Achieving New Heights in Rail Project Management: The AtkinsRéalis x innDex Effect
CLIENT: AtkinsRéalis
SECTOR: Rail
DIVISION: Signalling
AtkinsRéalis, a leading global engineering and design consultancy, has made significant strides in improving project management, communication, and safety across their signalling division through the use of innDex. AtkinsRéalis’ signalling division primarily operates in the rail sector, where safety, efficiency, and timely project delivery are paramount.
Seeking to streamline their operations and leverage technological advancements, AtkinsRéalis embraced innDex as their preferred software solution, and have now deployed it across their entire signalling division.
After using innDex first hand for over two years, we thought it was probably a good time to have a chat with Steve Woodman (Construction Practice Manager @ AtkinsRéalis) to find out how things are going.
Here’s what he had to say…
"innDex has really changed the way we run our sites. Everyone quickly noticed its [innDex] simplicity and realised that it made their day-to-day reporting so much easier. We were initially worried about how the workforce would react to a new system being introduced but to be honest, it's been pretty seamless. The innDex team are always on hand to help and carry out training as and when we need."
THE CHALLENGE
“innDex has really changed the way we run our sites. Our initial brief to innDex was to improve:
1. Our induction process – which was previously paper based and time consuming.
2. The attendance records and visibility of our site workforce. With paper sheets, operatives needed to travel to a central access point to sign in before their workplace. This not only wasted time but also contributed significantly to environmental harm. Moreover, paper sign in sheets also make it hard for management who aren’t on site to track who’s there.
3. The way we delivered briefings – Previously, the process relied solely on paper-based methods. Therefore a supervisor needs to gather briefing sheets from the office before traveling to the site and subsequently returning to drop them off. This approach not only consumed valuable time but also contributed significantly to paper waste.
4. Our daily shift and progress reporting process. We were having to chase supervisors to send over their reports. Reports were then often coming back incomplete with inaccurate information.
5. Observations & Close Calls (the near misses of the rail sector) were raised via cards on site. A significant issue I encounter with this process is the gap between filling out the card and its collection. Specially, this causes delays in actioning it.
We were initially worried about how the workforce would react to a new system being introduced but to be honest, it’s been pretty seamless. The innDex team are always on hand to help and carry out training as and when we need. Everyone quickly realised its [innDex] simplicity and realised that it made their day-to-day reporting so much easier.
When we really got our teeth into the system we realised that there was so much more beyond our initial brief that innDex could offer which we have over time incorporated into our onsite processes.”
Site Inductions and Mobile Clock-In
“This has been a major win. To begin with, staff can complete the online induction even before stepping foot on site. This consequently saves every one up to 2 hours on their first day.”
innDex competency management assures that all site operatives hold proper training and qualification for the task they will work on. It’s good from compliance perspective since having the right person for the job ensures the team works more productively.
Upon arrival on site, all operatives clock in with innDex. The app gives directions to the site access points which can often be hard to find and the integration of geo-fencing ensures that operatives are within the site location before they clock in (this verifies that they are actually in the work area).
“innDex gives us a real-time picture of who we have on site, their location and also figures and stats regarding sustainability such as travel carbon tracking and mapping of local workforce.”
Enhanced safety Culture
“innDex has revolutionised Observation & Incident Reporting for us. The implementation has resulted in a 105% increase in the number of Close Calls (the Near Misses of the Rail sector) reported since adopting their digital solution.
This surge in incident reporting highlights our improved safety culture. Particularly, the workforce now actively contributes to identifying and mitigating potential risks, resulting in a safer site.
As an owner (discipline) is allocated to each close call it is easy to focus on close out rate. In addition to observations, we have moved our safety briefings over to innDex. Work Package Plans, Task Briefing Sheets & Toolbox Talks are all carried out digitally on innDex.” This means that all site operatives have access to them as and when they need and supervisors can check then and there if people are signed onto the briefings and ready to carry out the tasks at hand.
“Turning digital with our briefings has also negated the need for supervisors to travel to the office to pick up the paperwork before returning to site as briefings are added from the office by management and can be accessed instantly from anywhere on any device.”
Real-Time Communication
“innDex’s Site Messaging tool has proven extremely useful.
This tool facilitates real-time communication across the project teams. In other words, it allows us to get messages and announcements to the whole team instantly at a click of a button. This can be something as simple as a weather warning, briefing from the client or even a training video.
innDex tells us when messages are read and understood and if they haven’t been opened the person can be prompted.
A good example for us has been when a team is working a night shift. It is possible to leave night colleagues a message for important work information, without having to get in direct contact.
Site Documentation
“Beyond the initial brief, we are now using innDex for much of our site documentation. A couple of real big wins for us has been using innDex for our Daily Diaries & Progress Reporting – a major benefit being the time-saving aspect. The Daily Diaries tool allows us to prepopulate and automate much of the data entry which alone is saving each site on average 15 hours per week and results in the reports coming back complete and consistent – a vast improvement on the paper based sheets.
The Diary entries integrate directly into the Progress Reporting tool and together give the whole management team full visibility of what’s happening on the ground in real-time which has been great for tracking activities and progress, allowing us to plan more effectively and be more efficient.
With currently just under 7,000 photos on innDex for just one of our projects, we can visualise the project progression every step of the way from the first spade in ground to the day we hand over to the client. When carrying out my full review of innDex, I found that from these 2 tools alone, we have saved over 49,000 pieces of paper which equates to around 5 trees, and this number is growing every single day. From the documentation perspective, innDex has not only resulted in massive savings, it has also proved invaluable for audits, inspections, and historical reference.
per project per week
AtkinsRéalis' signalling division's adoption of innDex has resulted in numerous benefits, transforming our project management practices.
The software's geofencing capabilities for clocking in and out, daily reporting functionalities, real-time communication, incident reporting enhancements, and site documentation tools have collectively elevated AtkinsRéalis' operational efficiency and safety standards.
With innDex now ingrained in their processes, Atkins continues to set new benchmarks in the rail industry, demonstrating the power of technology-driven solutions in achieving project success. innDex is a one stop system that replaces all the varied documents we used to have in one place it is easy to access the information you require quickly.
