UIC, in close association with Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), held the Asset Management Seminar in Daejeon (Korea) from 6 to 7 October 2011.
The seminar was a successful one, attended by approximately 80 people from Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, India and Europe (France, UK, Italy and Germany), either on site or, for the first time, by live web broadcast.
The Institution of Asset Management (IAM) was represented by Andy Kirwan on behalf of its CEO David McKeown.
The seminar was organised under the umbrella of the UIC Asian Region logistics.
The opening speech was delivered by Mr Choe Kangyoun, Director of the Testing and Certification Centre, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Mr Choi Sung Kyun, Executive Director of KORAIL Research Institute and Mr Vincent Vu, Director of Institutional Relations at UIC and Asian Regional Coordinator.
Dr Bhang Yeon Gun, Senior Researcher from KRRI, introduced the speakers in his opening introduction, underlining the importance of sharing experience between Asia and Europe. He thanked the overseas speakers and the Asian audience for their efforts in attending this first seminar on Asset Management for Railways in Asia.
The seminar covered rich subject matter. The first session chaired by Mr Teodor Gradinariu, Head of the Asset Management sector within UIC, introduced the Concept and Framework for Rail Asset Management. The second and third session chaired by Dr Lee Jee-Ha, KRRI, and Mr Suh Kwang-Suk, KRRI, dealt with Regional Applications and Best Practice. A number of speakers from Asia and Europe presented the results of their companies.
The second day’s seminar started with “Implications for Cost and Improvement” session chaired by Dr Andy Kirwan, Network Rail, UK, including a full report and feedback on the successful recovery of Japanese assets after the 2011 natural disasters.
The seminar ended with a concluding session and future work plan chaired by Mr Vincent Vu and the sessions’ chairmen.
The hosts invited all participants to visit a site of KRNA (Korean Rail Network Authority) – another active UIC Korean member – which prepares all the long rails for the Korean network, and the major turnouts producer Korea Sampyo E&C, in the city of Ohsong.
The seminar, attended by a high number of valuable speakers and experts, was a successful exchange of best practice, experience and tools for asset management. It also showed the involvement of Asian members in this new topic in the field of railways and their high-level of expertise. UIC wishes to thank all the participants for their in-depth sharing of expertise, and particularly all the Korean members for the smooth organisation. This was also the first time that an affiliate member of UIC volunteered to organise such a global event and succeeded in bringing together the major railways, thanks to the worldwide web broadcast.
All the presentations will be available on the UIC website.
