RSSB
Delivery priorities
2015-17
Welcome
to RSSB
RSSB support the railway industry in standards,
safety, knowledge and innovation. This
document explains who we are, what we do, and
our delivery priorities over the next 2-3 years.
Each of the sections describes one of the interrelated areas in which we work and highlights
the ways we’re helping the UK rail industry to:
• improve safety
• improve customer experience
• increase capacity
• reduce cost
• reduce carbon
to provide value for passengers, business and
the taxpayer.
How RSSB works
INPUTS
Supporting the rail industry
PROCESS
OUTPUTS
COMMUNICATION
Standards
Cross-
industry
experts
Membership
engagement
Research
Safety
Data
International
experience
Publications
and events
Risk
modelling
Analysis
Knowledge
Innovation
Guidance and training
OUTCOMES
The railway is a complex system with multiple interfaces delivered
by many different organisations. At RSSB, we bring these different
organisations together to make collective decisions.
Improved safety and
operational
performance
Through research, the understanding of risk and analysis, we help
the rail industry in the areas of standards, safety, knowledge and
innovation. We support the railway too across a wide range of crossindustry topics requiring our knowledge and independence. And we
provide a constant point of reference in a changing environment.
Benefits
to passengers
and business
Our work involves close collaboration, but as technical experts,
we’re also able to step back and provide an informed view. And
because we can see both the big picture and the detail, we’re able
to furnish the industry with the information and tools it needs to
continuously improve.
Value
for the
taxpayer
We’re an expert body with a wide compass of knowledge, skills
and experience. We’re part of the industry, non-profit making and
independent of any commercial interests. We span the whole system,
including in our membership infrastructure companies, train and freight
operators, rolling stock owners and suppliers to the industry.
Standards
Standards are essential for many different organisations to
work together safely and efficiently as part of a single system.
We enable the parties that make up the GB rail industry to work
together effectively by producing standards that cover every
aspect of interoperability (safety, reliability and availability, health,
environmental protection, technical compatibility and accessibility)
to deliver their overall objectives.
Our activities include:
•aligning GB Rail Standards with those from the EU, and helping to
influence and shape the future of these EU standards
Breaking standards down into more detail
This year we will:
• harmonise Railway Group Standards with
Technical Specifications for Interoperability
(TSIs) to shape future documentation
• create a requirements database for
easier management and communication
of standards
• define the implications of European
regulation (the fourth railway package)
and continue to influence TSIs
And in the longer term we will:
• provide clear frameworks linking standards
to risk management
• support major new programmes, for
example Thameslink and Crossrail
• explore new delivery formats and channels
for standards
•simplifying the standards that we’re creating, making them more
practical and easier to use
•documenting the requirements behind Standards, and aligning
them to risk and hazard information
Rail Group
Standards
Standards
Committees
Crossindustry
expertise
Rule Book
Standards
European
engagement
Aligned TSIs
Safety
At RSSB we’re here to support the rail industry to make the GB rail
network the safest and most efficient in Europe. We help those
operating the railway to understand, manage and reduce safety risk.
We do this by: collecting and analysing data; modelling risk;
providing guidance and information to inform decisions; and
encouraging collaboration to mitigate risk.
Breaking safety down into more detail
This year we will:
• upgrade the Safety Management
Information System (SMIS) to modern
enterprise Safety Management Systems
software
• develop the Close Call System and
integrate within SMIS for better use of
data and efficiency for members
• author the Industry Health and Safety
Strategy with our members, supporting the
monitoring and review arrangements
• reinforce understanding of ‘system
safety’ concepts and the principles of
‘safety by design’
• programme manage the Platform Train
Interface Strategy launched last year
• use risk information and understanding
to prioritise other collective industry
safety initiatives
In the longer term we will:
• complete the upgrade of the SMIS and
integrate with the industry’s safety
management processes
• more closely align our work in safety
management with that in standards
• develop risk assessment and management
tools and guidance
Safety risk
models
System
Safety Risk
Group
Tools and
guidance
Safety performance data
Safety
Learning from
international
incidents
Rail Health
and Safety
Strategy
Knowledge
RSSB research is cross-industry and multi-disciplinary, and is driven
by the specific needs of the railway. It draws on our own expertise, as
well as that of members, universities and private sector partners. We
identify and prioritise gaps in existing knowledge, develop business
cases, carry out project management and provide the technical
capability to deliver research and development projects.
This means:
•ensuring our research is aligned with industry objectives and
knowledge gaps
•being responsive to industry requests by streamlining
research processes
Breaking knowledge down into more detail
This year we will:
• develop new research and development
processes to accelerate pipeline review
and delivery
• roll out a new implementation
monitoring process
• use our single point of entry for efficient
processing of research, development and
innovation project ideas
• secure a greater level of co-funding
for projects
• improve the rail knowledge portal
(SPARK), a database of over 20,000 global
research projects
• align research and development to support
the Rail Technical Strategy and the major
risk themes emerging from system safety
(such as Platform Train Interface Strategy)
And in the longer term we will:
• create an investment strategy for
projects in the lower ‘Technology
Readiness Level’
• explore new knowledge sharing and
collaboration opportunities with our
international partners
• providing value for money from our research by identifying
implementation channels and developing communication plans
Research
reports
System
Interface
Committees
Rail Technical
Strategy
Knowledge
Knowledge gaps
Technical
developments
for standards
Rail
Knowledge
portal (SPARK)
Innovation
Innovation is essential to increase customer satisfaction and
capacity and to reduce costs and carbon emissions. We develop
innovation programmes to deliver the Rail Technical Strategy
that provide a long-term vision.
