Railway Civil Engineers Association
The RCEA advances professional development and knowledge in railway engineering, including main lines, metros, and light rail.
- Date
- 28 November 2024
- Time
This event has now ended
Overview
Discover the outcomes of the AVA Footbridge and Lift System project, first presented to the RCEA in 2021.
AVA’s development was driven by a clear need to enhance productivity in delivering footbridges across the network. Traditional footbridges often fell short of Network Rail’s goals to reduce capital expenditure, installation time, and carbon footprint, posing challenges to the ‘Access for All’ program. AVA addresses these challenges head-on, and was recently awarded maximum points for sustainability, passenger experience, safety, maintenance, and costs in an independent assessment commissioned by Network Rail.
You’ll hear about the distinctive modular design, configurable layout and customisation options that make AVA suitable for any station environment.
Speakers will explain how the use of stainless steel for both structure and cladding has extended the design life of the footbridge to 120 years. This significantly reduces early-stage degradation, minimises disruption to passengers, lowers whole-life carbon footprint, and cuts down overall lifecycle costs.
Plus, find out why AVA is also faster to deliver and simpler to install compared to standard industry practices.
Speakers
Anthony Dewar
Network Rail
head of estate and architectural design
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Anthony Dewar
Anthony Dewar EurIng BEng CEng FICE FRSA, head of estate and architectural design and company technical authority for buildings, Network Rail.
A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Society of Arts, he provides technical and safety leadership for one of Britain’s largest and most diverse building portfolios, and is a recognised voice on the future of railway stations, buildings and the built environment.
Phil Webb
Walker Construction Ltd
managing director
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Phil Webb
Phil Webb joined Walker Construction as a site agent in 1993, playing a pivotal role in developing the rail division. Promoted to divisional rail director in 2006 and then managing director in 2013, he is the first non-family member to hold the position. As safety director, he led the implementation of a behavioural safety program. An enthusiastic advocate for diversity, Phil is dedicated to inspiring young talent and bridging the skills gap in the construction industry. He also played a key role in the construction of the AVA footbridge, reinforcing the company’s commitment to infrastructure excellence and innovation.
Dan Green
Expedition Engineering, part of the Useful Simple Trust
associate
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Dan Green
Dan is a Chartered Civil Engineer and the lead structural designer for AVA Stowmarket, the first-of-a-kind deployment of the AVA system. He is an associate at Expedition Engineering and a dedicated and creative structural engineer with over a decade of experience designing complex bridges and leading design teams. He sits on the UK Net Zero Bridge Group Executive Committee and has delivered projects from concept through to construction at every scale including architectural footbridge designs, long span crossings, and heritage structures.
Andrew Davies
Hawkins\Brown
partner, infrastucture lead
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Andrew Davies
Andrew is an RIBA Chartered Architect leading the architectural team on the ‘AVA Footbridge & Lifts’ consortium. As a partner and head of transport & infrastructure at Hawkins\Brown Architects, an AJ100 top ten practice in the UK, he has been involved in the AVA journey from its beginning. Following the RIBA future footbridges competition in 2018 where Hawkins\Brown’s entry received the highly commended award, Andrew’s team were asked to join a nationally significant R&D project funded by InnovateUK and Network Rail to develop an affordable, quick to build, robust, sustainable, and adaptable footbridge of the future.
Chris Head
McNealy Brown
pre-construction manager
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Chris Head
Chris has 18 years of experience in the steelwork industry, starting in steel stockholding and moving into architectural metalwork. He then worked as a project engineer in the oil & gas sector for clients like BP and Exxon Mobil. For the past six years, Chris has been the pre-construction manager at McNealy Brown, contributing to projects on landmarks such as the Millennium Bridge and Westminster Bridge.
Chris has been involved with AVA for two years, focusing on the fabrication and assembly of the footbridge, contributing with knowledge of materials as well as manufacturing methods and availabilities within the steelwork industry.
Darren Falkingham
ARX part of KSG Group
market engagement manager
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Darren Falkingham
Darren leads the uptake of the AVA Lift System for ARX.
Sustainable Development Goals:
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