AGENDA ITEM: B4
MEETING:
RSSB Board Meeting
DATE:
03 September 2015
SUBJECT:
Rail Industry Health and Safety Strategy
SPONSOR:
Chris Fenton
AUTHOR:
John Abbott
1.
Purpose
To inform the board of progress with the development of the new Rail Health and Safety
Strategy, the timetable for completion and sign post key points for discussion.
2.
Background
2.1
Following dialogue and preparatory work, the need for a Rail Health and Safety Strategy along
with a set of guiding principles was agreed at the Industry Safety meeting in April 2015.
3.
Headline Progress
3.1
A project team led by Roan Willmore, Network Rail and John Abbott, RSSB has been mobilised
to develop the strategy content. All content has now been planned and initial input secured
from all identified lead individuals across the industry and the first draft completed.
3.2
Following a review of the first draft, the relevant lead individuals from across the industry have
been invited to review and this feedback has been collated.
3.3
Review meetings have been held with Andy Cooper, Charles Horton, Mark Carne, Chris Fenton,
the three ROSCOs, ORR and other stakeholders.
4.
Content Headlines
4.1
The purpose has been defined as follows:
“This Rail Health and Safety Strategy describes how the rail industry works together to manage
health and safety and is intended to:



Provide a focus for leadership in key areas where working together/collaboration will
deliver benefits.
Suggest collaborative strategies where cross-industry actions will deliver strengthened
management and understanding of health and safety risk.
Be a reference point for industry on how health and safety is managed on the modern
railway.
The strategy highlights areas where health and safety management can be further improved
through increased collaboration. It will guide the rail industry’s immediate, short-term and
medium term efforts in maintaining and developing its health and safety performance. This Rail
Health and Safety Strategy is a first version and will be updated through CP5 and CP6.”
4.2
As a consequence of this, the title of the document is proposed to be changed and the current
working title is ‘Health and safety on Britain’s railway – A strategy for working together.’
4.3
Immediately after the purpose, an important short chapter has been prepared which sets out
the “case for collaboration” and how adoption of the strategy will help contribute to the next
generation of health and safety improvements on the railway.
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AGENDA ITEM: B4
4.4
Twelve key strategic areas have been identified:
1. Train operations
7. Workforce safety
2. Station operations
8. Workforce assaults and trauma
3. Road driving
9. Freight
4. Fatigue
10. Level crossings
5. Public behaviour
11. Rolling stock asset integrity
6. Workforce health and wellbeing
12. Infrastructure asset integrity
For each strategic area the relevant cross-industry collaborative group has been signposted, and
the following format adopted:






Risk descriptor
Current and required level of maturity
Vision
Case for improvements
What is going to be done
Where to find more
The strategy also contains sections on:





Current health and safety performance
How safety is managed on today’s railway
Leadership and management capability
Horizon scanning
Governance monitoring and review
4.5
The importance of high quality graphics and diagrams is recognised and specialist help is being
provided by RSSB’s communications team.
5.
Timetable
5.1
Headline timetable for completion and publication of the strategy is set out below:
w/c 21/9
Completion of quality draft
w/c 6/10
Review at Industry Safety Meeting
w/c 16/11
Completion of final consultation
w/c 21/12
Industry leadership endorsement - complete
w/c 4/1/16
Completion
5.2
A separate plan will then be developed for launch and roll out commencing January 2016. A full
legal review of the strategy is to be undertaken as part of the above timetable.
6.
Leadership and Governance
6.1
The whole concept of the strategy is for rail leaders to set out a forward direction for
collaborative and co-ordinated health and safety improvement across the system. Each
company at all times remains responsible for the safety of their undertaking; however, as set
out in the “case for collaboration” section, the legislative framework and practical reality of
Britain’s railway system requires close co-operation between companies.
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AGENDA ITEM: B4
6.2
It is proposed that the following is expected of leaders:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Understand, endorse and champion the strategy
Communicate within their organisation
Review company health and safety plans and align where appropriate
Establish recognised cross industry arrangements to facilitate delivery
Engage with and get behind agreed cross industry activities to address identified
strategy improvement areas.
f. Be prepared to lead specific workstreams or activities
g. Set up and participate in suitable arrangements to review the strategy
6.3
As stated above, each rail company is responsible for the safe operation of their undertaking,
including co-operation with other parties, to deliver a safe railway system. The new strategy
provides a framework around which co-operative activities can be understood, aligned,
prioritised and communicated. The content of the strategy has been deliberately restricted to
those areas where cross-industry collaboration is required but it has been recognised that
suitable governance, monitoring and review arrangements are required and the following is
proposed:
a.
b.
c.
7.
Responsibility for governance including monitoring and review is assigned to the RSSB
board as the most suitable cross-industry body. Assuming the board agree to this, the
board will need to consider the practical arrangements for discharging this
responsibility.
The board may wish to consider utilising the System Safety Risk Group (SSRG) to play
a role in the monitoring and review. If so, the SSRG Terms of Reference will require
revision.
The Industry Safety Meeting could potentially also be utilised as the wider leadership
body to share and understand progress with the identified improvement areas within
the strategy on a rolling basis.
Recommendations
The RSSB board is invited to:







CONSIDER and DISCUSS their leadership expectations of the strategy
DISCUSS and PROVIDE a steer to the project team.
NOTE progress with development of the Rail Health and Safety Strategy
NOTE that a quality draft is to be circulated to board members and all ISM attendees
during w/c 21 September 2015
NOTE the timetable
DISCUSS any issues arising and in particular expectations around leadership
AGREE that the board should become responsible for governance, monitoring and
review of the strategy
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