CPA Bulletin

44 CPA Bulletin > May 2022 www.cpa.uk.net rail plant association RAIL PLANT ASSOCIATION: 1 Around the time I was writing that article, the Rail Infrastructure Magazine kindly sent me copies of some very early articles for research. They were all written by the chairperson of the time, Andy Webb, who amazingly, celebrated 50 years in business last Summer. A truly incredible achievement Andy. Anyway, back on point; I found those early articles really interesting, and I thought we’d spend a moment reflecting on them. Early Rail Infrastructure Magazine articles There really is something captivating when reading history. Our little bit of storytelling today will summarise Andy Webb’s articles from issues 16 to 24. To put that in context, this magazine is issue 146 (May/June 2022), so we’re back-tracking to the late 90s for those of you who were trying to do the maths. What can I say, researching the RPA history has been an education. I may be the acting chair for the RPA, but my fellow committee members are a font of railway knowledge to me, with vastly more railway experience. My background involved 16 years mining coal before joining the railways in 2003, (as it happens, David Simmons, our chairperson, was my first railway employer, and I’m sincerely grateful to him and his late brother Steve for helping me adjust my career path). Did you know the RPA had its own industry recognised Supplier Audit Protocol? Andy wrote about it in article 16, and in an article I wrote last year I was heavily defending that audit protocol because it was produced and undertaken by technical experts in plant. Moreover, at the time, Railtrack (aka Network Rail) were pressing for the implementation of a new supplier audit protocol for all suppliers called Link-up. As it turned out, harmony was restored via a collaborative involvement of the RPA, M&EE Networking Group, and the new Link-up team in the creation of an audit protocol. Article 17 followed on with the Link-up theme and added the importance of having plant skilled auditors with knowledge in plant maintenance, use and hire. Interestingly, the article also alluded to the development of training packages in development by the RPA for plant ALL ABOARD! Hello RPA article readers and welcome. Back in Autumn 2021 we did something a little different. We published a Q&A session in the hope of sharing some history on the RPA and what we can do, or can do, for our members. For me, your humble narrator, it was an enlightening article because I learnt many things about our little group, its connection to the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) and who its founder members and chairpersons were.