2014 Q1 Electrical and Mechanical Protection for cables

[steak]

Thinking about going for the module 5 next year, if i can get up to speed and think i'm competent enough. This is my very first attempt at a question and module. I'd appreciate your comments, help and tips. Many thanks.

[Jerry1237]

Only had the opportunity for a quick review. Hopefully others will weigh in too.

The terms hazard and risk are frequently misused on exam papers.

a) suggest there are more hazards; damage during weed clearance, vermin/animals... wouldn't recommend raised troughing (for anything except as last resort and almost certainly never for a single tail cable) but you could armour it or cleat it to the ballast, make it shorter during the design process!

b) plastic pipe is no longer permitted on NR; hollow sleepers or cleat to sleeper. Other causes of damage are pway works, crushing...

c) fauna is plant life, vermin includes rats. Troughing is normal for these cables. Buried troughing can reduce the likelihood of theft.

d) think it is asking about armouring when passing through walls/conduits plus EMI/EMC immunity and possible cable segregation from power/data cables.

Note; the question asked about mechanical and electrical.

Pt2 5) no especially for large cables due to weight and human factors issues for maintenance/installation.

Pt2 7) FO can and is used in signalling applications too. Less likely to be stolen, cheaper but requires specialist skills to resplice.

Overall: method for answering Pt2 is good, Pt1 didn't fully answer the question - hazard[s] < plural. With a bit of work and some practice (aim 25 minutes to answer a question, i.e. one minute per mark) you'll be on the right track for a decent result.

Well done.

[steak]

Jerry,
First of all many thanks for taking the time to review and comment. Much appreciated.
Looking at it now i've definetly produced a few "school boy" errors.

a) Now I remember the safety training, Hazard is anything that may cause harm/damage and
Risk is the chance and severity of what the hazard could become.
If I'm just writing down the hazards + solutions and not explaining the risks it could shave a bit of time of my answers. Would that be accurate?

b)Again I am including the risk in my answer. I agree I could have included more hazards to get the 4 marks. I did not know about the pipe on NR not being used anymore (I don't work on NR or ever have) but details like these I should hopefully pick up via general reading material.

c)Again I have included risks, eating away at my time. John bit of confusion here Flora is plants Fauna is animals.

d)I agree, looking at it now, "electrical and mechanical protection". Answers should be targeted towards this..... seems obvious now you have pointed it out.

Pt2 5) I agree that is a fair enough comment.
Pt 7) poor chice of words from me there.

To get the 9 marks should I have been aiming at identifying 3 hazards with 3 solutions for each :- bullet point answer fashion?
Your right my style and speed need to improve but hopefully that will come in time and with practice answering past papers.

I shall be posting as many attempts as I can to help myself improve and hopefully others.
Out of interest could you provide rough scores/pass/fail/grades so I can gauge my progress.

Many thanks Jerry and anyone else who wishes to comment.

[PJW]

Jerry,
First of all many thanks for taking the time to review and comment. Much appreciated.
Looking at it now i've definetly produced a few "school boy" errors.

a) Now I remember the safety training, Hazard is anything that may cause harm/damage and
Risk is the chance and severity of what the hazard could become.
If I'm just writing down the hazards + solutions and not explaining the risks it could shave a bit of time of my answers. Would that be accurate?

b)Again I am including the risk in my answer. I agree I could have included more hazards to get the 4 marks. I did not know about the pipe on NR not being used anymore (I don't work on NR or ever have) but details like these I should hopefully pick up via general reading material.

c)Again I have included risks, eating away at my time. John bit of confusion here Flora is plants  Fauna is animals.

d)I agree, looking at it now, "electrical and mechanical protection". Answers should be targeted towards this..... seems obvious now you have pointed it out.

Pt2 5) I agree that is a fair enough comment.
Pt 7)  poor chice of words from me there.

To get the 9 marks should I have been aiming at identifying 3 hazards with 3 solutions for each :- bullet point answer fashion?
Your right my style and speed need to improve but hopefully that will come in time and with practice answering past papers.

