small-diameter wheels used on the wagons of the car-carrying trains that operate through the Vereina Tunnel (at just over 19km, it is the world’s longest metre-gauge tunnel). The wagons themselves cannot be transported to Landquart unless they have their roofs removed, as they would otherwise be out of gauge.
RhB snowblower.
There were very many aspects of the RhB that were new for the visitors and illustrated to all participants that there are more ways to do things than might be allowed in the UK. Trains over 130 metres long running down the street in Tirano was one example, as was the final surprise of the trip – the Chur-Arosa line running though the streets of Chur powered from an 1 kV 162/3 Hz overhead supply.
Once the visit to the RhB was over, the last leg of the journey was on a German ICE1 train to Zurich Hauptbahnhof, followed by a well-earned beer on a Rundfahrt on the lake.
Participants in the IMechE Technical Tour would like to thank Felix Schmid and Bridget Eickhoff, who organised and led the tour; all the group’s hosts in Italy and Switzerland, the event’s sponsors: Angel Trains, Eversholt Rail, Manchester Engineering Consultancy and Unipart Rail, and Liz Turner at Ffestiniog Travel who organised the hotels and travel.
Across the UK, the rail network supports over 4.6 million passenger journeys a day and over 20,000 miles of track. As numbers grow year-on-year, delivering a reliable and modern service for today’s ‘always online’ passenger has placed great pressure on the industry.
Future success is dependent on the network’s infrastructure to support growth and provide passengers with the online connectivity they crave. With an ambitious programme of railway upgrades underway, the focus is now on installing the latest technology and renewing out-of-date equipment. The construction workforce is critical to achieving this task, and ensuring they remain safe while on site has never been more important.
Power and communications
Behind the scenes lies a hidden network of thousands of cables that carry power, data, communications, signals and other vital operating services from station to station and on to the control room. This extensive and complex network of ‘veins’ and ‘arteries’ is the very lifeblood of the railway, running alongside the tracks in a series of enclosed troughs and ducts.
Protecting these cables from severe weather, corrosion, damage, and wear and tear is absolutely crucial to keeping the railways running. However, the trackside location means carrying out repairs, upgrades and extensions presents a unique set of problems for the engineers who are responsible for looking after this vitally important network.
Installing a new troughing system was traditionally a time-intensive task. Bulky materials and numerous fixings made it arduous, with 140 metres of standard elevated troughing taking over 40 hours to complete when spaced at 1.5 metre centres, based on a team of four working an eight-hour shift, consequently increasing the dangers to engineers working trackside.
Sadly, despite a decrease in the number of workforce-related deaths and injuries in recent years, accidents are still a threat to trackside engineers. Refining products to create better and safer working conditions is paramount.
Extensive research into product improvement by Scott Parnell resulted in the development of a range of improved troughing products that would significantly cut the time spent on site as well as reduce the need for lengthy maintenance procedures in the future. Made of corrosion-resistant GRP (glass-reinforced plastic), the ArcoSystem is manufactured in complete, ready-to-install sections and supplied in lengths of six metres. Each six-metre piece will simply fit together, sliding into position without the need for hundreds of individual nuts and bolts.
This durable cable management system is elevated above the ground, supported on sigma posts stationed at six-metre intervals. The connection plate is bolted to the post, forming a durable cable duct base, complete with a snap-on lid which can be opened easily with a specially developed tool.
This light-weight and pre-made troughing has significantly reduced construction times, by at least half on average against standard ground trough, as it is much more efficient to simply dig a hole every six metres than it is to dig a trench the length of the route and backfill to the trough shoulder thereafter. ArcoSystem has been measured by customers to be at least five-times quicker to install than other elevated trough systems.
For future maintenance, the cables are easily accessible, again reducing the amount of time spent on the trackside and limiting the danger for trackside workers.
Training for the future
Keen to develop further ideas aimed at safeguarding construction workers, Scott Parnell launched an initiative to support the training provision in this sector through permanent ‘training installations’ of its elevated cable troughing system at client premises. This, coupled with hands-on training from its experts, offers engineering teams the chance to practise and become familiar with the product in a safe and controlled environment well in advance of the installation phase of a project.
The opportunity to get to grips with products and tools free of charge has gone down well in the industry. A permanent client-site installation was used to support engineering teams who were working on the Weaver to Wavertree Signalling Upgrade Project (W2W) in Liverpool.
The initiative aims to prepare clients and contractors to deal with the next generation of cable troughing by providing facilities that support their work and underpin their welfare. Companies have found the training facility delivers commercial benefits as familiarity with equipment speeds up the whole construction process – saving money and minimising service disruption.
The future success of the industry will depend on its ability to meet customer demands through faster, more connected services. Laying the foundations to support this system will fall to the engineers and construction professionals in the field. Product innovation and training have never been more important as the UK’s railway network strives to meet the challenges of the digital age.
