Merseyrail has one of the highest patronages in the UK, outside
of the South East/London Commuter lines with more than 30 million
journeys per year. Despite this, investment to the network has been
minimal; the operator runs a fleet of 59 refurbished electrical
multiple units which are rapidly approaching the end of their
serviceable life.
Performance and public perception of Merseyrail was compounded
by media coverage continuously reporting "Misery-rail delivers
again". Maintenance costs for the network continued to escalate and
economic conditions were unfavorable in the long-term, with
Merseyrail facing a downturn in both concession and fare-box
revenue.
Merseyrail engaged GHD as a leader in business transformation,
and the management of transit systems. The initial project was to
provide guidance and direction, yet since 2008, GHD has acted in
the capacity of delivery partner for the company’s business
transformation program, AMIP (Asset Management Improvement
Program).
GHD recognised the challenges faced by Merseyrail and the
difficulties with changing the 'hearts and minds' of an
organisation who had previously undertaken several unsuccessful
change programs.
GHD undertook a maturity assessment of Merseyrail’s Asset
Management capability using its proprietary Total Enterprise Asset
Management Quality Framework (TEAMQF) assessment model. The model
provided a holistic view of the Merseyrail asset management
‘system’ against the requirements of PAS-55:2008 and the Beyond PAS
requirements as set out by the Institute of Asset Management. The
assessment considered the full lifecycle of the asset, the people
and organisation, processes and practices, technology, data,
information and assurance. The exercise provided Merseyrail with a
prioritised set of projects for achieving strategic goals for fleet
reliability and delivery efficiency and for meeting the
requirements for PAS-55:2008 certification.
Following the initial assessment, the AMIP initiative set out a
delivery framework for the projects identified in the gap
assessment. GHD used the 'Total Business Change' process to both
guide delivery and support implementation.
Over a two-year period, GHD has delivered a program of
management and supervisor-level competence development in asset
management, against the requirements of the Institute of Asset
Management’s Competency Framework. GHD has developed and
implemented an asset hierarchy and register and connected this to a
defect management system, a wheelset management system and is
currently in the process of delivering a store and work management
system.
GHD is currently in the process of integrating Merseyrail’s
Environment, Quality, Safety and Asset Management Systems into an
Integrated Fleet Management System - another industry
first.
Through the delivery of AMIP, Merseyrail have been able to
realise benefits immediately. It is now frequently the top
performing train operator in its class, with an 84% improvement in
performance against industry public performance measures. The
company has won several awards for improved service delivery.
The AMIP benefits realisation plan sets out an aspirate 20%
saving on operational expenditure, and early signs suggest this is
achievable.
Kevin Thomas, Engineering Director of Merseyrail has said, "AMIP
is a critical program for Merseyrail. Without it, we will struggle
to reliably introduce the service capacity changes needed on the
Merseyrail network. This program will support us to develop
Merseyrail into a world-class service provider. GHD has provided
Merseyrail with the necessary direction, leadership and delivery
support to make this happen."