Case Studies

Training, Advisory & Compliance Specialists

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Improving Learner Engagement through innovation and industry collaboration

Metro Trains Melbourne Agile course development on electrical safe operations in Rail Tunnels & Level Crossing Removal

Working closely with Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) to develop courseware to educate their workers and contractors in complex and hazardous construction environments.
Background
Victorians are experiencing the building of the largest ever rail infrastructure pipeline, with more than $30 billion invested in metropolitan and regional rail projects.
These projects include the Metro Tunnel which will create a new end-to-end rail line from Sunbury in Melbourne’s west to Cranbourne/Pakenham in the south-east, the removal of 75 level crossings across Melbourne, the Geelong Fast Rail which will be enabled through a major investment to the Werribee corridor. Other projects include Melbourne Airport Rail, the Cranbourne Line Upgrade and Regional Rail Revival.
Metro Trains Melbourne staff and Alliance Partners require training to ensure they are competent and skilled to work safety in the rail corridor. Thomson Bridge’s partnership with Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) delivers electrical and hazard management training programs that are developed specifically at the direction of MTM and the Level Crossing Removal Project.
This is an environment where there is a lot of infrastructure work going on. MTM has a big and highly mobile workforce and recognise that training is important for safety and skill development. So MTM needed a training partner that was electrically literate that could work in an agile and collaborative mode to develop short courses and a choice of training delivery modes as needs arise.
Our role
Thomson Bridge develops customised electrical safe access and operator training for the rail infrastructure and project teams in what is an extremely complex and hazardous construction environment. It’s material that is fit for purpose for MTM’s own staff and meets the requirements of their training and authorisation processes. Additionally, it includes development of training and delivery of training courses for the Alliance Partners and contractors to ensure that they are competent and skilled to work safely in the rail corridor.
Some of these courses include HV Operator for Lines, Signals and Substations, Recipient, Applicant, Permit to Work Near, Underground Safety Spotter, and the Rail Corridor Construction induction for Planning and Project Managers.
We found that MTM were spending a lot of their own staff time on upskilling contractors on activities such as how to apply for a permit. So, we worked with them on methods to reduce their own staff time used to educate people on MTM business practices, especially with contractors on how to do business with MTM safely and efficiently.
Working closely as partners, we developed the optimum delivery mode to meet the key messages and learnings that MTM want to convey to their community. These modes include face to face; virtual and self-paced. Some programs requires for practicals, some are short and only require one to two hours, which others require one to two days.

Project Details

Client: Metro Trains Melbourne
Location: Victoria
Industry: Rail and HV Operations
Our Role: Working closely with MTM to develop courseware to educate workers and contractors on electrical safe access and operator training in complex and hazardous construction environments.
Outcome: Ongoing partnership with an electrically literate training organisation for course development for MTM workers on electrical safe operations in rail tunnels and Level Crossing Removal construction.
Related Case Studies:

Yarra Trams - Electrical Safety Rules Education program for staff & contractors
Level Crossing Removal Project - Building courseware to address rail skills shortages in critical infrastructure works

Rail Network Electrical Safety Audit

Background
Suburban rail networks are complex. They often contain a mix of different technologies and many significant hazards. Staff working on or around these networks need clear and detailed but practical safety rules, procedures and accountabilities in order to work safely and do their jobs well.
Our Client operates an electrified rail network for suburban passenger services. As part of its ongoing risk assessment, the network's leadership team sought an external audit of the electrical risks to the business.
Our Role
The review, conducted by our experienced electrical engineers, used an audit methodology and included extensive interviews with key stakeholders within the organisation along with an analysis of key documents such as the Client's High and Low Voltage Electrical Safety Rules, Health and Safety Policy and Procedures, Risk Assessments, the organisational structure and position descriptions relevant to electrical work.
After concluding the data collection and analysis, Thomson Bridge developed a report presenting a clear, detailed and benchmarked view of the processes and systems keeping workers safe around the significant electrical hazards of the network. This report combined the detailed data gathering of the review with Thomson Bridge's decades of High Voltage experience to identify where best or leading practice was being applied, where the key risks were, and where priorities for improvement of the system should be. This report was presented to senior managers within the client organisation who accepted all findings and recommendations and responded swiftly to implement changes.
While the findings were on balance positive, and it was recognised that the network had procedures in place for the safe access to its electrical network that were compliant with relevant regulations and standards, a key finding was that many key procedures were written in a manner which assumed a linear process which did not always adequately deal with deviation or issues that arise from real world situations. Also, the organisational structure and its roles were ambiguous in respect to responsibility for the electrical network and open to interpretation.Changes implemented on the basis of the report include the appointment of a senior manager to the role of Operating Authority, and a clear line of delegation to appropriately trained staff. The Electrical Safety Manual was also re-formatted to ensure that the responsibilities outlined were clear and matched the intended work processes.

