Business profile
Contact Ground Control
Formed in 1973, commercial landscaper Ground Control has expanded into a nationally recognised organisation working in a variety of sectors including rail
M
any of the company’s rail contract and project managers came into the business after working
in electrical utility arboriculture and commercial woodland environments, where forward planning and cyclical maintenance operations are essential tools in managing vegetation around electrical distribution systems and woodland estates.
Specifically the organisation has an active vegetation management framework contract that covers all of Network Rail’s routes and is served by strategically located managers and supervisors. This provides cover to the areas worked, from Scotland, the North East and West, through to the Midlands, Wales, South West and South East England.
The Rail Safety handbook Arboriculture is statistically one of the most dangerous occupations, so
when combining this with the hazards of working on rail infrastructure, you have an environment where safety is paramount.
Before the introduction of the Work
Package Plan, process vegetation works routinely required the production of safe method of work statements. Ground Control has developed a specialist rail safety handbook and the daily risk assessment pad. This approach allows our skilled, trained and inducted operatives to focus on the site-specific methodology, to focus on the work required and specific controls relevant to the task. This development coincided with increased requests for vegetation management teams to work directly with Network Rail off-track staff. When working with no prior knowledge of the site or works needed, the teams effectively undertook works unplanned using a mechanism to risk assess and document the controls necessary for safe delivery.
The hierarchy approach seen in the RIMINI scheme (Network Rail’s risk minimisation standard) was then applied to the daily risk assessment pad produced by Ground Control; based upon a number of factors including vegetation size, condition and proximity to the railway lines. This enabled the team leader to plan and record the operational task methodology in conjunction with the safety handbook simultaneously, thus allowing teams to complete job and site-specific risk assessments prior to commencement. This put Ground Control in a position to advise their client where works could not proceed unless additional protection measures were put in place. This then saved Network Rail’s financial outlay by ensuring work was completed faster and with greater awareness on worker safety.
A range of generic methodologies were created that can be used to categorise works to specific trees and vegetation on
February 2014 Page 137
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164