Both the rail and the road infrastructure have rapidly-evolved over the years, as repairs, enhancements and brand new developments have taken shape all across the UK.
It’s been widely reported how Network Rail has spent £7billion in targeted investment across the railway network. The recent investment is aimed at growing and expanding the railway infrastructure in preparation for 6,000 additional weekly services that will be gradually introduced over the next few years.
Meanwhile, the Government has pledged in its Road Investment Strategy to invest more than £15 billion between 2015 and 2020 in making ‘England’s motorways and major trunk roads world-class.’
This continued investment in rail and road is to be welcomed, but as these networks become busier, they will, of course, come under increasing pressure from an operational and technological perspective.
Take the rail sector, for instance, more than two-thirds of the signalling network is reportedly destined for an update, while new infrastructure for big data and communications is also being implemented.
However, for those delivering these changes, especially the technological changes, the same challenges still remain – minimising disruption and maintaining safety.
Ensuring the safety of staff is crucial in any working environment, and when it comes to being rail and road side, the same principle applies – in fact, even more so, as the stakes can be far higher than in an office environment. According to the Rail Safety and Standards Board, there were 164 major workforce injuries and 5,694 minor injuries in 2017/18.
While, it’s not possible to eliminate roadside and trackside accidents, it is possible to minimise them.
Thanks to our innovative Plug & Play solution for trackside and roadside cables and loom assemblies, engineers spend less time working out on-site in dangerous road and rail environments.
How does Plug & Play work?
The beauty of this solution is that most of the work has already been done in our factory, meaning there’s less work for engineers to have to carry out on-site for engineering-intensive installations.
- Sockets are pre-fitted into controller bases – this enables cables to be plugged in to the base, without the need for any wiring
- The pre-wired cable sets are pre-labelled – making installation even more efficient
Plug & Play was originally designed to dramatically reduce the time it takes to install typical traffic signals, but the concept can be used across all applications that require power, signal and data. (For more insight on just how effective it can be in increasing operational efficiency, saving costs and reducing risk, check out this case study).
The cost of any disruption to the UK’s railways or roads is too high to risk with complicated installation techniques. But thanks to our industry-leading solutions, such as Plug & Play, the journey can be simple, effective and safe.
For more details or to discuss how Plug & Play can help you work more efficiently and safely contact us on 0121 344 4229 or enquiry@chhconex.com.
