LEGAL & LITIGATION
“There are digital risks, and they’re becom- ing ever more sophisticated. Even com- petitors can get in, if you’re bidding for a job and someone else is, there are ways and means to get in now and find out the details. So you’ve got to be aware of this.”
Some rail industry organisations, especial- ly the train operators, have passenger-fac- ing websites for ticket sales and timetables and have to be especially secure to prevent that digital information being misused, stolen or vandalised.
Backhanders
Another new risk for rail is the Bribery Act 2010, which came into force in July 2011. Harrison says it can be seen as “the world’s most aggressive anti-corruption legislation with far-reaching implications for both in- dividuals and companies”.
He explained: “It has been put forward that people do win contracts through bribes – though proving that is a different thing completely.
“You’ve got to put to one side the fact that, within any industry, rail or not, there’s al- ways going to be some hospitality because people get on with people, and if you get on with someone, they’re easier to work with, I’ve always thought that if you get to know someone that you’re working with, then if there is an issue, at least you can argue on first name terms.
“But what you’ve got to identify is the fact that there is this Bribery Act now and the way to make sure you’re complying with that is to have clear-cut procedures in place.”
Three examples of actions to take, he said, are ensuring there are procedures in place proportionate to the bribery risk the or- ganisation faces; periodic, informed and documented bribery risk assessments; and training and communication with staff.
He added: “The basics of it are that if eve- ryone knows that if they’ve been invited to the races, just record it. You would say that ‘ABC Ltd’ have invited you to the races – ‘do you mind if I go’, ‘no, I don’t mind if you go, just record it in the book so we know’.
“If it’s all open and above board, and the people that are offering that hospitality know that, they know that anything they offer is recorded somewhere in the company.
“If someone says to someone in a procure- 54 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 11
ment department or an operations de- partment ‘why don’t you come and stay at a five-star hotel for two weeks, bring the wife and family and we won’t say any more about it’ – well, it’s not exactly proportion- ate is it?
“A lot of it is down to the individual and how open they are. People have got to be aware that companies don’t mind hospital- ity, because that’s how business works in a lot of ways, but its got to be proportional and we’ve all got to have procedures in place so that people know you’re taking it and you’re not going off playing golf and going to the races and going on holidays 52 weeks a year.”
Every eventuality
Occasionally, suppliers and contractors in the rail do go under – leaving those further up the supply chain with troubles of their own to manage. This is where business continuity insurance comes in.
How common is business continuity insur- ance further up the supply chain?
Harrison said: “You have to look at your suppliers to ensure you’re using the cor- rect ones, and that they’ve got the right in- surance in place so that they’re not trans- ferring risk into your business.
“At Harrison Abbott, we go out and audit suppliers to ensure they’ve got the right in- surance in place, that they can meet what
they say they’re going to meet, and part of that is getting these ISO standards for quality, environment and health and safe- ty. Again, here at Harrison Abbott, we can help them get those in a short timeframe, and that helps them to win business, and has been proven to make them more effi- cient and probably more marketable.
“Government and Network Rail are look- ing for companies that have got this ac- creditation, because it gives them some comfort that the companies they’re work- ing with are reputable and can produce what they’re asking for.
“Even good suppliers can go under; you’ve got to make sure that you’re not 90% reli- ant on one supplier to keep your business going. And if you are, what would you do if they couldn’t perform?
“This happened with the earthquake in Japan for some companies: the supplies just dried up, and there are companies in this country which certainly strug- gled because they couldn’t get the parts they needed for their business.”
Stewart Harrison
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit
www.harrisonabbott.co.uk
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