IET Central London Evening Lecture, Savoy Place, 13-Apr-2016
A large and enthusiastic audience were well informed and entertained by Graham Hopkins (Technical & Engineering Director, Group Safety) of Network Rail.
Most of Graham's experience comes from his many years with Rolls Royce aeroengines; Manufacturing is a key to him: to create wealth, you can dig it up, grow it or combine the two in Manufacturing.
A key learning is that innovation touches everything, not just technology, although that was the focus this evening.
Some of the most striking points that I picked up on were:
- Progress in the rail industry is glacially slow (common to have a 50 year vision) - this should be faster (hence the need for innovation).
- Think of whole systems and integrate things; for example, don't separate infrastructure and trains.
- Be sure of the user requirements first! For rail, these come from the Vision 2035 and the "Digital Railway".
- The perception of UK rail is much worse than the reality. We are at the forefront in many areas, such as safety, technical competence, investment, staff productivity and research leadership.
- Investment shouldn't always be covered by the tax payer. We need new thinking: why don't businesses and house builders finance new rail lines that will benefit them?
- Do a few things really well, then move on to the next ones.
- Get lots of data, analyse it and mine it for signatures etc. Use it to find answers. eg. RR were able to determine what species of bird had struck an engine and what weight it was - Data could then can be used to plan the maintenance needed.
- Companies must continue to develop and grow: reinvent yourself every 10 years.
- Don't fall into the 'Valley of Death': Bridge the gap through readiness levels.
- Don't have an "innovation" department; This is Research & Technology. Everyone needs to be innovative.
What are the killers of innovation? A lack of joined-up thinking, long term vision and a means of getting over the Valley of Death.
A very fluent talk that gave us all plenty to think about and build upon.
