Jenny Dempsey, Diamond Rail’s Business Development Director, talks to RBD to reflect on a year of achievements and learnings and looks to 2023 with an exciting new service offering to bring to the industry:
As I reflect on a busy 2022 for Diamond Rail Services there are plenty of great achievements and learning that come to mind. Firstly, our achievements- Our Front of House initiative and offering has continued to delight customers, with new customers coming on board.
Our focus on the end customer environment and completing a scope of tasks that truly contribute to this has been well received by all stakeholders. Our Front of House Service has also been modified to serve dilapidation repairs on two fleets, and our accompanying reporting system which includes before and after photographs is a great way to show issues being closed.
2022 saw us receive the great news of a significant project award from Hitachi for a turnkey solution and mobilisation began for the Class 395 Refurbishment. The scope of this contract includes interior painting, powder coating, floor covering replacement and seat refurbishment as well as fire testing and a solution for toilet floor repairs. We have expanded our solutions approach across the board to include services from engineering design through to installation and certification for customers.
Our team has also seen some changes, with new appointments to help us progress with our ambitions. Their open minded approach to change is what has made our diversification and the challenges associated with this feel seamless. The team made advances in our Quality System and processes taking us from good to great. The addition of Sara Pierrepont as our Head of Projects in December has been instrumental to this, as she productively challenges the team to grow.
I personally have enjoyed adding team development to my role, as I believe this does absolutely form part of the Business Development responsibilities. Coaching and self-development is something that I value and have a keen interest in outside of work, so I am very grateful to be able to bring it into my remit. Starting with the basics, I worked with the team to revisit our company vision and values together and to align them for our collective journey ahead. I am particularly looking forward to seeing how the people piece progresses.
So, what is in store for Diamond Rail for 2023?
January has certainly been a positive and encouraging start to the year for Diamond Rail. We have refurbished our site in Sheffield, making advances in Health and Safety processes and Quality Assurance with the whole team and there has been a flurry of customer meetings on expanded workstreams.
We have also started our Inspired Learning journey with business coach Emma Dechoux. This is a program that runs for six months and will give our management team and directors one to one coaching and group sessions to increase our productivity working as a team. I believe things like insights are so important, especially within a small team. For example, it is useful that my team understand that I am not a “morning person” and after 10am is when you’ll get me at my best.
When times are challenging, we can fall into the trap of crunching numbers when actually it is the people in the business that will really make a difference to its performance.
2023 will see the start of our 395 Hitachi refurbishment project. It will be very rewarding to see the completion of some units later this year. We are hopeful of further refurbishment projects turning on this year with Diamond supplying our expertise as well as standalone solutions that arise for train interiors.
Our cleaning provision is also expanding as we continue to consult on customer experience, with cleaning being a huge part of this. We are speaking to multiple customers about turnkey cleaning provisions, which will be a really interesting area of our offering to watch unfold.
Perhaps the most exciting development is the introduction of our sister company to Rail. CTL Seal supplies fabrication and welding primarily to the Oil, Gas and Marine industry. The firm’s skilled and coded welders are set to be a great asset and we work towards bringing them into the rail industry. This will enable Diamond Rail to further expand our turnkey approach to customer requirements.
My personal belief is that with hard work and great values anything you envision is achievable. This is a mindset I continue to share with the team and as we grow together I believe truly anything is possible.
To learn more about Diamond Rail Services, visit https://www.diamondrail.co.uk
0113 2082620
info@railbusinessdaily.com
15 Mariner Court, Wakefield WF4 3FL
