Highlighting the most important safety issues in winter 2022
For several reasons, the issues of uncertainty, anxiety, stress, and fatigue are important factors in rail right now. Rail reform is the biggest change in the industry for three decades. We all know that change is coming but we’re not yet sure of the details of that change or what it will mean for us. This can be difficult to deal with, even if we’re broadly enthusiastic about the improvements that these changes may bring. But apart from this uncertainty being difficult to cope with, it can also be a cause of errors, mistakes, and even accidents. It needs to be addressed, and in ways that fit with what the industry’s data tells us is most important now.
Our ‘threshold reports’ use data from the industry to identify performance issues. Looking across a range of indicators, in the December 2022 report, SPADs were found to be a cause of concern. The data showed that the rate of SPADs was significantly greater at the end of 2021/22 than it had been at the end of 2020/21. Relative to the September 2006 baseline, the increase was from 27% to 33%.
There are several reasons why this could have been the case. One of them is the increase in network traffic as we come out of the pandemic. Increased traffic is bound to result in an increase in SPADs at some level. Then there are seasonal factors for the winter months such as low adhesion. This is likely to increase this year too.
However, other seasonal factors are starting to emerge related to the summer months. The data analysis about SPADs also revealed that that was an association between heatwaves and the occurrence of SPADs, so this is another factor that needs to be included when working to reduce SPADs.
It can seem too much of a challenge to address specific issues in detail when there’s a lot of other change going on already, like now. This is where RSSB can help rail leaders and managers to embed good practice change management principles. These principles recognise that where changes need to happen, having a clear sense of direction and a rationale for the change can really help everyone manage the change. RSSB provides resources about this too, and they will also really help industry leaders deal with SPADs in a time of change.
