Olivier Piron works at the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) since 2005 and is currently the Head of the Fixed Installations and Rolling Stock Unit. His Unit is in charge of the development of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) and the assessment of the National Technical Rules (NTRs) aiming at enhancing the level of interoperability on the Union railway system and by this way contributing to an increased competitiveness of the rail and to the seamless cross-border traffic in the EU.

1. Career to date

Head of Unit Fixed Installations and Rolling Stock, ERA since Dec 2020

Head of Unit Fixed Installations and Rolling Stock, a.i., ERA Jul 2019 – Nov 2020

Team Leader Fixed Installations and Rolling Stock, ERA Nov 2018 – Jun 2019

Head of Sector Rolling Stock, ERA Aug 2017 – Nov 2018

Quality Officer, ERA May 2012- Aug 2017

Head of the coordination sector - Interoperability Unit, ERA Aug 2008 – Apr 2012

Project Officer – Interoperability Unit, ERA Jun 2005 - Jul 2008

Project Manager – On Track Machines (OTMs) vehicle purchasing, Infrabel Jan 1996 – May 2005

Project Manager Operational scheduling of train drivers and vehicles, SNCB Oct 1993 – Dec 1995

2. Education

Mechanical Engineer, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1992

I was born in Edinburgh 1962 and have always lived in Scotland. I was educated at the local Grammar School and left in 1978 when I was 16 with seven “O” levels, average qualifications at the time. I started work on the railways as a mechanical apprentice at the Craigentinny Maintenance Depot in Edinburgh in 1978. This four year apprenticeship was intensive, broad based and included college studies in Mechanical and Production Engineering to HNC level. I have worked on all aspects of Rolling Stock maintenance on the depot as a fitter, was further trained to carry out electrical work. I progressed through the supervisory grades to Senior Shift Supervisor. Through this I developed an in depth knowledge of safety critical systems. I have also had specialist training in Non-Destructive testing, and have gained an in-depth knowledge of wheels bogies and running gear. I have had 14 years experience as a Rolling Stock Inspector carrying out in-service inspection, fault diagnosis and repairs on high speed diesel and electric trains. I have an extensive knowledge of the environment that Rolling Stock has to operate and how it performs in reality at speeds in service up to 125 mph. This included understanding what makes them reliable and what can be done to still operate when parts of systems are defective or have been badly damaged or isolated. Due to time limitations, rapid decision making was necessary and it was also necessary to work within what limited resources were available in isolated locations such as tools, and materials. I have undertaken further academic education in addition to normal work through the Open University and gained a BSc (Hons) degree and Diplomas in Systems Practice, Pollution Control and Professional Management. I am also an Incorporated Engineer IEng, a member of the IET and Associate Member of the IMechE. I was the project engineer for life extension work and reliability improvements to the East Coast Inter-City 125 High Speed Train fleet. This included ; Re-painting in, complete new vehicle interiors, laminated glass, MTU engines, new cooling systems, upgraded electronic control, reliability modifications, production of enhanced component overhaul specifications for rotating machines and bogies. I am currently responsible for Assurance and Engineering Standards including the production and control of Maintenance, Quality and Policy documentation relating to the London North Eastern 225 Electric fleet and Assurance of the new Hitachi Class 800 fleet. I am an IRCA registered Lead auditor for both ISO9001 and ISO14001. I represent London North Eastern Railway on various Rail Industry forums through both the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and Rail Delivery Group (RDG). These include; fire, vehicle maintenance, pantographs, energy, wheelsets, axle bearings and standards. I am chair of the BSI RAE3/-/2 committee for Roller Bearings and Lubricants. I am passionate about the Assurance, safe design, reliability, cost effective maintenance, effective management of Engineering change, vehicle configuration and operation of trains.

Since 2017 with CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd

Head of R&D center,  CRRC ZELC Verkehrsstechnik GmbH

8 years experience in R&D of new energy locomotives, successfully developed locomotives with power supply from on-board Li-ion battery system, hydrogen fuel cell system, et al

Member of IEC/TC 9 working gruop

PhD degree in Materials Science and Engineering, and bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineer from Tsinghua University

Daisy Chapman-Chamberlain is Specification Manager at Transport for the North, with a passion for transport transformation, sustainability, and inclusion. She works to make rail better for customers across the North; safer, accessible, and more enjoyable. Daisy is also the Chairperson of the Oxfordshire Community Rail Partnership, supporting community access to local railways.

Carlo Cecchi – HITACHI RAIL  Italy

Fire Safety Engineer

Structural calculation, Material and Technology Dept.

Design Engineering

31 Years of experience in Fire Safety

Involved in Fire Safety design of the following main Projects:

• Eurotunnel Heavy good carrier Vehicles (LHGVC) and Amenity coaches (LAMC)
• EMU Nsb Class 72 for Norwegian railways (NSB)
• DMU IC4 and IC2 for Danish railways (DSB)
• Metro vehicles for Italian. European, Asian and USA market
• Italian railway vehicles as ETR 500 High speed train , ETR1000 Very high speed train, High frequentation train (TAF)
• High speed Interoperable train for Holland-Belgium
• V300 Zefiro high Speed train
• Caravaggio double deck EMU’s for Italian railways
• Several metro vehicles for Italy. Middle East and U.S. market

Fire safety design expert and member of:

• UNIFE SRG fire safety topical group
• CEN/CENELC TC 256 WG1
• UNI Fire safety expert involved both on Italian and European standards
• Coordinator of UNI Fire Safety CT 50

Participating  to several national and European Research projects as TRANSFEU

Following a master degree in Industrial Engineering, Marta joined the railway industry in 2012, being selected as a Bombardier UK graduate. She became responsible for the fire safety design and compliance of overground multiple units. Later on, Marta joined the system engineering where, after gaining experience on the traction system, she focused on functional system integration at train level for regional trains. Along her career path, the interest for safety and fire safety matters remained high and she was in charge of the running capability analysis of different projects.

