It has been a very exciting 6 months for D2 Rail, with new additions to the business, internal promotions and a number of fantastic achievements on projects, we have proven that our ambitious and talented teams are making a huge impact on the rail industry.
Riding high from her win on the Transpennine Route Upgrade West of Leeds project, Becky Pratt walked away with the “Outstanding Contribution to the Team” award for recognition of her work, proving she is both highly dedicated to the team and always looking for innovative ways to improve the management of the project.
We have had some new additions to our planning team. In February, John Flight joined us as a Civils Planning Manager working on the Transpennine West of Leeds project. John will be working alongside John Taylor as part of the Construction team.
Joe McClements also joined us in March as a Construction Planner to assist in the planning of the North West Electrification Programme. Joe has a first-class Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in Engineering and has been tipped as being one to watch for the future.
There has been a fulltime addition to the Visualisation team earlier this year. Richard Hunter joined the team taking on a permanent position and has proven to be instrumental in some of our research and development projects.
Along with the new additions to the team, we have had some internal advancements in the Planning department. Alesha Hancock has been appointed the role of Planning Lead, and will be responsible for planning and scheduling, providing technical support and the management of this service. John Taylor has been appointed to the role of Constructability Lead and will be responsible for all Constructability technical support and the management of this service offering.
We have attended a number of conferences, presentations and summits over the past few months too, one of which was the Rail Asset Management Summit in March. Our BIM Manager Ashley Williams was in attendance, bringing back some interesting concepts regarding Rail Asset Management.
Our Lead Planner Alesha Hancock, spent an afternoon looking at Drones and how they can save time and money when completing survey works and producing point cloud data. D2 Rail feel it is important to attend these showcases to help implement safer and more efficient ways of working. We are driven to inspire the rail industry with fresh creative ideas, continuously learning from every project and looking for innovative technology.
In May, D2 Rail employees were in attendance at a WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) event. This event proved to be extremely motivating and inspirational to women within the industry. Advising women on career progression, gender pay gaps and how we can get more involved in the network. Our team also attended the Women in Rail event in June, which gave a fantastic incite on the challenges women face in the industry and how to overcome these challenges.
Since attending these events, we have made some great contacts and have further expanded our network, by connecting with the local universities in Manchester. We are currently discussing possible STEM opportunities, career fairs and summer placements, so we can bring new talent into the business and help graduates make their way in the workplace.
After a busy 6 months, we would like to say a big thank you to the team for all their hard work and we are extremely excited to see what the next 6 months will bring.
Simon and Sarah
