The Qatari construction industry cultivates and develops an excellent domestic knowledge base whilst attracting some of the best experts from all over the world. A concentration of this standard of expertise has resulted in some of the most impressive construction achievements in the Middle East. The ability of countries in the Middle East, notably Qatar, to set new benchmarks and in many cases pioneer the latest technological advancements in the construction sector is a great motivation for companies to keep improving their capacity to support this market.
A vital and growing section of the construction industry is the light and heavy rail sector. These projects are essential for establishing, improving, and eventually determining the future for any country’s internal infrastructure, and their access to international markets. I have been involved with rail projects for decades and I must confess that whilst I have enjoyed all of the projects upon which I have worked, rail programmes are very close to my heart. Rail projects, of course, are subject to idiosyncratic problems that you would never encounter on any other sort of build programme, which is part of what makes it all so very interesting.
As Qatar has a vested interest in domestic rail performance and rail projects occurring in the wider Gulf region it is important for businesses to respond to this issue and support the country. My close friend, and Chief Executive Officer of the FM Sudafix Group, Steve Hutchinson has spearheaded the development and launch of a range of products specifically to support rail projects. Steve has made his hopes clear from the outset of the initiative: “We embrace new opportunities and a key issue for our organization is redefining ourselves in the eyes of the Qatari market. It is ironic in a way because we are long established and renowned in the rail sector in Europe, and have been very active both in terms of service and product provision on a number of significant rail projects such as the Manchester Metrolink (UK) and Dublin LUAS (Ireland). On numerous projects we are preferred suppliers of practical, easy to install products such as rail bonds, rail cable, VLDs (Voltage Limiting Devices), SPDs (Surge Protection Devices) and many others; all of them obviously meet the robust performance demands of rail projects.”
Issues that may challenge Qatari rail interests include creating safe earthing systems for substations, platforms, cubicles and signalling, whilst ensuring that a robust earth bonding design has been undertaken to mitigate the dangers in cases of unforeseen de-wirement of the overhead line. Earth bonding designs for rail applications should make provision for items that may fall within the potential de-wirement area, or the running path of a carriage, which in the rail sector is referred to as the DKE, or dynamic kinematic envelope. An essential consideration for any rail project is that of the hazards presented by stray electrical current.
Projects may refer to stray current in different ways, but essentially it is when electrical current leaks from the rails, usually due to poor insulation. When direct current discharges from the rail it will seek conductive materials in the ground in a comparable way that lightning seeks conductive elements. If stray current discharges through an underground conductive element it is likely to corrode that item; this can include foundations, bridge supports and many others, and the damage caused can be disastrous. On one project where I was brought in to identify and rectify stray current issues I discovered a twenty-four inch gas main was corroding due to stray current that was discharging over a kilometre and a half away; that could have led to an explosion that would have been a catastrophe. It was also completely avoidable.
Adapting to the demands of Qatari rail concerns is not easy and will be dependent on companies sourcing the appropriate level of experience. In all of the many projects with which I have held responsibility for the electrical safety of the installation team and every future user of a rail scheme I have learned valuable lessons and companies wishing to become involved with these projects cannot take the decision lightly; the consequences of making a mistake could be loss of life on a staggering scale so any company making the move to rail have to sufficiently resource their knowledge base. That is a broader point for any business leader whose company operates in the Qatari construction industry; to survive and thrive it is absolutely essential that enterprises respond to the ever developing market in a meaningful way. All companies make claims relating to continual improvement, making those statements are a vital part of obtaining and retaining ISO 9001 accreditation, but these statements need to be backed by conviction, and even more importantly, action and ensuring that an appropriate knowledge base is obtained.
Ultimately the proving ground for the various claims made by companies is what happens in the market place. Organizations that claim to innovate, to develop and improve have to be able to demonstrate that. Steve Hutchinson feels very strongly about this issue and recently gave a seminar in the UK about this issue. “Meaningful change, such as that we constantly see at the FM Sudafix Group, is not an easy process. Determining new opportunities to enhance any aspect of an organisation, whilst ensuring that business continuity is sustained, then managing the transition and delivering it to market is a challenging endeavour, but for a company like ours we see it as essential to our continual expansion in Qatar, the Middle East, indeed the global market. Because we put so much resource behind it at FM Sudafix, it is disappointing when other organisations make comparable claims but then do not do anything to commence and manage change.
“A lot of the times the reason for the disparity between those claims made and actual performance is due to their marketing departments or public relations partners. These people have to say something and frequently they make throwaway statements that sound impressive but are ultimately misleading or at least not fully substantiated. In truth the most frustrating thing to witness in business is watching long established companies, who have grown and expanded over many years and whose customer base is largely sustained through project buyers following habits, decide that they would like to see an improvement in their business prospects but then do not do anything to change it. Change does not come about through repeating the same process and expecting different results. There are some big players guilty of this, but thankfully we are not one of them,” Steve Hutchinson recently commented.
Making the move into the rail sector is likely to be a rewarding experience for any organization, but I would encourage business leaders to fully evaluate the environment and challenges that face rail projects. With my career’s worth of experience, whether gained through direct responsibility for electrical safety from the outset of a project, or on occasions when my team and I have been brought in to undertake remedial design and re-specification to get a technical aspect right where others have underperformed, or more sadly when an active rail system has failed due to poor performance by others and we are brought in for immediate problem identification and rectification, I have always taken my responsibilities seriously. Qatar demands the best, and companies have to deliver this.
