Local Operations Manager Information

[EverHopeful]

Hello, first time posting here so please excuse me if i have done this incorrectly.

I have applied recently for a Local Ops Mgr post and am interested from any LOMs out there who can tell me a bit more about the day to day at Network Rail. I have done Ops management before but not within the rail industry.

Any information or advice on any interview i may recieve would be greatly appreciated!

Thank You in advance!

 

[LOM]

The LOM job has lots and lots of different responsibilities. They can look after a big area, one location or just one part of a big location

You primarily provide line management for operational staff (signallers, shift signalling managers, mobile operations managers and mobile incident officers), typically around 30 to 40 posts. You are responsible for making sure they are all competent and medically fit for work. You deal with recruitment, training and discipline. Basically all aspects of people management. Every staff member has to be visited by the LOM every 8 weeks and there are lots of competence assessments and monitoring to do. This is the heaviest part of the workload and you are regularly audited on it.

You also have operational responsibilities. The LOM usually looks after the safety and security of operational buildings (signalboxes), including first aid arrangements and fire safety, in their area. You would do out-of-hours 2nd line on call duties every few weeks which means being available to give advice on operational problems and attend if necessary. For that you will need operational competencies to be able to work a signalbox or go on the track to manually operate points, level crossings etc... and you will need to go to signalling school. You may need to act as Rail Incident Officer (RIO) at incidents/accidents including when a person is struck by a train. Usually when a LOM is appointed to be RIO it is at a reasonably big or high profile incident. You will also get involved with investigations into irregularities - railwayspeak for cock ups - and accidents. You will end up writing investigation reports.

The LOM is responsible for the budget of the area and also the train performance, i.e. delays. In my area we order the signalbox stores, uniforms and PPE because we do not have any admin support, though I think other areas do have some support. You also end up getting involved in lots of other weird and wonderful things such as delivering newspapers to the Royal Train!

The interview will be competency based with lots of questions like when have you have to make a decision under pressure, had to deal with a difficult person etc... The is always a question about the company safety vision. You might also need to take the signaller psychometric tests if the job requires you to work signalboxes (not all LOM posts do). You will need to pass a railway medical and need to be able to work unaccompanied so need good colour vision and hearing.

It can be a rewarding job, especially if you enjoy people and have a good bunch working for you. But it can also be very stressful and the workload is immense at times. You get as much out of it as you put into it.

It is not a 9-5 office job. There is an on call allowance but no overtime, you are paid 35 hours a week but I am usually pushing closer to 60. There is a project ongoing at the moment to change the job description and take away some of the competence management and admin burden to leave us time to do the rest but whether that will work remains to be seen.

Sorry my quick reply has turned into an essay. Hope it is helpful and not too off putting!

 

[EverHopeful]

The LOM job has lots and lots of different responsibilities. They can look after a big area, one location or just one part of a big location

You primarily provide line management for operational staff (signallers, shift signalling managers, mobile operations managers and mobile incident officers), typically around 30 to 40 posts. You are responsible for making sure they are all competent and medically fit for work. You deal with recruitment, training and discipline. Basically all aspects of people management. Every staff member has to be visited by the LOM every 8 weeks and there are lots of competence assessments and monitoring to do. This is the heaviest part of the workload and you are regularly audited on it.

You also have operational responsibilities. The LOM usually looks after the safety and security of operational buildings (signalboxes), including first aid arrangements and fire safety, in their area. You would do out-of-hours 2nd line on call duties every few weeks which means being available to give advice on operational problems and attend if necessary. For that you will need operational competencies to be able to work a signalbox or go on the track to manually operate points, level crossings etc... and you will need to go to signalling school. You may need to act as Rail Incident Officer (RIO) at incidents/accidents including when a person is struck by a train. Usually when a LOM is appointed to be RIO it is at a reasonably big or high profile incident. You will also get involved with investigations into irregularities - railwayspeak for cock ups - and accidents. You will end up writing investigation reports.

The LOM is responsible for the budget of the area and also the train performance, i.e. delays. In my area we order the signalbox stores, uniforms and PPE because we do not have any admin support, though I think other areas do have some support. You also end up getting involved in lots of other weird and wonderful things such as delivering newspapers to the Royal Train!

The interview will be competency based with lots of questions like when have you have to make a decision under pressure, had to deal with a difficult person etc... The is always a question about the company safety vision. You might also need to take the signaller psychometric tests if the job requires you to work signalboxes (not all LOM posts do). You will need to pass a railway medical and need to be able to work unaccompanied so need good colour vision and hearing.

It can be a rewarding job, especially if you enjoy people and have a good bunch working for you. But it can also be very stressful and the workload is immense at times. You get as much out of it as you put into it.

It is not a 9-5 office job. There is an on call allowance but no overtime, you are paid 35 hours a week but I am usually pushing closer to 60. There is a project ongoing at the moment to change the job description and take away some of the competence management and admin burden to leave us time to do the rest but whether that will work remains to be seen.

Sorry my quick reply has turned into an essay. Hope it is helpful and not too off putting!

