ASSET MANAGEMENT
The application of formal safety management processes to ORBIS delivered Asset Information Systems
Sue Schreiber of Bellwether Enterprises Ltd explains the vital role of safety management to Network Rail’s ORBIS project. M
any of the engineering assets that make up the railway are recognised as safety
related and therefore are the subject of a formal engineering safety case. When engineering assets are safety related, the information that supports their management has the potential to impact upon the safety of the railway. Presenting engineers responsible for making decisions regarding the management of these assets with correct, complete and current asset information should lead to better, and therefore safer, asset management decisions.
However, when information is not fully correct, complete or current then it has the potential to compromise decision-making. To protect against this eventuality, the potential for imperfect information needs to be minimised and the associated decision- making processes need to be resilient to information imperfections.
In recognition of the importance of asset information to a safe railway system, Network Rail Asset Information (AI) operates a formal safety management regime. This regime was originally set up to comply with the good practice set out in the ‘Yellow Book’ and is now aligned with BS EN 61508: Functional safety of electrical/electronic/ programmable electronic safety-related systems, and associated British Standards.
The Network Rail Asset Management Policy includes a commitment “to meet our asset management obligations in a manner that is demonstrably world class”. A key part of fulfilling this commitment has been the creation
122 | rail technology magazine Apr/May 14
of the ‘Offering Railways Better Information Services’ (ORBIS) programme to deliver a step- change improvement in Asset Information Systems. One of the key objectives of ORBIS is to realise improvements in the safety of both the engineering assets and the staff who carry out the associated work.
Each of the projects within the scope of the ORBIS programme must satisfy formal safety management milestones. Safety is included at the planning stage of the project and safety deliverables are produced as appropriate throughout the project lifecycle. The first major safety deliverable is a Safety Implications Statement (SIS) and, if it is deemed appropriate, the second major safety deliverable is a safety case.
A SIS is an assessment undertaken during the requirements definition phase of a project to determine the impact that a proposed change could have on the safety of the operational system. Once the safety implications are understood, the SIS then determines both the safety requirements for the system and the appropriate engineering safety management effort for subsequent project phases.
A safety case is produced to provide the evidence of completion of safety and technical assurance prior to the commissioning of the system into operational use. The need for a safety case is driven by the risk associated with the system and/or the associated novelty and/or the scale of the arising business change.
In order to ensure an appropriate separation
between project execution and the safety assurance, the key safety deliverables must be completed by an appropriately qualified Independent Safety Consultant, and the business acceptance of those deliverables is undertaken by the (project independent) Infrastructure Safety Review Panel (ISRP). At the conclusion of the project, the safety deliverables are transferred to the business system owner, who then becomes responsible for their ongoing management during the operational life of the system.
Mike Mangroo, another principal consultant at Bellwether, is currently the independent safety consultant for the projects delivering the Linear Asset Decision Support (LADS) tool and Asset Data Store (ADS). He has written and gained ISRP approval for both systems.
He explained that Bellwether has been involved with the safety assurance of Network Rail’s information systems for many years now and as a result has developed processes tailored for the task.
Given its past experience, Bellwether has been helping ORBIS to embed suitable safety management processes into its project management framework, hence principal consultant Tim Ballantyne’s role as the acting safety integration manager within the ORBIS Design Authority. He will continue in this role until Network
Rail
has completed the process of recruiting a permanent member of staff.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.bellwether.co.uk
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