Project Details

Client: Rail Network owner
Industry: Rail
Our role: A health check of electrical risks to a transport network
Outcome: A positive report card and the opportunity to refine and clarrify roles of responsibility and delegation

Vales Point Power Station - Auspice for High Risk Work Licensing

Background
Operation of Boilers and Turbines is classed as High Risk Work (HRW). A Licence to perform HRW is part of a national system which authorises individuals to carry out classes of work including boiler and steam turbine operation. The HRW licence has been incorporated into each State’s law via their respective WHS Regulations.
To obtain a license, a student must complete class room training, a log book recording workplace evidence of operational tasks and then a formal assessment against the National assessment Instrument.
The candidate must complete the applicable Unit(s) of Competency by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and then be assessed as competent against the applicable national assessment instrument (NAI) by an assessor who is accredited by the work health and safety regulator (the regulator) under the WHS Regulation.
Vales Point have an extensive and well established power station training program that is delivered inhouse by experienced Trainers and Subject Matter Experts. This program combines Instructor led classroom based training modules, on the job mentoring and practical activities that are documented via logbooks.
To ensure compliance against state regulations and the specific requirements of HRW, Vales Point needed to partner with an RTO.
Our Role
Thomson Bridge’s Pressure Equipment Subject Matter Experts have extensive experience in operating PS equipment. They are also licensed across multiple states to undertake HRW assessments for boiler and turbine and are familiar with the requirements of Work Safe Authorities.
We entered into a partnership that shares the tasks of training and assessing. Our team delivers the class room training to enable candidates to attain the required Statements of Attainment. Vales Point’s Trainers, who are accredited as Assessors by WorkSafe NSW under Thomson Bridge’s RTO license, shift and plant availability.

Project Details

Client: Vales Point Power Station
Industry: Generation
Outcome: This arrangement recognises the skills of the Vales Point workforce, provides a solid learning and assessment experience and accommodates the staff shift movements.

Resources HRWL Resources

Level Crossing Removal Project - Building courseware to address rail skills shortages in critical infrastructure works

Background
Australia is in the middle of a rail infrastructure boom with multibillion-dollar projects scheduled around the country to help manage the growing population. Light and heavy rail are being built and upgraded both to support the need for better integrated transport systems and to meet the national freight challenge. This boom is leading to many skilled job opportunities and has made technical skills development a priority for the rail industry. The Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) was established by the Victorian Government to oversee one of the largest rail infrastructure projects in the state's history.To underwite skills, LXRP has overseen a significant investment in the development of modern courseware for over 20 rail specific qualifications. This body of work is intended to equip TAFE and private sector training organisations with the tools to educate new entrants and upskill existing workers who want to take advantage of this massive rail infrastructure build.

Our role
Skilled overhead rail lineworkers who undertake the construction and maintenance of rail networks are in particularly short supply. In response to this need, the LXRP through “Training for the Future” and the “Workforce Training Innovation Fund” appointed Thomson Bridge’s Technical Design Team to develop the courseware and assessment tools required to offer a contextualised qualification in light and heavy rail, this is the UET30719 Certificate III in ESI - Power Systems - Rail Traction.
Our technical design engineers worked with Subject Matter Experts from light and heavy rail networks to develop the courseware. We partnered with Swinburne TAFE, who provided project management and ASQA compliance services.

Project Details

Client: Victorian Government through the “Training for the Future” and the “Workforce Training Innovation Fund”
Location: Victoria
Industry: Rail
Our contribution: Applying our technical design skills to the development of contextualised, modern nationally recognised Qualifications
Outcome: Contextualised qualification courseware to enable the delivery of Apprenticeship and Adult bridging programs in the Certificate III in ESI - Power Systems - Rail Traction.

Resources
ARA Skills Capability Study

Cable Jointing Apprenticeships in 2020 with COVID_19

Background
Covid-19 has resulted in massive disruption to Apprentices and their employers. As with all students, 2020 will be a challenging year for study, training and vocational education.
For Apprentices, many programs have been suspended without any clear messages as to what the future holds.
Our role
One particular cohort impacted by this pandemic are Apprentices currently doing their Certificate III in ESI Cable Jointing in Victoria. These young workers range from new aspirants to fourth year pre-graduates seeking their final signoff. Representing 10 large and small Employers in the ESI Industry, these Apprentices found that their Training Provider has suspended all classes. After approaching Thomson Bridge, our ESI Apprenticeship Team commenced an assessment of each student to determine their program requirements.We're proud to say that a program for first year Apprentices will commence in April. This will initially focus on the core electrical theory Units, accessing content, tutorials and assessment via our eLearning platform. This will be punctuated by instructor-led tutorials via Zoom on a regular basis to provide guidance and mentoring and team building. Practical, workshop based activities will be scheduled in the later part of 2020, using workshops that are configured to ensure social distancing. On-the-job training will be recorded using digital logbooks, Additional experience will be established via observation and practical scenario based exercises in live industry settings.Programs are being established for second and third year Apprentices with a similar format. The forth years will undertake practical “capstone” assessments in the workshop and on the job, as a colaboration between our Subject Matter Experts and Employers.Covid-19 is presenting many challenges, however, there are opportunities to creative innovative approaches and create quality results by collaborating with industry, employers and their young workers. On line tutorials will be less structured and provide opportunity to bond and forge relationships with other students and a range of Subject Matter Experts from the ESI Industry. This will be augmented by face to face practicals and industry excursions. Whilst the course curriculum does not change, this extraordinary time requires flexibility in course delivery, and a re-thinking of programs to accommodate the logistics, personal and work circumstances.

Project Details

Client: Cable Jointing Industry
Location: Victoria
Industry: Electrcity distribution and cable jointing
Our contribution: Proving flexible and agile solutions to Apprentices during 2020
Outcome: Deliver programs to stranded Apprentices seeking to complete their 2020 vocational training

Resources
Cable Jointing Programs

Program delivery team:

Jamie Ilton

Matt Hemer
Guy Broadbent

Blended Learning

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