CIRO Bulletin May 2022 Issue 49 May 2022 | Page 8

8 Areas

Australia & NZ

CIRO at AusRail

Australia & NZ
Ken Farms CIRO
ANZ Council - State Lead for Queensland
CIRO made its debut at the AusRail Plus exhibition and conference held in Sydney from 28th February until 2nd March 2022 .
AusRail Stand with ANZ council members
Representatives from the CIRO ANZ Council manned a stand in the exhibition hall where they were able to share information on the value that CIRO membership brings to individuals and organisations .
CIRO was also well represented in presentations and conference sessions across the conference with ANZ Council Members Steve Butcher FIRO ( John Holland ), Tilly Loughborough ACIRO ( Metro Trains Melbourne ) and Chris Carson ( Keolis Downer ) having slots on the conference program .
The highlight of the event was the CIRO sponsored session in the Jacobs Innovation Hub where Nigel Jenkins , ANZ Council Chair , facilitated an insightful discussion between CIRO members Steve Butcher FIRO , Tilly Loughborough ACIRO and Huw Bridges MCIRO ( Transdev ) on how CIRO can help address the identified skills gap in the Australia and New Zealand rail industry .
When asked about the current landscape of rail in Australia and New Zealand , Steve said “ I think it ’ s a really exciting time for people coming into the industry . Not only because in the construction side and rail infrastructure services we are going to be
building railways , but [ also ] being part of an operational environment . The Chartered Institution of Railway Operators is able to expand on that knowledge , that skill set and best practice around the world in railway operations .”
Tilly went on to say “ In Victoria alone , the amount of projects and money being spent on infrastructure and what the new railway is becoming is fantastic . We want to spread that to people coming out of colleges and universities to get them excited about what the possibilities of career development can be . I think we can find that channel through the CIRO . We can provide that opportunity to link people in and make sure they know where they can make those connections and push them in the right way with the right information into roles that they may not otherwise have thought about , they may then be encouraged into those roles .”
Huw added “ One of the problems that I see is with some of the automated railways with much fewer staff , the staff are focused on

“ It was a pleasure to facilitate this session .

There was a lively discussion between the panel members , and it allowed us to spread the word about benefits of CIRO membership .”

Nigel Jenkins ANZ Council Chair
customer service but it ’ s still a railway and it still has railway operating issues and all of the people need to understand how the operation works together because , as we all know , railways are like an onion , we can peel back layer after layer of complexity , but you need to have staff who are knowledgeable and understand how the operation runs so that when there is an issue , they can address it correctly , take the right action safely and restore service , thereby delivering the customer expectation .”
Speaking afterwards Nigel said , “ It was a pleasure to facilitate this session . There was a lively discussion between the panel members , and it allowed us to spread the word about benefits of CIRO membership .”

Coming Soon ... CIRO Collaborate

Connect , Discuss , Develop .
Later this year , CIRO will be launching CIRO Collaborate , a collection of community interest groups available exclusively to members .
Collaboration is key to our membership group and is at the heart of what we do . Collaboration helps us power into new projects , work out what is wrong with legacy systems and helps us transition to better things .
Using CIRO ’ s Sharepoint platform , we are developing a free space for all members to connect over shared work interests , collaborate on projects , and meet others with relevant interests from around the globe , meet colleagues and join in conversations .
It will give CIRO members the power to create their professional home . Topicbased text channels based around POD sections initially , give us an organized way to set up the initial talk areas . Members can take on that structure or suggest new group ideas . It ’ s not a political site , it ’ s a platform for collegiate questioning , searching , discussion and sharing and you can take part as much or as little as you want to whenever you want to . Remember though – that what you have in your head may be very useful to others so please stay on a little bit longer to give back !
AusRail Innovation Hub
Further information
Find out more about the ANZ council and watch the recent panel discussion from AusRail on our website www . ciro . org / australia-new-zealand /
The CIRO Collaborate initiative is in a short queue of digital enhancements back at the CIRO base and we hope to be able to launch it over the summer of 2022 . We are excited to welcome members to join and engage with CIRO Collaborate so look out for updates on it ’ s progress throughout the year !

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Chartered Institution of Railway Operators
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‘ Chartered Institution of Railway Operators ’ @ CIRO _ UK