Chief inspector: We’re playing catch up on safety
The railway industry has fallen behind other industries, and other countries’ railway systems, the chief inspector of the railways has admitted.
Ian Prosser, HM chief inspector and director of rail safety at the ORR, believes that although the ORR has generated a strategic health and safety culture and risk control, there is a long way to go.
Addressing delegates at the IOSH Rail Industry Conference, he pointed out that the way the railway industry is structured made implementation difficult.
‘There is still a long way to go and it doesn’t mean spending money. It’s about trust, trusting each other in a system. The railway industry is a fragmented one. At the end of the day it’s about being legally compliant. It’s about doing the right things right the first time.
‘We are behind not just other industries but other railways. One only has to look at Germany for an example. For the executive it’s not just about gold plating and it’s not about endless debate and complex procedures. It’s about sustained improvement. These are very simple things that we are trying to use to help us.’
The new model of health and safety risk assessment was unveiled to the conference by John Gillespie, HM inspector of railways and head of human factors and operational support at the ORR. He stated: ‘We’re looking for excellence in health and safety risk assessment control. We will argue and bicker. I don’t mind that because we are having a conversation that asks, “How good is your management?”
‘If companies are excellent at health and safety management, then it is more likely that they can manage health and safety law.’
