After launching its new brand, Ezi Access, in late 2022, Ezi Klamp is on a mission to streamline the design and installation of access structures for rail. Speaking to Rail Business Daily, key account manager Gavin Biggs reflects on the industry’s drive to make project delivery more efficient – and explains how optimising and expediting even relatively straightforward works can have a real impact on an organisation’s bottom line
The complete package
A trusted partner to the rail industry, handrail and barrier specialist Ezi Klamp brought its access solutions together under one brand, Ezi Access, last year. Today, its range includes platform extensions, access platforms, driver walkways, signal platforms and embankment stairs, typically made from glass reinforced plastic (GRP) (a non-conductive material, ideal for electrified lines.)
While Ezi Klamp continues to enhance its Ezi Access product range, the company’s focus is now on developing and streamlining its processes. Providing what Gavin calls a “complete design solution”, its team can conduct surveys, deliver and sign off a design, and even handle the necessary paperwork for clients.
“Contractors would come to us for help with design work, but then explain that they were still waiting for a survey to be carried out,” Gavin explained. “So we said, ‘why don’t we do it for you – and take the other responsibilities off your hands, too?’
“What you get from us is the full package; we can even source materials. All you need to do is arrange the build.”
Gavin added that, while clients may have the funds to replace or enhance safety-critical access structures, larger projects often take precedence. Ezi Klamp’s turnkey approach makes these less complex but nevertheless-essential access projects easier to deliver, reducing delays and expediting the design process.
Gavin explained: “It’s all about making life easier for contractors. One good example is Dyer & Butler in South Wales; it had a remit to deliver tunnel portal access steps and came to us at the back end of last year.
“Within a month or so, we’d been out on site, assessed a few locations and come up with some concept designs.”
With Ezi Klamp overseeing the entire pre-construction phase of a project, issues are also less likely to arise as it progresses.
“We can take a design and produce our own manufacturing drawings from that,” he said. “Because we’ve been involved in the design process, there’s no toing and froing at that stage – no risk of realising that something can’t be manufactured and an alternative layout is needed. We iron out those issues at an early stage.”
Gavin added that this kind of ‘complete package’ solution has clear benefits for contractors, enabling them to deliver projects quickly, cost-effectively, and in line with Network Rail’s new SPEED approach.
Proactive and in-person
Indeed, with the industry striving to “get the most out of every pound it puts in the ground”, Gavin suggested that suppliers should take a more personal approach to projects, big and small.
“We’ve found that meeting people face-to-face rather than relying on emails speeds up the process,” he explained. “You can discuss in a meeting what it would take two months to communicate in an email chain.”
He believes that proactivity and joined-up thinking are equally important, adding: “part of our approach is to be proactive, think about how we can move things forward, talk to all the main parties and be a central point for those discussions.
“Rather than the contractor having to deal with all the individual parties, we’ll take that off them and run the project.”
Right-first-time solutions
Ezi Klamp’s knowledge of rail industry standards means that it can look beyond the design stages of a project, considering buildability and ease of construction. This has led to the development of innovative access solutions, like the company’s adjustable steps.
“We’ve developed a small bracket which enables structures to be adjusted on site,” he explained. “That’s been really helpful for the team installing them, because if they get onsite and things aren’t quite as they expected, they can adjust the steps to suit rather than having to contact the manufacturers.”
This feature helps contractors to avoid costly delays, instead delivering a right-first-time access solution that will keep rail workers safe.
Partnerships for efficiency
Gavin added that, in future, collaboration will be key to realising new efficiencies and getting it ‘right first time’, on smaller as well as large-scale projects.
Ezi Klamp itself recently partnered with a small, relatively new company, CTS design and engineering services, which uses a handheld Lidar system to produce detailed scans. Gavin explained that traditional methods of conducting topographical surveys can be both time-consuming and at times problematic, making it difficult to get the detail required – which may lead to queries and oversights. Lidar technology provides comprehensive, three-dimensional scans.
“With a full picture of the environment, we’re eliminating those delays, and just speeding things up overall,” he commented. “And because they’re a small team, they can usually carry out scans within seven days of a request coming in.”
It’s all part of Ezi Klamp’s agile, forward-looking approach to delivering access solutions – one with collaboration at its heart.
“The community spirit between contractors, partners, and all those involved in infrastructure has been really powerful in driving innovation and improvement,” he concluded. “I think this should definitely continue, maybe becoming formalised so that we can work together to deliver projects more efficiently.”
Photo credit: Ezi Access
