Managing director of Brimble, David Brimble speaks about the future of rail and rail maintenance and how the organisation is preparing its growth.
A third-generation rail worker, David Brimble has seen a lot in his time in the industry. Now as managing director of Brimble, he is looking towards the future of the sector.
Brimble believes many of the tried and tested methods seen in railway maintenance over the years will remain into the future, but how required work is understood will grow and improve in the years to come.
“What we are seeing as a shift in maintenance at the moment is digital measuring, which allows us to be more proactive through a condition-based approach,” he said. “Over the past two years, most key networks have developed condition monitoring dashboard data systems that we can use to track the quality of the network.
“At the moment this data is often closed, but we see a need for it to be openly shared, which will put the information in the hands of the teams and equipment on the ground.”
Brimble believes it’s important that Australia moves towards a system where this data is readily available to maintenance teams and for the industry to have a single database that allows for simple sharing and accurate usage.
“Everyone seems to be unsure if they should share this data as a risk management strategy, how it may be perceived if an incident occurs, or how customers using the lines may interpret the data,” Brimble said.
“I can see dramatic benefits if we open it up to allow our industry to improve.
“While our competitors would surely take advantage of the information, as well, it is better that we learn from each other to make our networks better and serve the community for longer.”
Planning
Brimble believes that less funding is being put aside to support preventative measures, which – as harsher weather events occur – can cause issues down the track.
“We are seeing with the recently announced resilience package program, governments are needing to put additional money aside to support protection of infrastructure,” he said.
“OpEx (operational expenditures) budgets are not able to keep up with that amount, so CapEx (capital expenditures) need to be invested in the future to ensure networks can stay resilient and we are not spending the money over and over again without solving the key issues.”
Brimble does believe that as an industry; rail can be too reactive to problems, and it needs to continue to push its ability to predict upcoming issues.
“When I say reactive, I mean we only look at what we need in the next 20, 30 or 40 years,” he said.
“We need to look to the next 100 years and change the way we view the work we do, so we are only investing once.
“It is not just for the next generation, but the generations that follow them. That is how we should be planning the work we do in rail and all of transport.”
Machines
Brimble explained the organisation is taking the same approach to its machines as it aims to be ready for what the future may hold in the rail maintenance space.
“One thing that is clear, is that these machines have to be automated in the future,” he said. “We have more than 100 assets now, all varying types, configurations and technological levels, and we will continue to find better ways to automate and standardise our processes with these machines.
“We are in the process of automating our tampers and regulators and whilst this continues, we are now focused on our track renewal and ballast cleaning machines to develop automated and greener solutions in the near future.”
The organisation expects to be expanding its fleet by the hundreds in the coming years, with an importance being placed on the standardisation of its fleet.
“Our next phase will include small base machines that are automated and spread across the country,” Brimble said.
“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel – if the technology we need is out there already, we are happy to bring it on board and integrate it with our internally developed technology.
“We are not precious about designing a solution ourselves, we want something that will add value for the next century.”
Sustainability
Brimble said that sustainable practices are something the company has been watching closely to understand where it can achieve greener outcomes across the business.
“We have been watching this space for the past five years and have been impressed by how much it has strengthened amidst clear challenges,” he said.
“We are spending a lot of time understanding how we will approach it.”
“We are seeing a lot of movement in the industry, which is fantastic, and we expect to begin making greater investments in this space.”
Brimble expects the company to explore electric capabilities in the future utilising regeneration technology where possible.
“We only expect electric technology to get better in the coming years,” he said.
“Looking at years down the road, energy storage will be at the forefront. I believe if we focus on regeneration and how efficiently our energy is being used, this will reduce the level of storage required. This will be a key focus for us.
“Electric is the right way forward for greener rail as we will have greater efficiency on track due to lower wheel-to-rail friction and the regeneration potential is high.”
He explained that the industry needs to find more ways to harness the energy expended on track and truly maximise some of its greatest assets.
While Brimble understands that these changes are years away, he appreciates that the technology will continue to advance worldwide and the path for Australia will become clearer.
Looking ahead
Brimble said that integration is a key area for the rail sector moving forward. He explained that automated wagons or locomotives struggle to integrate currently, so the network needs to be more open.
“Widening corridors will give us the opportunity to move wider loads on rail as opposed to on trucks. We should not just look at the height of things but the width, so can we go two units high and two wide?” he said.
“We need to be focused on what we need well into the future.”
Brimble explained that the industry should not be focused on planning infrastructure that meets the needs here and now, but also well into the future. This will help filter how future projects are designed and built to support generations to come.
“On major projects, we should be thinking about three generations from now and if that would necessitate the construction of multiple lines rather than just one,” he said.
“We should be looking at how we procure equipment and teams. The industry should have enough work that when the teams and equipment are finished on one job, they go straight to the next.
“This is possible when we have a longer view and we can then create slots for major infrastructure projects.”
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