New Head of Delivery for England sets sights on boosting protection on the frontline

Infrastructure support service provider SWGR has recently announced the appointment of a New Head of Delivery for England.

Joe Collins (who took up the position in early September) joins the business from Network Rail, where he was a senior leader.

Drawing on 20 years of experience in the rail industry, possession management specialist Joe will support SWGR’s drive to professionalise the infrastructure support services market and invest in frontline resources – with a particular focus on protection.

Joe joined the rail industry as a delivery assistant and went on to gain experience in a variety of roles – including lead planner and operations delivery manager (ODM). He worked on projects throughout the Northwest, and served as ODM for the West Coast Route Modernisation Project.

After spending six years as a senior ODM in the Northwest, he was appointed Head of Planning for the Central region.

In his new role with SWGR, Joe will focus on protection for possession management and isolations services – an area he believes should be further professionalised.

He explained: “I’m a big believer in professional protection teams for possession management; it’s all safety-critical, and the industry must professionalise it. The lack of stability for frontline staff doesn’t help, leading to a revolving door situation.

“We want to create this stability – and an environment in which the protection teams’ sole focus is keeping frontline employees safe every day.

“In addition to the safety elements that stability brings, it will enable us to work with our clients to maximise any efficiency opportunities that exist in the process, between when possessions have been taken to when they have been given up – of which there are many.”

Joe added that upskilling the workforce could help to address this instability, leading to new opportunities for staff and greater flexibility for the industry.

“There are many different auxiliary protection duties within possession management and isolations,” he said. “If we train colleagues in these areas, clients can come to us for a full professional protection team, rather than consulting different companies for different competencies.

“My ambition is to build on a protection team that offers reliable safety with flexibility for customer demand – and over the next 12 months, I’ll work to motivate the workforce and help them understand this vision. If we can prove our commitment to frontline staff, they will commit to the industry. SWGR has a strong safety track record and has significant levels of professionalism, and I am looking forward to building on their strong reputation nationwide.”

Discussing the new appointment, SWGR’s Group Managing Director, Raj Sinha, said: “We’re excited to welcome Joe to the team. He is hugely respected in the industry for his energy, his drive, his intent to innovate, and his commitment to developing the next generation of railway protection colleagues.

“We share his vision, recognising that the industry needs to further invest in frontline resources. The payback will be huge.”

Photo credit: SWGR

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