Light Rail Transit For The City Of Brisbane – Design And Development

Preliminary design phase

Discuss about the Light Rail Transit For the City of Brisbane.

Cities across the world are growing and developing rapidly and Brisbane is one of them. Light rail transit (LRT) is one of the approaches that many governments are using to enhance building, development and revitalization of cities (City of Hamilton, 2010); (Lee & Sener, 2017). The city of Brisbane has experienced significant growth over the past years, in terms of population, tourism, businesses and other aspects of economy. The city has continued to attract people from different parts of the world who visit it for tourism, education, employment, etc. With a population of more than 2 million people, transportation demand is very high in the city of Brisbane and existing public transport network is overstretched. For this reason, it is a good idea and decision for Brisbane City Council to implement a new LRT project in the city. LRT has numerous benefits, including: reduced harmful emissions, (Shang & Zhang, 2013) reduced travel time, increased property values (Pan, 2013), increased employment opportunities (Robins & Well, 2008), reduced congestion, increased transit ridership (Higgins, et al., 2014), improved human health (MacDonald, et al., 2010); (Stokes, et al., 2007), revitalizing declining areas (Fogarty & Austin, 2011); (Kittrell, 2012), increased accessibility, improved social life, etc..  LRT has also become more popular because of the increased awareness of global climate change and therefore governments are using this mode of transport to cut down carbon emissions caused by transportation sector in cities. Therefore LRT will play a major role in solving some of the problems facing Brisbane, which include traffic congestion and pollution.

There are several factors that affect implementation of LRT projects. One of these factors is that an LRT network is usually constructed in an area that has a wide-ranging developments, including roads, railways, buildings (commercial, industrial and residential), etc. in other words, an LRT is integrated into existing built environment, which is quite challenging (Xia, et al., 2017). This requires careful profound planning at each stage of the project. As a matter of fact, successful LRT projects are implemented by looking at them from a lifecycle perspective (Love, et al., 2017). This ensures that all design, construction, operation and maintenance decisions are made after comprehensive analysis of their costs, benefits and impacts to the environment, economy and the people. The aim of this paper is to analyze preliminary design; detailed design and development; testing, evaluation, validation and optimization processes of an LRT project in Brisbane. These are very crucial processes that will determine the success or failure of the project. 

Detailed design and development phases

This phase comes after completion of conceptual design phase where the design team identified the most preferred LRT system for the city of Brisbane. In this phase, the design team starts to define various components and subsystems of the LRT, demonstrate how the preferred system will meet the project requirements (design and performance specifications), show that the system can be produced with methods that are available, and identify constraints (schedule and cost) that are likely to affect implementation of the preferred system. An LRT system comprises of a wide range of components and subsystems, each with varied specifications. The main categories of these specifications are: type A (system specifications), type B (development specifications), type C (product specifications), type D (process specifications) and type E (material specifications). In type A specifications, the design team defines the required technical, operational, performance, maintenance and support characteristics of the preferred LRT system. The team identifies all project requirements then performs a feasibility analysis to ensure that crucial technical performance measures are met. In type B specifications, the design team identifies need for new design, developments or research practices. In type C specifications, the design team identifies specifications of individual components of subsystems such as communication systems, software systems, power systems, etc. In type D specifications, the design team identifies the necessary processes or services that the preferred system will require at different subsequent phases, such as construction services, laboratory services, testing services, operation services, maintenance services, etc. In type E specifications, the design team establishes descriptions of materials and/or resources that will be used to construct the final product, such as metals, concrete, wood, polymers, nanomaterials, composites, etc.     

The main subsystems that the design team analyzes in preliminary design phase include: trail, bridges, stations, control systems, signal and communication systems, power systems, overhead catenary systems, trains or vehicles, etc. To achieve all the objectives of an LRT for the city of Brisbane, the design team has to perform their tasks by following the following design criteria: functional capability, interoperability, sustainability, reliability, maintainability, affordability, safety, security, durability, usability, supportability, serviceability, producibility, disposability, etc. This can only be effectively attained if relevant professionals are involved in each tasks. Therefore some of the systems engineering that are integrated in the preliminary design phase include: design engineering, manufacturing engineering, environmental engineering, software engineering, quality engineering, value engineering, logistics engineering, reliability engineering, maintainability engineering, safety/security engineering and human factors or ergonometric engineering. Each system design task completed in this phase is also analytically reviewed to ensure that all the requirements have been met.