Currently she works for Alstom Italy on traction system for high speed trains.

BSc, PhD, CChem, FRSC, EurChem, CEng, FIFireE Chairman, FPRS, February 2021

Dr. Cash is an experienced Fire, Safety and Emergency Planning professional with considerable exposure to a wide range of safety regulatory activities in the rail, aviation, oil & petrochemical, marine and military sectors. Based in the United Kingdom, Tony is a Chartered Fire Engineer accredited by the Institution of Fire Engineers and a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, a Chartered European Chemist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He’s a distinguished Member of the British Standards Institute, International President of the Rail Industry Fire Association (RIFA) and Vice-President of the London Branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE). United Kingdom Expert on the European Standard CEN/TC 256/WG 1, Railway Applications (Fire Protection) working group. Been practicing fire protection engineering for over 35 years and has specialised in the fire safe design of very complicated and unusual projects in a wide range of private and public sectors.Tony has previously been the Chartered Fire Engineer at Heathrow Airport Limited and before joining Heathrow, Tony worked for Bombardier Transportation, Trenton Fire, London Underground (LU), Transport for London (TfL), the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority and Angus Fire Ltd.
He earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honours in Chemistry from the University of London in 1983 and earned a Doctorate in Physical Chemistry (Ph.D.) from the University of Leeds in 1987. He is a Chartered Chemist (CChem), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and a Chartered European Chemist (EurChem). Dr. Cash is also a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (FIFireE), and a Chartered Fire Engineer. Tony has been involved in fire safety engineering since 1983 and first became a Chartered Practitioner in 1987. Tony has experience of working in the UK, USA, Canada, the Far East, the British Overseas Territories, the Middle East, Scandinavia, Europe, Cyprus and South Africa. Throughout his broad & varied career, Tony has participated on a number of committees advising on new guidance documents and proposed legislation including British Standards, NFPA, ICAO, UK CAA, EASA and the Institution of Fire Engineers Special Interest Groups. In addition, he has set and marked exams for his professional bodies, the UK CAA and overseas aviation agencies on fire safety & emergency planning, human factors in engineering and the Carriage Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Goods/Hazardous Materials. Tony regularly speaks on the subject of rail rolling stock and tunnel fire safety at international conferences. He has chaired numerous annual conferences on the Fire Protection of Rolling Stock and is looking forward to chairing the 18th annual conference back in Berlin.

Disclaimer:

*The views and opinions I express during this conference are my own and do not reflect those of my employer or any affiliated organisations. I am participating in this event in a personal capacity and not as a representative of my company.*

Tom is an experienced Rolling Stock Technician with six years in the rail industry, working at Transport for London/London Underground and having started his career with them. Over the years, he has built a strong track record in maintaining, repairing, and inspecting rail vehicles, with a focus on keeping them safe, reliable, and efficient. Having worked with a variety of rolling stock - particularly metro and some surface fleets, he has developed a sharp eye for diagnosing mechanical and electrical issues and solving problems efficiently and safely.

Tom focuses on combining technical expertise with a passion for the rail industry, helping to drive innovation while maintaining the highest safety standards.

· CH and AT citiszenship

· Since 2009 with WAGNER

· Managing director of Wagner Rail in Switzerland and Germany

· More than 30 years experience in fire protection

· Representant of Switzerland in many European and international (ISO) expert committees for fire protection such as gas extinguishing Aerosol extinguishing or water mist

· Member of the Eurofeu Presidium

· PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering and Master degree in Business Administration

Head of Sales svt Transportation passive fire protection

Leading of three team departments each three experts: Rail, Ship, Automotive/ Battery Safety

Career stages:

• Since 2017 svt Head of Sales
• 2010 – 2017 Head of Project management Tunnel fire protection - for the Fermacell/ Aestuver company a member of the James Hardie Group (earlier XELLA concern)
• 2006 – 2010 KAM Aestuver Industry international
• 2001 – 2010 KAM Knauf company group - Aquapanel Dry lining systems
• 1995 – 2001 Sales building Material specialist

Andrea Cremoncini has a Master degree in Physics and a broad technical background, implemented with a 40-year long experience, initially in technical roles, and then as a Product Manager and Marketing specialist, developing and selling high-tech products and systems for Research and Industrial applications.

He is one of the founders of I.S.E. Ingegneria dei Sistemi Elettronici, nowadays one of the leading Italian producers of Fire Protection Systems for Rolling Stock, where he has covered the role of Sales and Marketing Manager for 30 years.

On behalf of ISE he has been part of the UNI technical committee for rail fire protection in Italy, and within the team he has contributed to development of the Italian technical standard for Rollinig Stock fire Protection, UNI 11565.

As Sales and Marketing manager at ISE he works with quite a few manufacturers of rolling stock and transport agencies acting at a global level.

Dimitri Clément - Belgian nationality.

Based in Europe - Belgium – Antwerp

Degree as Mechanical Engineer - Electromechanics.

Professional career started in 1992 as technical service engineer for welding robots, equipment and automation solution, programming and training of staff. Europe region.

Changed career from welding to bonding in Feb 1997 at former LOCTITE Belgium – today HENKEL.

Today, 28 years of experience as an adhesive application engineer for industrial applications and maintenance.

Started as technical service engineer, then Technical Manager, today global key account manager for adhesives applied in rail applications.

In 2014 I acquired my certification as European Adhesive Engineer – EAE (according to DVS® / EWF – DIN 6701).

In addition, I achieved the function as “Certified Manufacturing Excellence Ambassador”.