The Safety Management System Programme

ROGS implementation

The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS) implement key elements of The Railway Safety Directive, which is intended to harmonise the approach to regulating railway safety across the EU and ensure improved access to the market for rail transport services.

ROGS specifically replaced the railway safety case regime with new provisions on safety management systems, safety certification and safety authorisation. They also replaced The Railways and Other Transport Systems (Approval of Works, Plant and Equipment) Regulations 1994 with a new requirement for a written safety verification scheme (where applicable). ROGS also deals with general duties such as risk assessment, the requirement to prepare an annual safety report for ORR and of particular interest, a duty to co-operate. ROGS also replaces The Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994 but with modifications to implement recommendations from the Ladbroke Grove enquiry. It requires controllers of safety critical work to ensure that such work is only carried out or supervised by fit and competent persons and that safety critical work is not carried out by workers when fatigued.

The change in terminology from infrastructure controller to infrastructure manager clarifies the change in status of those who operate the infrastructure. ROGS makes clear the role of the member state set out in the Safety Directive in that only the National Safety Authority (in GB – the ORR) holds the responsibility for assuring system safety. Under ROGS the status of a safety certificate and a safety authorisation is the same (i.e. they allow access), although the scope is different to the requirements of the previous safety case regime. With the introduction of ROGS there is equality between infrastructure manager and transport undertaking in all but a few limited matters.

RSSB is currently working with industry partners to develop understanding and guidance on responsibilities for interface risk control and will be published on this website when completed.

An industry conference is presently being organised which will be held on 8 Nov 2007 in London for dutyholders to understand experience of new regulations and in particular the development and practical operation of Safety Management Systems.

See link: ROGS One-Year-On Conference

Duty of Co-operation

Regulation 22 of The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS) places an obligation on transport operators to cooperate with other transport operators to achieve safe operation of the railway system. It also requires contractors employed by transport operators to co-operate with other transport operators.

The duty of co-operation is explicit. ROGS therefore endorses the activities undertaken jointly to enhance understanding and management of safety matters across the railway. Infrastructure managers and transport undertakings are required to demonstrate how they execute this duty.

All transport operators holding a safety certificate or safety authorisation are required to explain how they co-operate with others on the same transport system. This co-operation should be seen as occurring between parties of equal standing and extends to co-operation for the purpose of enabling other transport operators to comply with the duty to carry out risk assessment and develop robust risk control measures.

Most of the examples provided in the guidance relate to activities led by RSSB on behalf of its members. Whilst ORR would not be expected to endorse participation in RSSB’s programmes as satisfying the requirements of ROGS, duty holders can discharge some elements of their duty to co-operate through RSSB. RSSB is in the process of producing a guide to describe the framework for British mainline rail transport operators to discharge duty of co-operation requirements. This will be uploaded to this site when completed.

RSSB activities support guidance

With regard to The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS), RSSB has prepared a short guide to its activities. The purpose of the guide is to help RSSB members and other relevant stakeholders prepare their company ROGS-compatible safety certification and authorisation acceptance documents for submission to the ORR.

The guide describes industry interface arrangements with RSSB and adoption of the RSSB interface arrangements specified in this guide will help our members consistently describe the interface with and participation in RSSB processes and systems. This represents an important component of ROGS duty of cooperation requirement.

The guide can be found at : http://www.rssb.co.uk/docs/SMS_a_guide_to_RSSB_activities_Issue_2.doc.

RSSB has also prepared a matrix to show the status of ROGS certificate and authorisation submissions to ORR.

This can be found at: http://www.rssb.co.uk/pdf/ROGS_Certificate_and_Authorisation_submissions.pdf