Testing, evaluation and validation processes

After determining all specifications by following the stated design criteria, the design team has to create the blueprints of components, subsystems and the entire LRT system, relevant documents and mockups or models in detailed design and development phase. This phase is completed by following a series of steps (Blanchard & Fabrycky, 2010). The first step is to develop design requirements of all components of the LRT system based on various specifications identified in the preliminary design phase. The second step is to perform needed technical activities, such as preliminary and investigation studies, so as to fulfil the objectives of the design. The third step is to integrate all elements and activities of the LRT system to ensure that it is built and operated in the most efficient way possible. The fourth step is to select appropriate design tools, software and supports such as computer-aided drawing, computer-aided engineering, building information modelling, lean construction tools, simulations, etc. The fifth step is to prepare all the relevant designs and documentation using the selected design tools and software. This includes cost estimations, project programme, component lists, reports, analyses, etc. The sixth step is to develop mockups, engineering models and prototype models from the designs created. This is basically the development phase that comes after detailed design phase. The seventh step is to analyze and implement design reviews, evaluation and feedback. The last step is to incorporate appropriate design changes for the purposes of improving the LRT system based on the design reviews. When performing these tasks, the design team should ensure that technical performance measures are always monitored and controlled.

These processes are established in conceptual design phase and therefore the design team completes the preliminary design and detailed design and development phases knowing what tests, evaluations and validations to implement at each stage. When the tests are determined, their requirements (time, facilities, equipment, tools and personnel) are also identified at that time to allow time for proper planning. The processes basically aim at subjecting each component of the LRT system to relevant tests so as check whether or not it meets the project requirements (Luna, et al., 2013). Testing of individual components is followed by that of subsystems then the entire LRT system. Some of the tests that must be performed are those that determines the LRT system’s capability to meet the following requirements: performance, environmental, interoperability, constructability, reliability, structural, maintainability, supportability, software verification, personnel, compatibility, etc. If any component or subsystem fails to pass the test(s) then the design team has to redesign, re-evaluate and review it all over again. At no point should any failed component or system be developed because that is even against engineering code of ethics despite causing losses and damages to the client and other stakeholders.

This is also a very essential aspect process in the design process of an LRT system. Ever solution always has alternatives and that is why optimization process is provided for in this type of project. The ultimate goal of optimization is to improve the design so as to develop the best solution or alternative. Engineering systems are usually optimized using mathematical models, formulae, calculations and simulations. In this process, the design team uses mathematical models to manipulate values of various components until they obtain the best solution for the project. In this case, the design team will analyze the feasibility of using: renewable energy to drive the light rail trains, locally available construction materials and labour, modular construction, etc. Through optimization, the design team is able to analyze the implications of changes made to different parameters of the LRT system, such as number, size and alignment of tracks, type of system software used, construction methods used, type of materials used, etc. This process also involves making several economic decisions that will maximize investment values of all project costs that are incurred. Most importantly is for the design team to implement a solution that will make it easier and possible to control the LRT system during the construction and operation phases.

The city of Brisbane can achieve the goals and objectives of the proposed LRT system only if the designers ensure that there is impeccable interaction between the system and its operators and users during operation phase (Anderson, 2011). This makes it essential to integrate human factors during design process of the LRT system. To achieve this, the designers’ decisions should be driven by the needs of LTR users (Naweed & Moody, 2015). This involves creating appropriate interfaces for the system control and use by considering the jobs, duties and tasks that will be performed by people during service of the system (Edworthy, et al., 2008). When operators are working in a comfortable, safe and pleasant environment, even chances of making mistakes reduce. The designers should consult some current users of LRT systems and use past studies to get relevant data and information. Some of the critical human factors that should be incorporated include: anthropometric factors (physical body dimensions of operators and passengers), human sensory factors (vision, hearing/noise, touch/feeling, smell, etc.), and physiological factors (environmental stresses such as temperature extremes, humidity, vibration, noise, radiation, toxic substances, dust, gas, etc.). Various components of the LRT system should be of appropriate dimensions and materials and ensure safety, accessibility, usability, reliability, aesthetics and comfort of users. Most modern LRT systems are controlled through automation and this should also be adequately considered (Dobson, 2015). In general, designers should consider humans as one of the most important components of the LRT system. They have to look at this from the perspectives of LRT system operators, crew and passengers (Jenkins, 2014) so as to ensure optimum user experience.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The city of Brisbane undoubtedly needs LRT and therefore this project is feasible. Implementing it will bring a variety of economic, environmental and social benefits to the city and its residents. Designers of the proposed LRT should use preliminary design phase, detailed design and development phases, system test, evaluation, validation and optimization to create the best solution of the preferred LRT system and demonstrate that the system is functional, constructible, interoperable, usable, sustainable, reliable, maintainable, supportable, serviceable, durable, disposable, safe and affordable. They design team should also treat human factors as a major component of the system so as to give its users excellent experience.

To complete these processes, it is very important for the client to provide all the necessary resources and leadership, in terms of materials, personnel and support. A knowledgeable and experienced project manager should be selected to provide the required leadership and direction for successful completion of the project. The manager should encourage all stakeholders to embrace values, virtues and elements such as creativity, innovation, collaboration, cooperation, self-motivation, positive attitude, effective communication, flexibility, open-mindedness, etc. Above all, the project team has to identify, evaluate, prevent, mitigate and manage all potential risks and ensure that resources are allocated and utilized appropriately. This is a very tasking project and all stakeholders should work together as a team with a common goal – design an efficient, safe, interoperable, sustainable, maintainable, serviceable, supportable and affordable LRT system for the city of Brisbane.

References

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