John Thompson

Consultant

I am an accomplished, passionate and recognised rail performance leader. My approach is to deliver better direct outcomes (e.g. train performance) in collaboration with partners, which also align with requirements for other industry objectives. Being a career railwayman, I have extensive industry experience and engagement, and bring this expertise to understanding the whole industry perspective and always seeking collaborative, shared solutions and outcomes. I have an extensive portfolio of effective project delivery and depth of experience across many of the industry’s primary functions including performance, engineering, operations, transformation and business planning. I have a highly adaptable skillset and personable approach to suit the range of challenges the industry faces.

Experience:

Railway Operations

As an industry performance leader I have had extensive engagement in railway operations delivery. As ‘performance is the outcome of all we do’ this has always involved being able to understand how the railway operates, and how improvement plans impact on real time operation. In turn, this has required collaboration with colleagues from across the whole range of rail disciplines, and across the range of industry colleagues from individual teams to operators, regulators and stakeholders.

Specifically this has also brought a lens on our operational standards and toolkits. As performance lead, I have enabled and promoted measurement and improvement to operational processes – performance incident reviews, impact assessment for proposed rule changes etc; and directed performance based funding towards improved decision making and train operation.

Projects & Engineering

I have an extensive history of recognised, successful project delivery all with strong personal engagement and visibility; and often in complex circumstances and / or against a backdrop of poorly aligned objectives and expectations. My portfolio includes:

Civil Engineering projects: Resident engineer during the Liverpool Street Redevelopment leading both site works, and interfaces with both other project work and maintained station operation. BR project engineer for building the Jubilee Line tunnels under the London Bridge viaducts. Lead engineering solution for commercial over-rail development at Liverpool Street. Multiple smaller scale projects from design to completion (late 1980s / early 1990s)
People: relocation of East Anglia Zone HQ (1999); Anglia Route lead during major Railtrack reorganisation (2004)
Performance: Lead Joint (industry) performance improvement processes through a life cycle, owned many elements of the wider performance management portfolio. Leading and enabling engagement in whole industry performance improvement programmes (e.g. autumn)
Funding: portfolio management for both the Network Rail CP4 (£240m) and CP6 (£40m) performance funds, including integration of performance funding with other funding: driving effective investment in value add outcomes whilst maintaining an effective business conscience
Contracts: LU interfaces for East London Line extension and TPWS fitment on LU routes. Lead contract negotiations with third parties to both protect the railway and drive commercial returns where available. Account management with a range of train operators

Safety & Assurance

My most recent assurance activity has been around delivery and assurance of high quality performance plans. This has involved both creating effective processes for whole industry performance management and effective coordination with requirements for other objectives including efficiency. A consistent ambition in all this work has been to drive value add outcomes where possible and positive challenge to avoid assurance becoming either weak, or overbearing.

Similarly, I have led assurance and quality management activity in each of my earlier career roles.

My professional engagement in safety has fallen mostly in my time as an engineer – especially Health and Safety at Work, and the Construction Design and Management regulations. More recently, I have been engaged in how the coordinated objectives of safety and performance can be delivered effectively, for example in how our everyday processes – driving, signalling, station (dispatch), level crossings can be delivered effectively whilst seeking to drive reduced journey time for our passengers.

Training & Development

I delivered formal training for Yellow Belts as part of the Railtrack Six Sigma programme

At a softer level, I have created many good practice guides and have a personal style of an open door approach to teams and individuals seeking expert opinion, help in delivering change and improvement, and to strengthen the application of good practice, and new research and innovation