Page 14 - September 2021 Track N Times

LORAM PTY

Track N’ Times goes global! In this issue we are getting introduced to a member of the Loram PTY team,
Andrew James. Andrew performs the role of Maintenance Planner and is located at Loram’s Paget Depot in Mackay,
Queensland, Australia.

When did you start your railway career, and what has
your career been to date?

My career in the railway commenced in rail grinding in January
1991. Being a diesel fitter by trade, I started my career in the
role of Fitter Operator with the Queensland team. In the years
following I had the chance to move into a few different roles
including Maintenance Superintendent, as well as some tempo-
rary assignments in the role of Superintendent. I have worked
in most states of Australia including Queensland, New South
Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia and when the
opportunity for the Maintenance Planner role came up, I saw
this as the next step in my career and have been in the role for
around five years now. I enjoy my role, and its challenges, and
see myself in the role for the foreseeable future. Currently I
provide maintenance planning for RG419, our 120 stone machine that operates across the ARTC network, and LRG11 our 24
stone machine located in Victoria on Melbourne’s metropolitan network. In my role the biggest challenges for me are during
breakdowns, when we’re under pressure to get the machine going again and we’re always in different locations and under dif-
ferent conditions. As a member of the acquired team in late 2019 my job has stayed the same since joining Loram, but what’s
exciting about being a member of the Loram team is seeing our growth in Australia, through more machines arriving in the
West.
What was your impression when you arrived at a machine for the first time?

The first day I walked into my role the machine was in pieces and all pulled apart. My first thoughts were - ‘how does all this fit
back together!’. By the end of that shutdown, I knew my way around the machine and then started working towards becoming
an operator.

Is there a stand-out experience for you in your role?
It’s hard to pick a standout experience as such, as I enjoy all parts of my role. One that comes to mind is a broken chevon for
LRG10. It was noticed when looking at the suspension on the support car, one chevron had failed which meant I had to get a
spare axel to the machine quickly to make the repair and get the machine back on track. And it wasn’t just about getting the
parts, the machine would also have to be lifted and we needed to replace the other chevrons at the same time. And this all
happened after what is considered a big trip for LRG10 which is the maintenance work on the Mt Isa line. The track is around
1000 kilometres long, in remote dessert type country, where temperatures during the day often exceed 40 degrees Celsius
(100 Fahrenheit) and resources are scarce as the population on the line is less than 100 people and its miles and miles of noth-
ing. It’s a particularly rough length of track to grind and is an annual trip for the crew. The issue occurred coming back into Stu-
art, Townsville in north Queensland. The urgency for the repair meant quickly getting resources and equipment to the site.
While there were plans to change chevrons in the coming week this work was required to be brought forward, for the team
to have the machine ready and able to fulfil the remainder of the program for the customer. The team achieved this outcome
and available to finish the program and reach customer commitments.

Volume 2 : Issue 8 Page 12