Interview Spotlight: Martin Giles, MD, Lloyd’s Register’s UK rail buisness

Craig Waters, Editor of Eurotrasnport, speaks to Martin Giles, Managing Director of Lloyd’s Register’s UK rail business…

Lloyd’s Register has recently been appointed as the ISA for the new light-rail project in Aarhus. What exactly will Lloyd’s Register’s responsibility be for this role?

First of all, from a Lloyd’s Register viewpoint, there are two or three different ways of working as an Independent Safety Assessor (ISA); we can sit back and wait for the suppliers and system developers of a project to do all their work before we start to do our job, or we can stick by our ethos which is to join a project right at the start, that means we can provide advice and guidance as early as possible which helps us to gain efficiencies and prevent costly changes and delays later on in the project. This is how we are working for the Aarhus light-rail project.

Our duties and roles here include developing the safety assessments and audits of the plans, processes and documents required throughout the design, manufacture, installation, testing and trial operations. The Aarhus project adds to our growing portfolio in Denmark and follows our appointment as the ISA for the scheme to migrate the entire Danish rail network to ERTMS operation and control.

The Danish resignalling project is due for completion in 2020; is Lloyd’s Register involved with the project to the end?

Yes, we won the contract from Banedanmark to provide independent safety assessment and Notified Body services as part of the approval process for the renewal of Denmark’s signalling systems until the project is complete. We will be responsible for the overall safety assessment of the signalling programme to ensure that it fulfils the necessary safety requirements.

What other projects within the Scandinavian region is Lloyd’s Register involved with?

In December 2009 the Lloyd’s Register Group acquired Scandpower, a Norwegian-based risk management organisation with strong links to the energy sector (oil and gas). However they also have a transportation team which supplies services such as independent assurance, condition monitoring, asset management and human factors advice to the rail industry. Because of its affiliations with the energy sector, Scandpower continues to use its own brand and so few people will even be aware that the company is 100% owned by the Lloyd’s Register Group. Scandpower is currently assisting DSB in optimising the S-train maintenance programme and reducing maintenance costs.

How about on a wider scale – what other projects are worth mentioning?

Well, our main rail technical centres are in Derby, Utrecht and Hong Kong but we have offices in London, Madrid, Beijing, Seoul and Sydney, for example, and are at work in many parts of the world. More recently we have been involved in some major Middle East projects. We were appointed as the ISA for both lines of the Dubai Metro in November 2006 and since then have gone on to work on projects in Mecca, Abu Dhabi and, most recently, as the ISA for Etihad Rail. It’s such a challenging but also exciting part of the world for the rail industry at the moment.

What sets Lloyd’s Register apart from its competitors?

I think what sets us apart is that we’re a part of the Lloyd’s Register Group that has got longevity. It has been around for over 250 years and, to this day, our independence from shareholder dividends means we are free to be absolutely impartial – we don’t need to compromise.

Also, we’ve got an ethos within the Group which is ‘do something that matters’ and that’s important to our staff. They want to see things done properly.

I think all of that means we provide added value; we’re not a ‘box-ticking’ organisation – we want to make sure we can work with our clients to produce and develop systems and products that are safe and efficient. And as we grow our rail services, that is what we will continue to do. We’re fiercely protective of Lloyd’s Register’s values.

Contact

Lloyd’s Register Rail Limited

Address: Edward Lloyd House, 8 Pinnacle Way, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8ZS

Tel:+44 (0) 1332 268700

Web: www.lr.org