The rail industry is built on longevity. Assets last for decades, standards evolve over generations and safety depends on understanding not just what to do, but why things are done that way. This makes corporate memory, the accumulated knowledge of people, projects and past decisions, one of rail’s most valuable assets. Malcolm Wilson, founder of IPEX Consulting, delved deeper into the importance of this in rail and at IPEX in a recent conversation.
What is corporate memory in rail?
In rail, corporate memory goes far beyond documentation. It includes:
- the lived experience of operating, maintaining and modifying complex systems
- the historical context behind standards, designs and procedures
- the lessons learned from failures, incidents and near misses
- the informal knowledge passed through stories, mentoring and shared experience
Standards and processes capture part of this memory, but not all of it. Much of the most valuable knowledge exists in people’s heads and can be lost when those people retire or move on.
Why this matters now
This topic is particularly urgent today as the rail industry is facing:
- a generational shift, with many highly experienced professionals approaching retirement;
- increasing organisational fragmentation, making informal knowledge sharing more difficult;
- growing technical complexity, with new technologies layered onto legacy systems; and
- pressure to move faster, often without the time to rediscover old lessons other than painfully.
Without corporate memory, organisations risk repeating mistakes, misjudging risk, or proposing solutions that look good on paper but don’t work in practice.
Why corporate memory matters to IPEX
When asked what corporate memory means for IPEX, Malcolm’s answer was unambiguous:
“Corporate memory means everything to IPEX. Our value is the blend of professional services and a deep understanding of how railways actually work.”
If IPEX loses its collective memory, the hard-won knowledge of how different operators function, how systems fail, how upgrades succeed, where pitfalls lie then we lose the very thing that differentiates us from generic consultancies. Rail clients come to IPEX precisely because we understand their world from the inside, from years of challenging and developing railway norms by reference to best practices in other sectors. Our advice is grounded in real operational experience, not abstract theory.
The risk of losing undocumented knowledge
Standards and processes capture part of an organisation’s memory, but not all of it. Malcolm expressed concern about losing the “older knowledge”, the stories, precedents and unwritten reasons behind why things are the way they are. Without that context, younger professionals may not have the opportunity to fully appreciate the assumptions baked into today’s systems.
He gave examples such as:
- life extension of rolling stock and the body of critical precedents from which to draw;
- lessons from manufacturing challenges that have imported practices and breakthroughs from other sectors; and
- anecdotes from past projects that help engineers understand not just what to do, but why certain decisions matter.
These stories may not fit neatly into databases, but they influence judgement, decision making and engineering intuition.
How we protect and strengthen corporate memory
Malcolm suggested several practical mechanisms organisations can adopt:
- Knowledge banks and cross – referenced repositories
Systems like IPEX Knowledge, searchable, structured and continuously updated, play a critical role in retaining technical content, case studies and lessons learned.
- Project references and case studies
Snapshots of past work help keep history accessible and in mind.
- Story sharing forums
Malcolm emphasised the importance of structured storytelling, where teams share significant failures, successes, breakthroughs, or historical context. These create memorable anchors for knowledge that might otherwise vanish.
- Regular topic sessions
He proposed short, periodic discussions where team members bring an example or past experience related to a chosen theme. These informal sessions seed awareness of where deeper information exists.
- Mentoring by example
Malcolm described himself as an introvert but highlighted that his approach to mentoring is built on leading by example, being mindful of the behaviours he models and showing newer engineers how he listens to understand and thinks through decisions.
Looking ahead: Empowerment and the future of rail
Despite frustrations around slow adoption of new technologies, Malcolm is optimistic. Rail is increasingly understood as a climate positive, high value solution for the future. He also sees a new generation entering the industry with greater empowerment and influence than previous cohorts, a shift he believes will accelerate positive change.
A closing thought
Malcolm ended our conversation with a message that captures the essence of corporate memory:
“The rail industry’s future is stronger when we remember to look back through the wealth of valuable precedents before making decisions about the now or the future.”
In a sector built on longevity, safety and complex systems, this principle matters more than ever. At IPEX, protecting corporate memory isn’t just about honouring the past, it’s about equipping the next generation with the context, judgement and insight needed to build the future of rail.