I shall be posting as many attempts as I can to help myself improve and hopefully others.
Out of interest could you provide rough scores/pass/fail/grades so I can gauge my progress.

Many thanks Jerry and anyone else who wishes to comment.

As ever for the actual exam it does depend what you can do in exam conditions in 25 minutes without having thought about the question for more than a few minutes previously.

The drawings look too detailed and neat to do in those conditions!

You'd have been better off not writing full sentences.  Cut the unimportant words, do for bullet point clauses- anything to get the ideas across in minimum words and time. You are not writing a text book.

I think you do need to mention RISKs but not each and every time.  Some could potentially lead to Wrong-side Failure and therefore an accident such as collision or derailment  bringing destruction / injury / death but others are likely only to lead to delay / disruption / loss of confidence in railway etc.  You could have provided a table looking at items a-d (and perhaps looking at Sig and Telec separately for c) as the rows and the possible outcomes in a couple of columns, placing a tick if a fault in that type of cable could give the right-side failure (all) or wrong-side failure (only some).  Indeed you might place multiple ticks depending on relative likelihood of faults both within a cable type and RSF/WSF; this is an example of an economical approach that maximizes marks per minute.

It was a decent length and legible.

You don't state your practices and as Jerry has indicated the examiners will tend to default to NR unless you specify otherwise.  Certainly on several electrification projects I could mention, there is raised troughing 1m or so above the ground for the power cables as the means of providing minimum separation from the existing S&T cable in the SCT on the ground.  Looks to be a but of a nightmare re accessing the railway in places and time will tell how long it is before it gets hit or starts falling over- mind you, given the quantity of civil engineering nowadays, perhaps it is built to withstand a tank and the piles go half way to Australia!
 
I will not go too much into technical content as Jerry has made some points which you seem to have taken on board.  Definitely you should ensure that your answer explicitly reflects EVERYTHING within the wording of the question

You don't necessarily need to give 3 hazards with 3 solutions for the 9 marks, but it does sound a possible way of getting those marks.  You are correct that you ought to have a plan HOW you intend to claim those marks and this sounds a plausible way.

The answer as it stands is certainly is certainly not far off a Pass; I have seen far worse attempts in July for people sitting exam in October.  Have a word with a potential sponsor; you could perhaps hope to attempt the exam in 2018.

[steak]

PJW thanks for your comments.

I agree, going forward , my answers will be as question specific as practical to increase answer efficiency.

I see the logic but how would I state my practice in the question paper?

I think 2018 would be too soon but 2019 seems quite achievable, factoring in work and family commitments.

Again many thanks

[Jerry1237]

The risks for this are generic, the question is asking for hazards so stating the risks before/after would be useful. PJW gave a good technique for a time saving method. The aim of your response is to demonstrate you understand the principles involved and not just quote lines from standards.

Re practice. I always rewrite the question first but would add I was using UK mainline, Burmese tram practice or whatever suits.

So, today I learnt something new. Thank you - schoolboy error ;-)

Points is a guidelines of the level of effort the examiner expects and is not prescriptive. The nine marks was for engineering solutions, possible you could consider three solutions (1pt) with pros (1pt) and cons (1pt) for each (x3).

Re 2018 vs 2019, see how you go, come to the Derby study day and get some feedback.

[steak]

Thanks Jerry. Some good points there.

I've another two questions to go in the paper. I'll stick them on here when I'm done.

Wont make Derby but hopefully there will be some London events.

[PJW]

Wont make Derby but hopefully there will be some London events.

Well the only London YM event is on Thursday this week- the AGM in late pm followed by exam review in the early evening.

Thinking back it was in 2012 when there was a very informative visit to the LU Acton training school but that was for the international bursary winners for the Convention.  Wonder what the possibility would be of having a mod 5 event there next year, or alternatively the ex Tubelines facility at Stratford.  Might be worth an ask around......

[steak]

How could we get the ball rolling rolling?

[PJW]

How could we get the ball rolling rolling?

I had a word with Vivich when I say him on Thursday afternoon and he has promised to ask around within LU.
Could be an idea for early next year perhaps