LOM

thank you very much for your reply, the role sounds varied to me which is excellent.
I have been lurking on the signallers thread on here and seen a lot of reference to the LoMs being awkward at times! I would hope i wouldn't fit this mould!
I understand the need to visit all staff each 8 weeks, do you get allocated a vehicle or would you need to get to and from locations yourself? I ask as i do not live in the immediate area where the post is based.
As for signalling school is there a link to information on this i have done a lot of looking around on the Network Rail website for training brochure etc.
Not afraid of hard work so this sounds interesting to me - is the normal pattern of work 5 of 7 or 7 of 7 etc. i appreciate it is not 9-5 set hours just curious as to days type idea.
I really appreciate your long reply as it gives me a good understanding of the role.

 

[LOM]

LOM

thank you very much for your reply, the role sounds varied to me which is excellent.
I have been lurking on the signallers thread on here and seen a lot of reference to the LoMs being awkward at times! I would hope i wouldn't fit this mould!
I understand the need to visit all staff each 8 weeks, do you get allocated a vehicle or would you need to get to and from locations yourself? I ask as i do not live in the immediate area where the post is based.
As for signalling school is there a link to information on this i have done a lot of looking around on the Network Rail website for training brochure etc.
Not afraid of hard work so this sounds interesting to me - is the normal pattern of work 5 of 7 or 7 of 7 etc. i appreciate it is not 9-5 set hours just curious as to days type idea.
I really appreciate your long reply as it gives me a good understanding of the role.

You get a work vehicle though because of tax implications it is not for personal commuting use. You can take it home for on call duties and if you are carrying out visits between work and home, or have an early start/late finish etc..

Signalling school is a 10 week residential course (home at weekends) which enables you to be passed as competent in signalling rules and regulations. It is really a prerequisite for managing signallers competence. As LOM you are responsible for making sure your staff are competent in the railway rules and you carry out assessments on new and existing staff, so you need to know what you are talking about.

You are expected to work weekdays with weekends off as per a normal office job. Exact start and finish times are not in the job contract and are agreed locally with your manager (the Operations Manager). I usually end up doing a bit of work a couple of evenings a week and usually some most weekends. My work phone is always on for emails and for my staff to contact me, though I am only actually on call 1 week in 9. You may end up working the odd nightshift or full weekend. Officially you are supposed to take any time worked over 35hr/week back as time in lieu but.......

Good luck with the interview if you are shortlisted!

 

[EverHopeful]

You get a work vehicle though because of tax implications it is not for personal commuting use. You can take it home for on call duties and if you are carrying out visits between work and home, or have an early start/late finish etc..

Signalling school is a 10 week residential course (home at weekends) which enables you to be passed as competent in signalling rules and regulations. It is really a prerequisite for managing signallers competence. As LOM you are responsible for making sure your staff are competent in the railway rules and you carry out assessments on new and existing staff, so you need to know what you are talking about.

You are expected to work weekdays with weekends off as per a normal office job. Exact start and finish times are not in the job contract and are agreed locally with your manager (the Operations Manager). I usually end up doing a bit of work a couple of evenings a week and usually some most weekends. My work phone is always on for emails and for my staff to contact me, though I am only actually on call 1 week in 9. You may end up working the odd nightshift or full weekend. Officially you are supposed to take any time worked over 35hr/week back as time in lieu but.......

Good luck with the interview if you are shortlisted!

That is understandable, makes sense it isn't for personal use but can be used for work activities etc.

Signalling school that makes sense you can't tell someone how to do something if you don't even understand it! all the information i can find is that this is based up in York, is this still correct do you know or are there other regional sites?

Other training I would assume would be PTS, Sentinel type stuff if you would be required trackside? The advert does specify for RIO training so I have looked at this and oddly it really interests me that though i imagine it is High Stress situations as you suggested previously.

The working pattern is fine, I half expected weekends to be included as its not like the network shuts off at weekends so not a problem here. Start and finish sound like they are more "predicted" hours and you work within and after these as business need type arrangement.

Sorry for all the questions! I am really hopeful to make a go of this as I see it as a great oppurtunity and i really appreciate all your knowledge and help.

I have been shortlisted, apologies i did not put this in the initial post, i have an interview this friday via phone. My home desk is covered in notes on LSRs, safety vision and points i will inevitably forget instantly when asked!

 

[LOM]

Signaller training can be at Basingstoke, Coventry, Glasgow, York and I think there is a school in Wales now.

Other operational courses would be PTS, IWA/COSS, Auxiliary Operating Duties (level crossing attendant, points operator, handsignaller), Pilotman 1/Pilotman 2, RIO 1/RIO 2 and you might get the opportunity to do others. You would also need to do A1 Assessor and Accident Investigator training, as well as some generic management courses.

That is your first year or so taken care of!

 

[EverHopeful]

Signaller training can be at Basingstoke, Coventry, Glasgow, York and I think there is a school in Wales now.

Other operational courses would be PTS, IWA/COSS, Auxiliary Operating Duties (level crossing attendant, points operator, handsignaller), Pilotman 1/Pilotman 2, RIO 1/RIO 2 and you might get the opportunity to do others. You would also need to do A1 Assessor and Accident Investigator training, as well as some generic management courses.

That is your first year or so taken care of!

LOM,

thanks for all your help on this.
I think the interview went okay, didn't feel like i completely F'd it anyway!
Recruiters said they would inform within the week so fingers crossed!