Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 04

In 2015, a section of the railway lay suspended in the air due to a beaver dam collapsing and washing out bedrock and land underneath the rail. With today’s drone technology, these occurrences can be more quickly identified and mitigated. “Data was being inputted manually, and many records were not digitized, we needed to learn more about operations and identify opportunities for technology where integration and digitization could improve monitoring and decision making.” – Chad Evans, Vice President of Corporate Services at Ontario Northland RISK MANAGEMENT ing hours with track inspectors and taking rail-operating rules training. What Evans quickly discovered is that not all risk management in rail is tech- nological. As in all industries, many risk management practices rely on a skilled and experienced workforce with good common sense and practical expertise. “Employees who work on the rail system – especially those that have worked for many years – have an impressive skill to detect risk that is not always captured by technology or at first glance.” Evans travelled with track inspectors and saw that this vital role manages risks every day. “Track inspectors monitor the track to ensure that it is safe for trains to operate. They put into place speed re- strictions, request repairs and, when the risk is too great, they can put a section of track out of service until track integrity has been restored,” says Evans. Evans also observed that track inspec- tors were dealing with a lot of paperwork. They were travelling hundreds of miles each day, manually writing multipage re- ports, and submitting them in person to a clerk who had to input the data before it became accessible to the rest of the com- pany. Paperless track inspection technol- ogy has since been introduced. The tablet technology is installed in all track inspec- tor high-rail vehicles, allowing them to record track inspections electronically without the need for paper and relay identified defects in real-time through the web-based software. “The efficiency, time- liness, and scalability of inspection data that the new system has provided inspec- tors is a huge gain which brings multiple data sources to a central location where total track health can be comprehensively evaluated, ultimately to report and fix de- fects,” says Evans. The geography and climate of northern Ontario plays a large role in risk manage- ment for Ontario Northland. Employees of Ontario Northland deal with harsh winters with extreme cold, and hot sum- mers with high heat. The terrain is also a challenge; much of the rail line trav- els through remote areas and there is an abundance of wildlife that live along the tracks. “In a year, it’s not uncommon for our Beaver Patrol crew to relocate over 200 beavers,” recounts Evans. The unique northern crew consists of two li- censed trappers who patrol and monitor the railway for problem areas caused by beaver dams; the crew typically relocates 8-10 beavers in a week. “Although not a traditional risk management practice, it’s an essential one for us to maintain a safe railway.” As drones become more affordable, they are being used across many industries from agriculture to insurance. The rail- way is no different. The ability of drones to capture detailed data about infrastruc- ture and monitor potential high water in remote, difficult-to-access areas has had significant benefits to this railway. Previ- ously, the only way to tell if high-water existed was based on the track inspec- tor’s visual inspection from the high-rail vehicle – a truck outfitted for both road and rail. Once the potential threat of high water had been detected, the company would then proceed to charter a helicop- ter to survey the area in question. Drones have replaced this costly assessment. “The image quality captured by the drone is impressive. Having access to high-defi- nition video taken from a birds-eye view of track conditions has improved our pro- cesses and allowed us to quickly identify issues.” “We now have the ability to make better assessments and plans by using real-time information.” Through recent technologi- cal enhancements, Ontario Northland is now in a better position to manage and prevent risks and to react quickly when risk appears. “We’ve moved from a one- dimensional perception of risk manage- ment to a multi-faceted approach that is all-encompassing, combining the tried- and-true methods of our skilled track inspectors with new technology to accel- erate the safety of our rail system,” says Evans. Evans will be a guest speaker at the RIMS risk management society ERM Con- ference this fall in Montreal. He will offer real life examples of how implementing technology in a 116-year old railway has improved risk outcomes. July/August 2018 // Canadian Government Executive / 45