With offices in the UK, Canada and Australia and operating across the globe, we are trusted by some of the world’s leading rail organisations, contractors and consultants who value the technical expertise of our team.

Below you will find just a few examples of our most recent engagements; projects that saw our engineering and design specialists work with clients in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia to deliver their technical authoring services and act as expert witnesses.

Australia

Andromeda were engaged to develop a framework and supporting documentation for the safe management of high voltage substations in Adelaide, Southern Australia. This included:

• Access to buildings
• Management of third parties
• Competencies
• Operation and maintenance of equipment
• The implementation of safe systems of work

Upon completion these works ensured that the client was able to efficiently meet their legal obligations.

New Zealand

Andromeda worked with Kiwi Rail to develop a wide range of standards, specifications and working instructions. This covered a wide range of topics including:

• Safe working system associated with high voltage
• Structural loading requirements to be used by OLE designers
• Substation access
• Electrical clearances
• Competency standards covering a wide range of roles both internal and external to Kiwi Rail

The production of this documentation required a detailed understanding of local legal requirements, principles of safe working in high voltage environments, OLE asset design, operation and maintenance.

Canada

To support a $40m legal claim associated with a light rail system in Canada, Andromeda provided expert technical support.

Working directly for a law firm based in Canada, we reviewed more than 300 documents related to the case, producing an independent expert report which addressed the points most pertinent to the case. This document was used in ongoing legal proceedings with Andromeda being asked to provide further support in the negotiations with the defendant.

Ultimately, Andromeda’s team were required to attend court in Canada to provide expert testimony. The client was extremely satisfied that our team had provided expert advice both verbally in the court (including cross examination by the defence legal team) and in technical reports, all of which helped deliver a successful outcome.

United Kingdom

Series 1 maintenance documents

Andromeda were engaged to develop a package of maintenance documents designed to implement a risk based maintenance regime using the latest approach to asset management.

The techniques used to develop the standard required a detailed knowledge of asset management including FMECA, asset deterioration models and the practical logistics of accessing and maintaining the OLE asset.

Furthermore, Andromeda also developed the framework and supporting documentation for OLE construction assurance. This work brought together all the elements of OLE construction assurance including product quality control, installation, sub system and whole system testing as well as all the associated processes to ensure that the asset was safe, compliant and functional.

The production of this documentation required a detailed understanding of the OLE asset including design, construction, testing and commissioning and the whole system operation.

Technical Specifications for Interoperability – North West Electrification Project

Network Rail engaged Andromeda to assess the implications of applying the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) requirements to the commissioned phases of the Northwest Electrification Programme (NWEP).

This involved reviewing the critical differences between the new TSI compliant OLE system and the system installed on NWEP. Our review resulted in a series of recommendations, including OLE adjustments, to deliver a TSI compliant route.

Proof of Concept for Cardiff Intersection Bridge

In the past decade, Network Rail have spent several hundred million pounds completing structure intervention works such as track lowering, bridge jacking or, in extreme cases, full bridge reconstructions, in order to achieve functional clearance from live OLE to bridge soffits.

Andromeda produced a proof of concept report, outlining an approach to provide an acceptable solution to Cardiff Intersection Bridge (CIB) using innovative solutions such as surge arrestors and electrically insulated paint, rather than an expensive civil intervention.

This solution was later developed into a detailed design for CIB and accepted by all stakeholders.

This efficient solution has now become the reference system for implementation on new electrification schemes.

Crossrail Rigid Overhead Catenary – Independent Review

Andromeda were approached by Transport for London and asked to review the Rigid Overhead Catenary (ROC) design used on subsurface sections of the Crossrail project.

This report reviewed the ROC design based on safety, maintainability, performance and operability and provided a list of suggested recommendations to be implemented, designed to allow the OLE system to be operated both safely and effectively.

Interested?

To learn more about our technical authoring services, please get in touch. A member of our team will be happy to help.