RAIL SAFETY
T Keeping safety on the rails
he last twelve months have been eventful for rail safety.
An inquest into the Potters Bar tragedy in 2002 has dredged up many painful memories and answered a few questions along the way. The coroner apologised to the families of the victims, saying it was “indefensible” that they had to wait eight years for an inquest.
Ian Prosser, HM chief inspector and director of rail safety at The Office of Rail Regulation, agrees.
“As far as we are concerned, it appears that no new sources of information about the causes of the accident have come out of the inquest. However, we will be studying the coroner’s report to ensure that any future action which is needed is taken by the industry as well checking that there is nothing else which we should be doing.
“I am also very keen to determine the right actions to take in light of our investigation quickly.”
A recent ORR report on the safety of Britain’s railways found that although safety was good, the industry could not afford to become complacent.
“The industry has improved and is as safe as it has ever been – a lot of that is down to major pieces of investment which were implemented by regulation. One was the train protection warning system and the other was the elimination of slam door rolling stock. This means that a lot of the improvements which we have seen in terms of safety have been as a result of regulatory intervention.
Oct/Nov 10
“I think it is important that the industry does not stand still because that means you can always go backwards and I just do not feel that this industry has reached a point of excellence in what I would call safety culture and risk control, which are fundamental foundations to any industry.
“Given that the rail industry is going to go through some major changes - whether it’s changes to maintenance practices, commercial changes in franchising or due to the current economic situation - it will need those strong foundations of safety and risk control because change can introduce risk.
“It is very important not to be complacent in terms of managing the changes that happen in an effective way because our fundamental goal as a regulator is actually to get to a point where the industry has a culture of excellence in safety and risk control. Our goals are continuous improvement, greater efficiency and value for money and we are sure that those can go hand in hand.
“Therefore through better processes, systems and good leadership - which is critical - we can take the industry to the next level.”
Any significant change, in any organisation, relies on good leadership. Considering that these changes are being faced by an entire industry, where should that leadership come from?
“It should come from every aspect of the industry. We believe that in some aspects as a regulator we are showing leadership by what we are doing. It also needs to percolate down
through organisations so that the leadership is there on the ground because a major part of a safety culture is leadership and by people showing leadership by example.
“That means never walking past an unsafe act or condition.”
Part of effective leadership includes involving your staff in processes which affect them.
“Engaging staff is very
important. This means involving them in their risk assessments and that they are involved in improving their processes because they know how the things are done and how they can be done better.”
One area which is in need of improvement is the issue of workers’ deaths because despite having a relatively good safety record, Britain has suffered three in the last twelve months.
“If you look at the issue of track worker safety you will see that it hasn’t improved over the last few years and we are still seeing not only fatalities but a large number of serious injuries. I think that this comes down to a number of things including the culture and effectiveness of management systems on the ground. This means that we have to see improvements in site supervision, co-ordination and monitoring.
“Another thing that needs to happen is to have the things which are written down on paper actually transferred into action on the ground and that planning itself is improved. At the end of the day, safety is all about people. They need the training and support to get things right first time round.”
rtm59 Ian Prosser
A major inquiry and three tragic deaths have brought the question of rail safety back into everyone’s minds. Rail Technology Magazine spoke to Ian Prosser to find out what needs to be done to improve the situation
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