KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS CLOSE, AND YOUR STAFF CLOSER
SNC-Lavalin has gone from strength to strength, and its services are in increasing demand with TfL. Commercial Manager HUGH FRASER tells STEFANIE FOSTER how the firm is supporting the many changes to London’s transport
Having your offices at the centre of your client base brings obvious advantages. In 2002, SNC-Lavalin (then Interfleet) recognised the need to diversify its client base from what was, largely, companies formed at the time of privatisation. The firm had set its sights on working with Transport for London, and the only way to do that effectively was to establish a base in the capital.
Hugh Fraser, SNCL’s commercial manager, joined the London office 13 years ago. At that point, there were only four employees.
“We based ourselves in Canary Wharf to be closest to the biggest client, as we saw it [about 500 yards from London Underground’s divisional offices] and we developed very good relationships with all of the operating units for TfL.”
SNCL has since moved to offices in Devonshire Square, near Liverpool Street station.
“LU was going through PPP [Public Private Partnership] at the time, so there was a lot of reallocation of responsibilities. Within two years we grew to about 30 people at the London office, and we were specifically recruiting people with knowledge of LU.”
At that time, SNCL was not on any of the TfL framework agreements, but after qualifying ten years ago on the rolling stock side, the company has been on them ever since, covering more areas as the expertise within SNCL has grown and diversified.
Says Fraser: “Our London office used to be very rolling stock-orientated, but now we cover infrastructure, signalling, project management and transport advisory services as well.”
In addition to supporting TfL’s rolling stock projects, the team has also played a key role delivering new signalling and systems within London Underground, London Overground and Crossrail. This has included providing a wide variety of technical specialisms and engineering leadership to the Four Line Modernisation Programme, the Deep Tube Programme, and the Victoria Line Upgrade Programme.
Starting with TfL as a direct client, over the years SNCL has provided consultancy services for all of TfL’s constituent parts, including LU, Docklands Light Railway, London Tramlink and London Overground, while quickly diversifying to support the entire supply base, too.
“We now support all the subsidiaries of TfL, and probably all the suppliers to TfL in some shape or form, whether that be a concessionaire like KeolisAmey Docklands or MTR Crossrail. Our services go all the way through the supply chain. That’s because TfL is an integrated railway. Elsewhere, signalling is split out with infrastructure in Network Rail, but TfL manages everything itself, which means that we can provide services throughout the whole system.” SNCL’s recent acquisition of Atkins will increase the firm’s range of abilities.
SNCL has been instrumental in projects that have made a significant difference to London’s transport. A recent example is the introduction of a ‘black box’ to the DLR’s rolling stock, to improve reliability and availability. The remote conditionmonitoring system allows DLR operators to see vehicle performance in real time, and initiate mitigation measures for smarter maintenance.
The trains can be monitored the whole time they are in service, anywhere on the DLR network, with information taking less than three seconds to reach control staff.
They’ll be able to see whether doors are open or shut, the performance of the traction control system, and oversee brake pressures - a total of 270 different items of data.
On a system which carries about 117 million passengers every year, this remote condition monitoring system (a collaboration with lead contractor Arrowvale Electronics and communication supplier Nomad Digital) has made a significant improvement to performance.
But it’s not all about performance - some of SNCL’s work is on a far more personal level. In April, the firm was awarded two design contracts to help LU improve rail vehicle accessibility for persons with reduced mobility and visual impairments. These cover the Bakerloo Line’s 36-train fleet, the Central Line’s 85-train fleet and the Waterloo & City Line’s five-train fleet. SNCL’s modifications are also aimed at improving the passenger experience in general with new information systems, emergency alarms, CCTV and lighting, as well as designated wheelchair and pushchair zones.
The benefit to LU is that these upgrades will extend the life of the fleets and result in longterm cost savings.
SNCL has led the way on many rolling stock areas for LU and DLR, including reviews of maintenance and support for new vehicle provision. It’s had ample involvement in this area, with LU’s New Tube for London project to procure 250 new trains for the Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines, the first of which is due to enter service on the Piccadilly Line in 2023.
SNCL has supported train builders in their vehicle designs and bids for this major contract by helping them understand how best to fulfil contractual requirements, defining a suitable vehicle solution and writing the final bids.
Says Fraser: “We’re looking forward to NTfL and the new DLR vehicles contracts, and then the delivery of those vehicles into service. We have worked with suppliers in the development of their offers for NTfL and look forward to supporting them in the delivery phases.”
SNCL’s legacy with TfL runs deep - they supported London Tram in bringing vehicle and infrastructure maintenance back in-house, facilitated the introduction of the Class 378 vehicles to the Overground, and advised bidders on the letting of recent concessions for the DLR and Overground. The list goes on…
These achievements would not be possible without SNCL’s commitment to its staff. Regional Director Michael Grace tells
RAIL: “We want to carry on growing and strengthening our team. One of the biggest challenges is the availability of people. The market is very busy, and there’s a lot of competition for the same good people. Our solution to that is to develop our own.
“We’ve brought in more than 85 people in the past 12 months. In 2018 we’re taking on 22 graduates and four or five technicians, plus some apprentices. Since 1998, we’ve taken on more than 150 graduates.”
Testament to SNCL’s staff engagement programme is that just under 70% of those graduates have stayed with the company.
Grace continues: “Retaining good people is paramount, so staff engagement is our number one priority.”
Our services go all the way through the supply chain. Hugh Fraser, Commercial Manager, SNC-Lavalin