Written by Matt Davidson, rail director at Scott Parnell.
The new eastern entrance to Snow Hill Station will offer passengers a direct link between tram and train services. (TfWM).
Barhale has been awarded a £1.5 million contract to build a new third entrance to Birmingham Snow Hill station.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said that the scheme, which involves opening one of the arches under the Victorian viaduct that carries trains and the West Midland Metro trams into the city centre, will allow passengers to switch seamlessly between local rail and tram services.
The new eastern entrance to Snow Hill Station will offer passengers a direct link between tram and train services. (TfWM).
Currently, any passengers wanting to get from the West Midlands Metro stop at St Chads to trains in Snow Hill station must either walk down a flight of external steps, along A4440 Queensway, then turn into Livery Street and access the station through its second entrance, or they can walk past the Snowhill Three, Two and One office developments and into the main Snow Hill entrance.
In the future, the new third entrance will give passengers a direct way into the station from the tram stop and allow rail passengers wanting to catch a Metro service direct access without having to leave the station.
Brenda Lawrence, West Midlands Railway’s head of stations, said “The future of public transport is all about making it easier and simpler for passengers to move seamlessly between different modes of travel. The third Snow Hill entrance, connecting the railway station with the Metro, is another important step towards that goal.”
Commencing in Summer 2019, Barhale will construct the new entrance beneath the existing brick-arch viaduct which is enclosed by a reinforced concrete wall at the station’s Livery Street end, where the second entrance was built more than a decade ago.
Paul Edwards, Barhale’s contracts manager, commented: “The main challenge for construction will be to break through the reinforced concrete wall at the Livery Street end of the station to form the new access.
“This is in the operational side of the station and so the works will take place outside of station opening hours with dust proof screens erected to keep out debris. This will allow ‘business as usual’ at Snow Hill station during the works.”
The new entrance, due to be in operation in late 2019, will include new ticketing, security and travel information facilities and there will be wayfinding signage between the entrance and the St Chads Metro stop.
Metro and rail services will run as normal during the construction period.
34 new Alstom Coradia trains have been ordered by CFL for use in Luxemburg, Belgium and France
A contract for 34 new high-capacity double-deck regional trains has been awarded to Alstom by Luxemburg’s national train operator Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL).
The new fleet, which will be built in Alstom’s Barcelona factory, will include 80-metre and 160-metre long trains and deliveries will commence in December 2021.
34 new Alstom Coradia trains have been ordered by CFL for use in Luxemburg, Belgium and France (Alstom)
Speaking of the €360 million contract, Alstom senior vice president in Europe Gian Luca Erbacci said: “We are pleased to have won CFL’s trust for the supply of a reliable, energy efficient, safe and comfortable transport solution for their passengers. The new train we offer is a concentration of the latest innovations from our proven Coradia platform. With a total capacity of more than 15,000 seats, these trains will allow CFL to safely carry more passengers, improving mobility and accessibility throughout Luxemburg.”
The trains for CFL will feature spacious and well-lit areas for reading and resting, space for bicycles and dedicated facilities for people with reduced mobility. The trains will be equipped with Wi-Fi and LED lighting, security cameras to increase passenger and crew safety and a dynamic passenger information system.
To meet the standards for interoperability required for the trains to run on the national Luxemburg network, as well as in Belgium and France, they will be equipped with both ERTMS (ETCS level 2-baseline 3) and TBL1+ signalling systems.
Over 2,300 of Alstom’s Coradia family of trains are currently in operation, in nine European countries as well as Canada.
The Rail Sector Deal included input from industry, government and trade associations.
The government and the rail industry have agreed a new Rail Sector Deal intended to deliver more for passengers, create jobs and drive economic growth across the country.
Hailed as a key milestone in the government’s modern industrial strategy, the Rail Sector Deal will help increase the exchange of ideas between the rail industry and other sectors, predicting problems on the network before they arise and solving them through innovative working.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) introduced its new Industrial Strategy on November 2017. This was built on five foundations – ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places.
BEIS’ Industrial Strategy is built on five foundations.
Each ‘foundation’ had three key policies. For example, the first policy under Ideas was to raise total research and development (R&D) investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. Under business environment was the policy to launch and roll out Sector Deals – partnerships between government and industry aiming to increase sector productivity.
The first Sector Deals were in life sciences, construction, artificial intelligence and the automotive sector. Creative industries and Nuclear followed, and then Aerospace and Rail were launched on the same day – 6 December 2018.
Speaking at the launch of the Rail Sector Deal, Gordon Wakeford, chair of the Rail Supply Group and CEO of Siemens Mobility in the UK, recalled the government’s green paper ‘Building on Industrial Strategy’, which was issued in January 2017 and challenged industry “to provide government with compelling and detailed proposals of how, working in partnership, both sides, government and sector, could agree a sector deal to further the competitiveness of the sector”.
