Over the past decade, Systematiq has supported a variety of Australian rail industry clients, including Metro Trains Melbourne, Downer, Strategic Connections Group, and Rail Projects Victoria.
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) recently unveiled its Strategic Plan for the 2022-2025 period, shedding light on the present and future landscape of the Australian rail industry.
In the report, skill shortages are highlighted as a ‘critical issue’ for the rail industry in the upcoming years. According to research undertaken by the ARA and Infrastructure Australia, there exist workforce gaps of ‘up to 70,000 skilled workers’ and that the ‘skills demand will be 48 per cent higher than supply’ in this year alone.
Along with the ongoing digitalisation and development of new technologies in rail, the need for skilled workers, especially in technical and engineering roles, has never been higher.
To address these concerns, consulting companies such as Systematiq are providing services to rail companies to help plug these capability gaps.
As the ARA Strategic Plan has highlighted, specialised expert support is becoming increasingly hard to find as the rail industry grows.
Many rail companies find themselves faced with these workforce holes to fill at some point in a project’s lifespan, where their existing staff lack the capacity or expertise to effectively meet project milestones.
According to Systematiq director Brydon Johnson, this is where the business provides invaluable support, with a diverse pool of experienced technical practitioners and consultants helping to provide a variety of services to suit all business needs.
About Systematiq
Johnson said Systematiq was a rail and defence consulting company dedicated to moving its clients’ projects forward, providing flexible and scalable services across every phase of a rail project lifecycle.
“With experience in providing support to operators, maintainers, constructors, and asset managers in the light, passenger and construction sectors, Systematiq is an expert in rail industry processes and procedures, specialising in the delivery of discrete work via the provision of overflow and flex resources,” he said.
He said Systematiq’s talented and experienced staff possessed decades of experience within the rail industry, and were equipped to provide support across a range of rail industry services in the areas of:
· Project procurement, such as tender writing, market analysis, capture planning, and executive overviews
· Systems engineering and assurance, including the development of V&V programs, risk management, and hazard management
· Project management, including the development of project plans, work breakdown structures, contract management, and project reporting
· Asset management and through-life support, such as RAMS analysis, life cycle costing, logistics support analysis, and technical documentation
· Supplier development and local industry development capability, including the planning, developing and implementing of local industry development plans
Systematiq’s Clients
Over the past decade, Systematiq has supported a variety of Australian rail industry clients, including Metro Trains Melbourne, Downer, Strategic Connections Group, and Rail Projects Victoria.
Downer
Downer Rail engaged the services of Systematiq to assist with meeting project requirements for RAM engineering on a new rolling stock project.
Systematiq was able to provide Downer with RAM practitioners at short notice, enabling them to meet the project deadlines for the new rolling stock project reviews.
General manager Richard Rao highlights the value Systematiq brought to his project: “Through the engagement, I found the Systematiq staff to be helpful and integrated easily into our existing project team. Their responsiveness ensured I didn’t suffer any schedule delay due to the RAM requirements.”
Metro Trains Melbourne
Systematiq has supported MTM since 2017, initially through the delivery of safety assurance products, and more recently in project and technical deliverables.
This work continues to achieve successful results, especially when Systematiq is involved early in the scoping activity.
Program delivery manager Lloyd Salas said that Systematiq was also proficient in picking up a project or program deliverable at the latter stages of implementation and achieving the desired outcome within the timeframe provided.
“Systematiq consultants present well and demonstrate a commitment and enthusiasm to the task on hand,” he said.
“The most notable attributes of the company are the flexibility of its consultants and management to adapt to changing priorities and requirements as well as the degree of transparency in relation to cost and tasking.”
If your rail project is lagging behind, struggling to meet delivery milestones, or requires additional expert support, contact Systematiq today.
