Signalling Design, Testing and Commissioning
With over 400 IRSE licensed signalling designers, Atkins has the capacity to deliver projects of any scale and are able to provide all levels of signalling technologies from mechanical signalling through to ETCS.
We also provide our clients with a Testing and Commissioning service for new or altered Train Control & Communication Systems, which integrate fully and smoothly into the working railway. This enables systems to be entered into service in a safe and controlled manner.
Atkins is currently designing, installing, testing and commissioning 380 signalling units along 30 miles of track, as part of the Newport area resignalling programme and is also responsible for all new signalling equipment on the infrastructure and in the new control centre at Cardiff.
We also successfully delivered the West Coast Main Line Rugby and Nuneaton programmes – two large and very strategic projects which were required by Virgin trains for the new West Coast service timetable in December 2008.
Additionally we have provided S&C renewals works at various sites on LNE, LNW, Southern and Scotland.
To view our current signalling vacancies, please click here.
IRSE Licensing
In the years following the Clapham rail crash, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) introduced a Licensing Scheme to ensure that engineers have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to perform competently in their chosen area of expertise. As a result, IRSE Licensing has become part of every day working life for most signalling and telecoms staff in Atkins and has led to a specialist Assessing Agency being established by the company.
Formed ten years ago, the Agency has successfully supported Atkins’ signalling work by guiding engineers through the licensing process. With 40 assessors in total, the team covers all aspects of signalling design, test, construction, telecoms, project engineering, asset engineering, asset management, engineering management and consultancy. The assessors are not exclusive to the UK, with a number working overseas within the Group’s network of offices; this ‘exporting’ of licensing activity to other countries by UK rail signalling companies has been a key factor in the growing international stature of the IRSE.
Thanks to a high ratio of assessors to candidates, Atkins is able to offer comprehensive guidance and support to prospective and current license holders. This approach also encourages staff to become involved in the assessing work, which broadens their experience and helps spread best practice across the organisation. Furthermore, staff are equipped with additional skills that can be applied to their day-to-day work and valuable experience is gained in making judgements on less well defined engineering matters.
Commenting on the value of assessing work, Richard Genner, a chief engineer at Atkins, said: "There is strong evidence that IRSE license assessing skills increase. Gaining a license is a significant achievement - the standard is high, as must be expected in a safety-critical industry.
"Experienced engineers take great delight in seeing junior staff gaining their first license and then progressing to higher licensing levels,” adds Richard. “It gives them confidence knowing that their well established skills are being passed on to a new generation of signal engineer."
The assessments are continually monitored by a strong Internal Verification programme which includes managing Assessment Standardisation meetings to ensure all assessors have a common approach to evaluation. A close relationship with the IRSE allows Atkins to quickly adjust its procedures in accordance with changes in requirements, thus ensuring that best practice is always offered. The Agency also promotes innovation across the board in keeping with the company’s broader innovation initiative.