01.06.14
PWI corporate membership initiative
Source: Rail Technology Magazine June/July 2014
Alison Stansfield, communications director at the Permanent Way Institution (PWI), explains the new corporate membership scheme.
At Infrarail on 21 May 2014, the PWI and its first two corporate members celebrated the initiation of corporate membership of the Institution.
PWI president Steve Whitmore presented corporate membership certificates to senior representatives of Network Rail and London Underground on the Institution’s stand.
Steve Featherstone, Network Rail’s programme director for track, accepted his company’s certificate. He said: “The PWI has existed since 1884 providing technical advice and best practice to track engineers and project managers. This is as relevant today as it has been for the past 130 years.”
George McInulty, LU programme director of infrastructure, and Andrew Jinks, LU head of asset strategy & development, received their organisation’s certificate from Steve Whitmore. McInulty spoke of there being a void where there should be a framework for the development, formal qualification and recognition of track engineers.
He sees this as the key area into which the PWI needs to develop its activities in order to meet current requirements. Jinks endorsed this but added that he wants to see much closer links between his company and others, particularly Network Rail, for the sharing of knowledge and the development of best practice. The Institution is well placed, as an independent expert forum, to drive this forward.
Whitmore and PWI chief executive David Packer welcomed these remarks as totally supporting the vision that the Institution has for its future. The commitment of the industry to work with the PWI in developing products and services that add real value to the rail industry is hugely valuable.
Corporate members will be represented on the PWI’s Technical Board, giving them the ability to influence the Institution’s direction and, importantly, a stake in its success. The PWI has already had enquiries from other potential corporate members and is very keen to ensure they are representative of the whole rail infrastructure sector. This will ensure that the Institution safeguards and develops its position as a respected independent source of knowledge, held for the benefit of all.
The PWI is also pressing ahead with plans for professional registration of rail infrastructure engineers. It expects to be able to offer registration for appropriately experienced and qualified engineers within two years. It is felt that this will be particularly relevant for Engineering Technicians and Incorporated Engineers. There are many highly skilled and experienced engineers in the rail industry who don’t have the benefit of recognition of their professionalism. The PWI, with the help of the industry, is on course to change that for good.
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