Digital solutions for the rail industry to improve productivity, reduce risk and cost

Digital technology specialists 3Squared has been going from strength to strength in recent years.

It is a reputation which has accelerated in recent months, with a combination of awards and new product developments with major contract wins with the likes of HS2, Network Rail and East Midlands Railways.

It’s led to the bolstering of the team through an increased focus on recruitment and a newly refurbished office in the centre of Sheffield.

The company’s Commercial Director James Fox has written an article for railbusinessdaily.com about the success and future plans. It was James who co-founded 3Squared with Managing Director Tim Jones after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University in 2002.

“Central to our successful growth is our passionate and highly skilled team and the ongoing development of flagship product RailSmart. We have developed a team with a shared commitment to the rail industry and actively encourage them to regularly attend events, join speaking panels and contribute to sector media titles.

Since our inception, Tim and I have championed collaboration across the industry to drive innovation and new ways of working. We have a longstanding partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, which we use to introduce new interns to the industry each year, we are also committed to forming new alliances that help secure competition funding for innovations and advancements in technology.

It is easy to say that collaboration has been intrinsic to 3Squared’s growth and success over the years. Official working collaborations and alliances have led to new projects and opportunities in recent months, highlighting just how important those highly developed relationships are.

We believe strongly in the role of industry events and associations like RIA, RSSB, YRP and RFG, which helps the 3Squared team stay connected to the challenges and pressure points faced by the industry, and we are able to work with that knowledge to develop suitable solutions.

Perceiving an ever-increasing focus on the digitalisation of the railway, we have made an investment of over £1m to further enhance 3Squared RailSmart products during the past year. Developments have seen an increase in functionality and added enhancements to the user experience of our products, which existing customers like East Midland Railway and LNER are already taking advantage of.

The investment has also allowed for our brand new RailSmart Virtual Campus to become a reality and has aided the enhanced development of BulkSmart, a brand-new client / customer facing platform that uses the RailSmart system to seamlessly integrate into the operational railway. BulkSmart has been developed with new client and HS2 direct contractors Skanska Costain STRABAG JV (SCS JV) in mind to tackle challenges which we know they will face.

The timely release of the RailSmart Virtual Campus will further enable RailSmart customers to make the most of the system, providing access to a blend of training tools including eLearning modules, virtual instructor led training, micro-simulation and other interactive content.

In addition, in lieu of some of the major physical rail events this year, the team at 3Squared are busy organising a RailSmart Virtual Roadshow for October. The two-day event, Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 October, will bring together key stakeholders and partners from across the rail industry, to drive engaging discussions and encourage ideas on how RailSmart can be further utilised to deliver the railway of the future.

I am pleased to add that our guest speakers will include Luisa Moisio, R&D Programme Director at RSSB who will be discussing the new Rail Technology Strategy and Maggie Simpson, Director General at the Rail Freight Group, who will be speaking about new ways of working in Freight. If you would like to join us please visit https://3squared.com/blog/railsmart-virtual-roadshow-13-14th-october to find out more and book your place.”

James Fox, 3Squared, Commercial Director, www.3squared.com

For today’s rail news from railbusinessdaily.com click here.

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