Membership 5
CIRO Reach 10,000th Member Milestone
This summer , we were delighted to welcome our 10,000th member , Andrew Love , Head of Train Control & Signalling at SNC-Lavalin Atkins .
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CIRO have a diverse range of rail professionals in our membership and we have been in touch with Andrew to see what brought him to the Institution .
Andrew started his career at London Underground and spent several years in the Passenger Services Directorate as the Signalling Engineer for the Jubilee and East London Lines , where he enjoyed a close relationship with his operating colleagues . Andrew now leads a team of rail control systems engineers .
What made you join CIRO at this point in your career ?
‘ We ’ ve always taken a very operationallyfocussed approach to our work - I regularly tell people that it would be very weird driving a car that had been designed by someone who didn ’ t drive , so why do we think that people who can ’ t operate railways should be allowed to design railways ?
‘ I eventually realised that if the rail control systems that we are specifying , designing
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and integrating were partially performing roles of the operator , I should probably join the professional institution for rail operators as well as the traditional institutions for rail control systems engineers !’
What do you hope to get out of being a member of CIRO ?
“ Good operational practice is constantly evolving in different ways on different types of railway . I want to be able to keep my operating knowledge up-to-date ( and plug a fair few gaps !) and have a view of how the users of railway control systems see the world . Hopefully I can feed what I learn back into the design of railway systems to create infrastructure that assists the operator in doing their job well .“
What benefits do you see in attending CIRO events ?
“ As well as being able to learn from the event topics themselves , I see CIRO ’ s events as an opportunity for informal discussion with others in our industry where we can share the issues that we ’ re facing in our different corners of the
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industry and work out how to help each other . My experience from other institutions is that feedback that you get at institutional events is a lot more direct and honest than what might get said in a more formal setting – and the more useful for it !”
Would you encourage other new members to get involved ?
“ Absolutely ! I ’ ve already encouraged several of my colleagues to join up for exactly the same reasons that I joined .”
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Andrew recently enjoyed attending the New Members ’ Reception , hosted by the South |
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Andrew Love with Ben Rule
East Area Council . Ben Rule FCIRO , CIRO Board member , welcomed Andew and other new members at the reception .
Andrew was delighted to learn that his membership application brought CIRO to 10,000 members and we are equally thrilled to have reached this substantial milestone in the same year that the Institution has been awarded Chartered status . This shows the strength of the membership , who are the driving force of the Institution and without whom the Institution would not exist , so we would also like to thank each of our 10,000 plus members for their continued support .
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Welcome to CIRO ’ s newest Corporate Member , Lumo
Launched from 25th October 2021 , Lumo is a new , 100 % electric rail service owned by FirstGroup that will run up to ten services every day between London King ’ s Cross , Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley along the East Coast Main Line .
It will provide greener and cheaper longdistance travel for over 1 million passengers every year .
Helen Wylde , Director for Lumo commented : “ Travelling by rail is already the greenest form of long-distance travel in the UK . Lumo will take this further , being the ‘ greenest in class ’ with state-of-the-art electric trains and a service to match . We have a commitment to finding greener , smarter and more comfortable ways to get people from A to B - and we welcome everyone ’ s perspective on that .”
Lumo have an extensive focus on staff training and are focused on passenger wellbeing and on-board customer service , harnessing new technology and caring for vulnerable passengers .
“ Our colleagues are encouraged to continually learn and develop with us and will commence an apprenticeship when they join , or are promoted throughout the business , which will allow us all to be the best that we can be . We have a highquality induction programme , mentoring and support in place to set our colleagues up for success from the start . We have an industry leading self-service learning management scheme to encourage self-improvement .”
Matthew Lee , Commercial & Customer Experience Director at Lumo said “ At Lumo , training and personal development is an integral and valuable part of our business . Our colleagues are encouraged to continually learn and develop with us and 90 % of our team are currently undertaking a custom-designed training programme .
“ We have also invested £ 2m in our apprenticeship Training Academy , which aims to develop a fresh thinking generation of rail colleagues focussed on customer experience , sustainability and new technology .
“ I have personally benefited hugely from being involved in CIRO right from when I first joined the industry at the start of my career ; so I ’ m delighted that Lumo has joined CIRO as
Corporate members so that we can share this with our colleagues as we come together to reimagine rail .”
We look forward to working with Lumo and assisting their employees on their career development by supporting them with the many learning resources that are available to members .
“ At Lumo , training and personal development is an integral and valuable part of our business . Our colleagues are encouraged to continually learn and develop with us and 90 % of our team are currently undertaking a custom-designed training programme .”
Keep on top of your Continuing Professional Development ( CPD )
As the Institution has reached its milestone of becoming a Chartered Institution , it seem like a good
Continuing Professional Development Guide
www . ciro . org CIRO Continuing Professional Development Guide v . 1 November 2021 time to remind members of their own CPD opportunities and commitment .
Continuing your development is important for your personal progression as well as being valuable to your employer . Recording and reflecting upon your CPD can help to focus your goals , whether that be to keep your existing skills sharp or to improve your career prospects .
CIRO ' s CPD Policy Statement
‘ Members of the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators have a duty to develop their professional knowledge , skills and competency on a continuing basis and to give all reasonable assistance to further the education , training and continuing professional development of others .’
To aid you with this , enclosed is your copy of the CPD guide , there is some useful information to remind you of why CPD is important and some tips to help you develop and keep on track .
The guide talks through the CPD cycle of planning , doing and reflection and shows how you can use the POD ( Professional Operators Development ) self-assessment tool to kickstart your development .
The Bulletin | Issue 48 | November 2021