REGISTER

Lyle Jackson Managing Director

Union Switch & Signal Pty Ltd

Change has had a significant impact on the railway industry over the past decade and will continue to provide significant management challenges as we enter the new Millennium.

Change has impacted on all aspects of the industry including the corporatisation and privatisation of previously government railways, the segregation into above rail and below rail organisations, the introduction of rail safety regulators, the increased documentation demands for equipment approval, the mobility of the workforce as well as the technology used. It is envisaged that there are more significant changes on the horizon with the impact of business focus on the management of railways, the introduction of more perfonnance driven solutions and the resultant need to change the customer contractor relationships. There is likely to be rationalisation of both the railways and the supplier organisations as each strive for efficiency and improved returns to the stakeholders.

In the end only the fittest will survive. Those organisations with the ability to adapt and to work more closely in  client/supplier teams to deliver systems which improve the performance of the railway industry will move forward into the new millennium.