Ensuing high levels of safe working in and around the rail corridor is crucial and Downer has an excellent track record in embedding smart methods to manage the unique and critical safety aspects of rail projects.
The award-winning Trentham to Upper Hutt rail project, saw Downer pioneer several digital solutions in partnership with KiwiRail and Aurecon. The project received the 2021 Engineering Innovation Award in recognition of the creative and innovative digital solutions used to optimise safety, productivity, collaboration and risk management, which are now standard practice in the industry.
The Trentham to Upper Hutt project involved the double tracking of 2.7km of the Hutt Valley line between Trentham and the Upper Hutt stations, enabling trains to move simultaneously in both directions.
An innovative first at the time, Downer developed and implemented the digital shield to manage the worker and moving machinery interface and safety risks. The digital shield works like a force field. Using a laser scanner, a virtual twin of the physical environment is created. The scanner surveys the environment and collects millions of points of data to build a 3D digital model. A digital file is created and sent to a GPS-linked computer onboard the excavator. Using GPS, the machine knows when it is close to the shield and if the machine touches the shield, it will shut down, preventing the operator from going any further. This also ensures the machine operates in accordance with the safe working distances outlined in issued rail permits. Digital shields have now been adopted as a standard operating procedure for working safely in and around the rail corridor for Kiwi Rail.
Another digital solution showcased in the Trentham to Upper Hutt project, was the use of BIM 3D modelling across the design and construction stages to improve risk management and manage design interfaces. 3D modelling is now mandated across Kiwirail projects and used to ensure robust risk management and achieve optimal productivities and quality outcomes.
