Research
Read about Daniel Woodier's PhD research, which aims to make railway infrastructure projects as efficient as possible.
Facts
… saving money and resources. Because of the scale of the projects, improving efficiency can result in big savings. In brief, we need to be able to standardise the work as far as possible so we free up resources, while at the same time recognising the highly specialised nature of some of the work, and the time and investment it takes to build the necessary skills and capacity in the industry.
… all the time! Doing an industrial PhD is fantastic because you are constantly getting inspiration. You always hear about different things going on and different projects. And on the academic side, there is loads of good research being published on the topic because there is a lot of discussion going on about how to do big infrastructure projects that contribute to these grand challenges like climate change and electrification.
… I submit a paper. I have to say it’s fantastic because there is so much thinking, preparation and drafting, and I have several papers that have been under way for years, so actually just pressing send is such a relief.
… you hear something is going well on a project. It’s quite exciting when people say that they’ve tried something new and it’s working really well, and you are then able to find some sort of explanation so it can be implemented in future processes. Everybody is looking for a secret recipe, but it is rarely that easy and straightforward.
… I am with my family. I have two small kids, so I don’t have time for hobbies. When I do stuff, it tends to be with them. But we do a lot of cool stuff like paddleboarding when the weather allows it or building LEGO-robots and going to the Zoo.
… I saw it as a great opportunity. Through my experience at different engineering companies I have seen plenty of projects that have gone well and not so well. So, it was a great opportunity to spend some time thinking about it and studying them. In the beginning I had a revelation every other day. People don’t necessarily believe me when I tell them, but this is awesome, it’s the best job ever.
… by the change of pace. The amount of time that goes into it, which you realize is a good thing. Coming from more of a construction site type pace, during a PhD you have much longer to think, read, and figure problems out.
… more of the same! I would like to do more research into big infrastructure projects. Rail is such a good case because it is so complex and has so many constraints but also so many benefits like being safe and environmentally friendly. I think it’s really interesting to take a broader view of infrastructure megaprojects and view them as being a part of the construction ecosystem.