Opinion
Only by putting safety at the centre of a company’s culture – to the level where even office workers are not allowed to have a pint mid-shift – can you routinely put staff around a live railway with confidence
M
ention of safety at Network Rail will inevitably bring out the saying ‘Safety is at the heart of everything we do’. Standing by a railway
line, open to traffic, in the middle of the night, it will be obvious that the statement is true. When the COSS (controller of Site Safety) tells site workers that the limit of their movement must be the last rail of the Up Fast, nobody comes close to stepping over, even by a matter of inches.
are safer connected
Our Lifesaving Rules
We have agreed these 11 Lifesaving Rules. They’re here to protect all of us. If you’re ever asked to break or ignore any of these Rules, you have the right to say no.
For more information, please speak to your line manager. Contact with trains
Always have a valid safe system of work in place before going on or near the line.
Working with moving equipment
Never enter the agreed exclusion zone, unless directed to by the person in charge.
outdated safety process or just honest errors. It is obvious that these should not be treated the same as breaches that stem from poor behaviours, such as substance abuse or sabotage. Network Rail has also made it clear that a rule may be broken to save someone’s life. So while it may be easy
Working with electricity
Always have a valid permit to work where required.
Only by putting safety at the centre of the company’s culture – to the level where even office workers are not allowed to have a pint mid-shift – can you routinely put staff around a live railway with confidence. To quote our chief executive, it was a crisis of confidence in the safety of the railway that led to the creation of Network Rail, and we exist to keep passengers, the public, and our colleagues safe every day. Recently, Network Rail has undergone a thorough review of its safety processes. The intention is to simplify its safety rules and standards to increase clarity and make them easier to follow. The 11 Lifesaving Rules are the first step of this overhaul, combined with a new, and fair process to decide what will happen if rules are broken.
Always test before applying earths. Driving
Always wear a seat belt while in a moving vehicle and always obey the speed limit.
Never use a hand-held device or programme any hands-free device while you are driving a road vehicle.
Never assume equipment is isolated – always test before touch.
Taking responsibility Working at height
Unless it is clear other protection is in place, never work at height without a safety harness.
Never undertake an activity unless you have been trained, assessed as competent and have the right equipment.
Never drive or work while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
to sack someone after a breach of the rules, and then think effective action has been taken, it is not necessarily right.
Always use equipment for working at heights that is fit for purpose.
Over the past six months we have consulted with over 1,300 staff members, union colleagues, suppliers and other organisations to develop our Lifesaving Rules. Our Lifesaving Rules have been written by us, for all of us.
An analysis of 12 years of the most common cases of death and life changing incidents allowed us to identify key areas for the Rules to focus on:
Contact with trains Working with electricity Working at height Working with moving equipment Driving Taking responsibility
The Rules apply to everyone who works at Network Rail, from the office to the front line.
There is a clear process, available to all staff, that explains what steps will be taken in the instances of rule breaches. By encouraging people to put up their hands and admit errors – and most importantly explain why they occurred – we can begin to make real improvements in staff safety. The Lifesaving Rules are important, but also only one step on the journey to simplifying our
It is important that lessons are learned from mistakes, but if those mistakes are under-reported by staff who fear for their jobs, gaps can develop in knowledge and training. The process has involved considerable consultation, not just with unions, but also staff and suppliers.
The rules, which are available online at www. safety.
networkrail.co.uk/Information-Centre/Lifesaving-Rules, cover six main areas. They are:
Contact with trains; working with electricity; working at height; working with moving equipment; driving; and finally, taking responsibility.
This last area is designed to give staff the power to be responsible for their own safety – not to pass the buck to their managers. The rule is: never undertake an activity unless you have been trained, assessed as competent and have the right equipment. The system has been designed so that if a member of staff feels he or she is not competent and does not have the skills needed, they can take action and push back against unsafe requests.
That is of course, rare, but by acknowledging it, we can help foster a culture of fairness and responsibility in safety.
So what happens if the rules are broken? We know that 90 per cent of incidents where rules are breached stem from mistakes, be they from lapses in concentration,
June 2013 Page 57
processes and standards. In future, we also are working towards creating a 24-hour close call reporting system, reviewing our training courses and practices and using worldwide best practice to develop a series of guides to behaviours that encourage safe working.
Safety does not stand still and constant vigilance will always be needed to keep those who travel and work on the railway from harm.
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