Our innovation activities include:
•working with industry to define the challenges
•carrying out detailed mapping of the technology and activity
needed to deliver the Rail Technical Strategy, identifying any gaps
Breaking innovation down into more detail
This year we will:
• complete the Rail Technical Strategy
portfolio maps
• hold innovation competitions to plug
technical gaps
• look at how European programmes
Shift2Rail and Horizon 2020 can help
• implement the Innovation in
Franchising Scheme
• support Digital Railway, HS2 and Crossrail
• help the Rail Supply Group develop a Rail
Industrial Strategy
And in the longer term we will:
• update the Rail Technical Strategy for the
Control Period 6 Industry Plan
• develop demonstrators including, for
example, the Sustainable Rail Vehicle
• extend the Innovation in Franchising
Scheme to all franchises
•promoting innovation in the industry to plug these gaps,
using competitions to encourage the development of new
approaches and technology
•integrating GB innovation efforts with those in Europe
Rail Technical
Strategy
Technical Strategy
Leadership Group
Demonstrator
projects
Industry co-funding
Innovation
4C objectives
Innovation
capability in
supply chain
Industry schemes
In addition to our four main areas of
focus (Standards, Safety, Knowledge and
Innovation) we also operate a number of
cross-industry schemes to support the GB
rail industry. These include:
• CIRAS, the Confidential Incident
Reporting and Analysis System
• RISQS, the Railway Industry Supplier
Qualification Scheme
• RISAS, the Railway Industry Supplier
Approval Scheme
What we’re doing:
Supplier assurance (RISAS, RISQS)
We’re defining the industry strategy for
supplier assurance, integrating RISAS
and RISQS into a single scheme covering
qualification and assurance.
Confidential reporting (CIRAS)
We are supporting CIRAS in its expansion
across the wider transport community.
Enablers
Sustainability
We’re working to get sustainability principles
embedded in industry practices. Work
includes showing the value of socio-economic
data (using the East Anglia franchise),
formulating principles for re-categorising
stations, and demonstrating the carbon
accounting tool on 30 industry projects.
People
We’re working with The National Skills
Academy for Railway Engineering to develop
a people strategy, creating best practice tools
and guidance to support the Health and
Wellbeing Road Map and developing a crossindustry health data definition, and common
occupational health training.
Systems
Replacement of the Rolling Stock Library and
the Rail Vehicle Records System with a new
system R2.
We work hard to constantly improve
our efficiency and value. Our three
internal priorities are:
Technical
excellence
Impact
and influence
Effectiveness
and efficiency
• by mapping our
current and future
technical skills
• by developing a career
path framework,
succession planning
and cross-industry
secondments
• by creating member
engagement plans
• by professionalising
our communication,
making sure
information is clear,
simple and targeted
• by integrating
implementation
benefits into planning
processes
• by delivering ‘RPI -1%’
efficiency (a fall in real
terms) year on year
• by implementing
Smarter Ways of
Working to reduce
our office space
requirements by a third
• by improving our
productivity
• by exploring
opportunities to grow
our revenue
What membership of RSSB means
Key resources
RSSB has nearly 300 engineers, risk modellers,
human factors specialists and widely
experienced professionals from the rail
industry and other sectors. Being a member
of RSSB is not only a public demonstration
of commitment to the railway, but directly
connects with this expertise.
Our website – rssb.co.uk – is the principal source of information on risk,
safety and standards. It has links to the extensive information and resources that
we provide and it also includes a useful jargon wiki.
Being a member
• facilitates the duty of cooperation under
The Railways and Other Guided Transport
Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS)
• enables access to a direct influence
on standards
• provides support with tools and guidance
• benefits from reduced costs for training
• gives access to the enquiry desk
• provides higher level access to research
reports
Thank you
RSSB supports the rail industry in
achieving its objectives. This document
has outlined our priorities for the next
2-3 years. We know we can only do this
with your support. Thank you to all our
members who make this possible and to
all the individuals who contribute their
expertise and experience in the groups
and committees to make the railway
safer and more efficient.
More information is available from these websites:
rgsonline.co.uk
Provides access to Railway Group Standards, Rail Industry Approved Codes of
Practice, Guidance Notes and Rail Industry Standards
sparkrail.org
A searchable knowledge portal of research projects from around the world
opsweb.co.uk
Information and resources on operational safety
futurerailway.org
Information on the work of the Future Railway programme
You can also contact the RSSB enquiry desk on 0203 142 5400 or
enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @RSSB_rail