He went on to explain that, after a long and sometimes bumpy journey to reach a conclusion, government and industry have come up with a sector deal that “will be transformational”.
“One word that shines through this document,” he continued, “is collaboration. We will increase productivity, we will reduce costs, we will move from ‘boom and bust procurement’, we will introduce new technology, release data as an enabler, improve the skills of our workforce, and not only increase local ‘value add’ through import substitution but also refocus on ways to double exports.”
The Rail Sector Deal included input from industry, government and trade associations.
Graham Stuart, Minister for Investment at the Department for International Trade, spoke on behalf of government: “Much of the network is bursting at the seams. When things go wrong, as they have this year following problems introducing the new timetable and widespread, and often unnecessary, industrial action, passengers endure poor performance, which means the railway faces greater levels of public scrutiny.
“We all know that we can do better, and that we must raise our game. This collaboration and cooperation that we are launching today between government and industry is one way of responding to that.”
The intention is that, through improved engagement between industry and government, the supply chain will understand future demand better. This will both enable companies to invest with confidence to increase skills and innovation and will also help the industry reduce the cost of building and maintaining the railway, support the sector to increase its exports, attract small businesses to the market and encourage more young people to pursue a career in the rail industry.
British Steel, the Scunthorpe-based manufacturer of steel rails and other long-length steel products, has won two contracts to supply 86,000 tonnes of rail to Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), Italy’s rail infrastructure manager.
One of the new contracts is for 68,000 tonnes of its standard grade rail and the other for 18,000 tonnes of British Steel’s premium heat-treated SF350 rails. The premium SF heat-treated rails are designed for use in curved or heavy haul tracks where wear and fatigue are significant issues.
Both deals are for rail in lengths of 108 metres.
This Italian success follows hard on the heels of two other contracts that were announced at the InnoTrans exhibition in Berlin in September. Network Rail confirmed it was extending its supply contract with the company for two years and Infrabel, which operates Belgium’s railways, signed a four-year agreement.
British Steel’s commercial director for rail, Richard Bell, commented: “Our SF range is increasingly popular as rail is being asked to perform for longer in heavier traffic.
“We developed ‘stress-free’ heat-treated rail to address the industry needs for high resistance to wear, rolling contact fatigue and improved foot fatigue performance to extend the service life of rail and thereby reduce the whole life cost.
“Products like this reduce the need for costly and lengthy maintenance and replacement programmes thereby maximising track availability and allowing trains to run for longer – major benefits for operators and their customers.”
British Steel’s stress-free heat treated rail.
The steel for the SF heat-treated rails is manufactured at British Steel’s headquarters in Scunthorpe, England. It is then sent to the company’s state-of-the-art rail rolling facility in Hayange, France where it is rolled into rails and further strengthened using a special heat treatment process that uses inductive heating, followed by cooling using compressed air, in one continuous movement. This process is so tightly controlled that, unlike competitors, no roller-straightening is required afterwards, resulting in a more durable ‘stress-free’ rail.
Typically, British Steel’s SF rails deliver a threefold increase in the defect size needed to initiate fatigue in the rail foot compared to standard R350HT rails. If fatigue does start, the low residual stress in SF350 doubles the lifetime to failure, compared to standard on-line/in-line heat treatment methods.
Test results have shown that, to achieve the same fatigue life of five million cycles, British Steel’s SF rail can withstand 67 per cent more fatigue stress than conventionally heat-treated rails.
British Steel’s rail distribution hub in Lecco, northern Italy.
British Steel opened a rail logistics hub in Lecco, in northern Italy, last year to service local demand. It can provide a full range of high quality long length rail with just-in-time, and reliable, delivery anywhere in the country.
The Rail Division of Houghton International specialises in the repair, maintenance and life extension of motor alternating sets and AC and DC traction motors. The company works with customers around the world; in the UK these include the mainline rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) and train operating companies (TOCs), ranging from Porterbrook to First Capital Connect and Tyne and Wear Metro.
The key criteria for customers are to keep trains in service for as long as possible, with scheduled maintenance or emergency repair being completed quickly and efficiently to minimise downtime. For Houghton International this means continuously finding new methods of improving productivity, as demand for the company’s services increases, without impacting the quality and reliability of each refurbished traction motor.
“The quality of 3M products is outstanding, while their speed of response, willingness to share their knowledge and experience, and commitment to our business success sets them apart from other industrial suppliers.”
Jason Feldwick, RAIL/LMS Senior Admin/Purchasing & Logistics, Houghton International
Houghton International has been working closely with 3M for over 8 years, with the company’s tape products forming part of a programme of continuous improvement designed to boost productivity by reducing the number of production stages, speed up each process and minimise the number of different products required.
