The Safety Management System Programme Tasks

System Safety Database

Aims / Objectives

To ensure each area of mainline interface risk and dutyholders involved has been identified and responsibilities clarified.

Workstreams / Ideas

For each risk area where cooperation is require to control the risk, the lead category of transport operator will be identified along with a simple explanation of the system control framework for each risk.

Deliverables

1: Cross-industry agreement of which party is in the lead for managing each specific interface risk as well as who is in the lead for implementing each control measure.
2: Development of a database that will identify appropriate control measures within each risk area.

Review of Implementation of ROGS

Aims / Objectives

To understand how the requirements of recent legislation has and will continue to affect duty holders, post-implementation of recent legislation. Also to develop shared understanding of safety management systems and competency across the industry.

Workstreams / Ideas

To carry out an ongoing review of the implications of ROGS and other recent legislation, to determine the effect they are having on transport operators and establish the necessary enhancements that will need to be made to existing arrangements.

Deliverables

Influencing of policy and the legislative decision making processes, clarification of roles and responsibilities, workshops / conferences and tools services & guidance.

Duty of Cooperation

Aims / Objectives

To define and develop the longer-term formal arrangements for the duty of cooperation between transport operators.

Workstreams / Ideas

This workstream will consolidate understanding of industry’s present cooperative arrangements and will call upon best-practice to define the standard mechanisms to be operated between transport operators. It will review common processes and other relevant documents, arrangements, tools, products and services developed for the industry.

Deliverables

Duty of Cooperation Guide: (2 documents – Part 1: A summary ‘working’ document and Part 2: containing further detail) and further development of relevant areas for cooperation.

Development of SMS Framework and related Guidance

Aims / Objectives

To develop a ‘framework’ Safety Management System and supporting guidance for transport operators that will deliver a best-practice approach to ensure system safety.

Workstreams / Ideas

The framework and relevant guidance to be developed to support the framework will call upon best-practice from within and outside the industry, common safety processes and also other relevant initiatives.

Deliverables

SMS framework supported by tools, services and guidance to build on established best practice.

Processes for Cooperation

Aims / Objectives

The objective of this task is to identify the gaps in industry’s documented arrangements where interfaces exist, as required by Regulation 22 of ROGS – ‘Cooperation’.

Workstreams / Ideas

A review needs to be conducted to identify the arrangements in place to address these interfaces in order to determine whether the arrangements in place (if any) are documented and to assess their effectiveness.

Deliverables

Development of suitable processes to address gaps found in industry’s documented interface arrangements.

Learning from Incident Investigations and Incident Data

Aims / Objectives

The objective of this task is to improve organisational learning within the rail industry, by better utilisation of safety-related data and outcomes from accident and incident investigation processes.

Workstreams / Ideas

1. To improve the integrity and robustness of safety-related accident and incident data input, interpretation and dissemination.
2. To improve processes, protocols and relationships for accident and incident investigation.

Deliverables

Medium and long-term strategies to improve data integrity and processes, protocols and relationships for accident and incident investigation.

Responding to EU Requirements related to CSIs, CSTs and CSMs

Aims / Objectives

It has been agreed by the industry that RSSB will provide safety information on its behalf for the production of CSIs for submission to ERA via the National Safety Authority (ORR). It is a requirement for transport operators to individually and collectively satisfy requirements related to CSTs and CSMs. RSSB is currently working with GB representatives on the ERA workstreams to ensure that developments will be acceptable to the GB rail industry, and it is foreseen that this will continue throughout the ERA work programme, as appropriate.

This workstream will take account of the ERA development of SMS-related CSMs and will keep a watching brief on European developments to ensure that members’ views and requirements are at the forefront of developing initiatives.

Responding to the current and future SMS needs of industry

Aims / Objectives

Safety management will continue to evolve in the rail industry and this will have consequential effects on the role to be performed by RSSB. To continue to operate in an efficient manner, a full and proper understanding of the current and future SMS needs of industry partners is essential so that RSSB is able to continue to develop a robust and efficient working relationship with industry.

In the short to medium-term, RSSB has a role to support its members in effectively and efficiently implementing ROGS. Once the necessary degree of maturity has been reached with this regime, RSSB’s role will change and this task will specify what future support requirements duty holders will require from RSSB, including the identification and sharing of best practice within the evolving safety management regime.