Leading Health and
Safety on Britain’s railway
Industry leaders have collaborated to produce Britain’s first rail industry health and safety
strategy. The strategy focuses on those elements of health and safety risk management
that can be improved by companies working together, both within and beyond the
legislative requirements, to achieve greater gains in health and safety performance.
Leadership is at the heart of this strategy. It has been developed
by rail industry leaders to provide a framework for collaborative
improvement of health and safety performance. Your leaders
have given their support to this strategy and are committed to:
• Championing it within their own businesses
• Reflecting it in their own company plans and systems
• Empowering their teams to engage and deliver it
• Facilitating cross industry arrangements
• Leading specific activities
The purpose
•P
rovide a focus for leadership in key
areas where collaboration will deliver
health and safety performance benefit
•B
e a reference point for how health and
safety is managed on the railway – tell
the industry health and safety story
• I dentify collaborative strategies where
cross-industry action will deliver improved
management of health and safety risks
12 Priority Risk Areas
Twelve priority risk areas have been selected by industry
leaders. These account for more than 90% of the current
railway health and safety risk profile and are where there
is the greatest potential to reduce health and safety risk
through increased industry collaboration.
1
Workforce health
and wellbeing
8
Infrastructure
asset integrity
2
Public behaviour
9
Workforce assaults
and trauma
3
Station operations
4
Road risk
5
Level crossings
6
Fatigue
7
Workforce safety
10 Train operations
11 Freight
12 Rolling stock
asset integrity
Only by working together
“can
the safety of the
railway system be managed
effectively to reduce risk to
our staff, our passengers
and the public.
”
9 Capabilities
The rail industry has derived extensive
knowledge and experience in the
development and application of
formalised safety management
systems. This has generated insight into
areas where there are opportunities to
individually and collectively improve.
Nine areas have been identified to enable
cross-industry improvements in health
and safety management. By collaborating
on these we will improve the underlying
effectiveness of our management of health
and safety across Britain’s rail companies.
Find out more
Visit: www.rssb.co.uk
Follow us: @RSSB_rail
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3142 5330
More effective
assurance
Next generation
reporting systems
and safety
co-operation
Improve
learning, sharing
and horizon
scanning
Next generation
rules and
standards
Improved
approach to
health and safety
Smart supplier
co-operation
capability
assessment and
information
Design for
health and safety
and change
management
Exploit new
technology
Develop our
people