The engineering process Houghton International refurbishes several hundred traction motors every year – a number that is steadily increasing as demand rises from customers around the world. Once in the workshops, motors undergo initial assessment, before being dismantled to their component parts.
Depending on the degree of wear or damage component parts are then refurbished or replaced. Motors are rewound, and mechanical and electrical parts are ground, polished or welded, prior to reassembly, with motor cases being repainted and critical assemblies being vacuum pressure impregnated using epoxy or silicone resins. The completed motor undergoes extensive testing and quality controls, at each process stage and as a final unit.
3M tapes are used throughout, to protect surfaces, coils, connectors and wiring. This puts considerable demands on the tapes. It’s essential that they remain securely in place during jet washing, paint spraying and high temperature drying and curing. It’s also important that they can be removed easily, even after having been in situ for extended periods.
3M’s technical team has worked closely with the engineers from Houghton International, spending considerable time on site to advise on the best materials to use and explore methods of improving process operations. Together, experts from the two companies have developed a solution using two of 3Ms key products: 3M™ Scotch™ Aqua Washi 2899 and 3M™ 201E Masking Tapes.
Jason Feldwick concludes, “The quality of 3M products is outstanding, while their speed of response, willingness to share their knowledge and experience, and commitment to our business success sets them apart from other industrial suppliers.”
How 3M products deliver productivity and quality
A key benefit for Houghton International is its ability to improve productivity and quality using 3M™ Scotch™ Aqua Washi and 3M masking tapes.
These help improve productivity for Houghton International in a number of ways. For example, the Aqua Washi tape provides high levels of surface protection without peeling or separation, but is easy and quick for Houghton International’s engineers to remove, without leaving adhesive residues on the surfaces that are being protected. This eliminates the need for subsequent surface cleaning using solvents – a procedure that was previously required with competing Melinex® tapes and demanded the use of potentially harmful chemicals.
A further advantage of Aqua Washi tape for Houghton International is that it peels in a single piece. Competing tapes tend to tear as they are removed, leaving behind small shreds.
Although this might be an inconvenience on a surface that is easy to see or access, it can be a major problem during final testing; at this stage each motor has been fully assembled and if small pieces of tape are left in-situ they can affect the results of the electrical integrity tests. In the worst case, this can result in a fail, requiring the motor to undergo partial disassembly and further checks, leading to delays in delivery and adversely affecting productivity.
The versatility of Aqua Washi tape has also enabled Houghton International to use the product throughout its production operation. This has helped to standardise and reduce stockholding and cost, as fewer specialised tapes are required, and to simplify each production stage, as shop-floor staff only need to use a single tape for most tasks.
The net effect of using 3M™ Scotch™ Aqua Washi Tape has been to reduce the number of individual process stages and overall time needed for each production operation, while improving operator safety.
3M™ Masking Tape 201E is also used by Houghton International for a number of tasks, as it is ideal for holding, fixing, wrapping and sealing surfaces, and is easy to unroll without tearing. Its strength and flexibility make it suitable, for example, for masking areas that need to be sprayed, with just a single layer of tape being required for full protection; previously, using competing materials, Houghton International’s engineers found that they had to use multiple layers of tape to achieve the desired result. 3M masking tape therefore reduces both cost and time.
“The versatility of 3M’s product line has enabled us to standardise on a single tape for most production operations. This has reduced stockholding and administration and is driving real time savings during motor refurbishment.”
Jason Feldwick, RAIL/LMS Senior Admin/Purchasing & Logistics, Houghton International
The success with which the Aqua Washi tape and 3M masking tapes have been used, has more recently led Houghton International to trial 3M™ Impact Stripping Tape YR500. This is being used to protect critical electrical and ceramic components during shot blasting of motor covers and frames; as a result, Houghton International expects to see further improvements in productivity and efficiency, as the new tape withstands these harsh conditions far better than competing materials.
Shared values
Houghton International has an outstanding reputation for quality, service and innovation, and works closely with its customers to develop new techniques and processes that, for example, extend product life and reduce lead-times. It applies a similar philosophy to its relationship with key suppliers and believes that, in 3M, it has found a partner with shared values and a common commitment to continuous improvement.
This has been exemplified in the time that 3M’s specialists have spent on-site, working with Houghton International’s engineering teams to help them find new ways of enhancing productivity and product quality. Although these have often been incremental improvements the combined effect for Houghton International has been considerable, bringing significant time saving, product standardisation and overall cost reduction.
Overall, Houghton International estimates that the use of 3M products has helped its engineers achieve significant improvements in productivity.
With the number of national cases for silica exposure rising year on year, coupled with the growing number of policies on managing air pollution in our towns and cities, of which construction dust and rail repair works are cited as some of the key contributors, it will only be a matter of time before more robust measures and limits are in place; particularly as the government reviews its Clean Air Strategy, which will look at reducing total emissions and protecting health.
