Business profile
CIRAS provides a confidential, independent reporting system within rail. With no breaches of confidentiality since it started, it gives all rail staff an outlet to make their health and safety concerns known
F
ar from being a whistleblowing enterprise, CIRAS does not have any formal powers to investigate or
make demands of companies but instead acts as a facilitator between the person making the report and the company in question. CIRAS has an all-encompassing approach and takes health and safety reports from Network Rail, London Underground, Toc’s, Foc’s, Heritage Rail and the infrastructure and contracting communities. With an emphasis on shared learning, the focus is on making the industry a safer place for everyone and actively encouraging internal reporting as the initial means to raise any concern. CIRAS’s ethos is to encourage a positive reporting culture with an emphasis not on blame, but in aspiring to attain a safe, healthy and pleasant working environment for all staff. Some issues taken may indeed be about the internal reporting system in place, and so the report can provide a perfect opportunity to address any areas which may involve a breakdown in communication or a degree of uncertainty in making reports. An internal report may not reach its intended recipient and so just updating a process could make all the difference to reporting culture.
Assisting with internal reporting An example of where CIRAS was able to assist with internal reporting came in earlier this year. Industry report form, RT3185, is used for drivers to report a failure or irregularity they are faced with. A contact was made about staff not receiving feedback when they had chosen to use this method of reporting. In direct response to this, the company acknowledged that it was not always running these reports in a timely fashion. As a result it reinstated monthly automatic downloads of the reports and agreed that where possible, feedback would be given directly to the individual raising the concern. Indeed CIRAS reports have the potential to trigger company revision of rules and procedures. On occasion, this has led to a change in the rule book. Another company that was contacted about several issues including staff hours, and drugs and alcohol testing, gave responses which indicated that it was keen
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to develop a positive reporting culture. In this instance, the receipt of a report gave it the opportunity to remind staff of the internal reporting systems available. There, senior management also meet to discuss the events and observations brought to their attention which demonstrates that having the right reporting system in place can lead to a positive resolution and a culture which thrives on learning.
Complementing an external report In some instances, despite the choice of internal reporting systems on offer, someone may feel that they would rather raise their concern through an external,
independent, confidential source. This can help to provide the industry with knowledge about instances that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. As CIRAS is there to complement, not replace, other reporting systems, the research team will always endeavour to find out if any internal reporting channels have been used first. There are many reasons why someone may choose to make a report outside of the internal processes: for example, the issue could be very sensitive or there may have been previous attempts to get a resolution which were unsuccessful.
Often the guarantee of confidentiality is what makes CIRAS an attractive option.
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