Status of all items on Midland Main Line upgrade are stored digitally

To improve the efficiency and overall quality of construction of the traction power upgrades and electrification extension from Corby to Wigston on the Midland Main Line, special “eviFile” software is being used on over 6,000 structures to ensure complete visibility of the status of any single element of the project.

eviFile is produced by the Leeds-headquartered company of the same name, and is designed to provide a ‘golden thread of information' of how, when, and where, any element of a project was constructed.

Electrification of the line from Corby to Wigston is part of project KO1, under which Network Rail is upgrading the Midland Main Line electrification (MMLe). SPL Powerlines UK (SPL) is carrying out the work on Key Output 1a (KO1a), which is a continuation of the wider project KO1.

Under the scope of works, SPL is carrying out the traction power upgrades and electrification extension from Corby to Wigston, whilst eviFile will be deployed on all of the route sections to improve the efficiency and overall quality of construction.

eviFile is a SaaS application, where SaaS stands for Software as a Service where the software sits on an eviFile server while Network Rail accesses it remotely. Stored with the eviFile platform is all the necessary digital information of every single asset along the KO1a route, from its initial design through to construction.

Thomas Spriggs, project manager at SPL, said: “The introduction of eviFile onto the KO1a project has delivered some major benefits to the operational efficiency of SPL, and, by digitally and progressively assuring every infrastructure asset, we observed a significant increase in the quality of work and a reduction of administrative time.”

“eviFile provides us with instant data for assurance. We worked closely with the team to create a bespoke quality check sheet which we're able to action in real-time parallel to being on-site. This means we can spend more time interrogating the data in one central system, rather than chasing down report information across different locations.”

Luke Allen, eviFile's managing director, explained: “Working on complex projects such as these, and with so many moving parts, requires constant collaboration between numerous people – across many different locations.

“In order to deliver on time and to budget, projects like the KO1a upgrades, need to ensure the right people have access to the right information at the right time. The key to solving these issues is the efficient recording and transparent sharing of live data – from site to boardroom.”