Safety Assurance Role in Asset Development in Rail

Andy Ward – Principal Systems Assurance Manager

23rd June 2014

Bill Plakias – National Rail Safety Manager

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Will focus mainly on asset development

What is safety assurance?

Why do we do it?

Comparison of experiences

Issues around applying assurance

Overview of presentation

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Summary of experience

Ten years’ experience in Europe prior to coming to Australia

Working for a signalling system supplier and an engineering consultancy

Over three years with RailCorp

With John Holland now for over three years

Worked across Australia and overseas

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What is meant by safety assurance

In the context of this presentation, safety assurance is:

A set of activities that are undertaken as an integral part of the

development and operational readiness phases of railway assets

The consideration of the safety risk associated with the future long-term

operation and maintenance of those assets as part of an operating

railway system.

This means that when undertaking safety assurance, a person should be

putting themselves in the shoes of the future operator of the assets.

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Safety assurance

Asset Management Technologies Model

Safety Assurance

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Safety assurance approach

Identification and analysis of safety hazards associated with the future

long-term operation and maintenance of railway assets.

Demonstration that these safety hazards meet an acceptable level of risk

e.g. risk is tolerable and as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

Provision of a safety argument describing how it has managed the safety

risks and evidence to support this safety argument

Typical activities

Engineering and operational decisions made during asset

development are supported by risk-based safety assurance

Safety assurance

Why undertake it?

Key Drivers

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Future Operator

Regulator

Governance Client

Law

Duties under law as designers,

constructors of the assets

Organisation has confidence that

duties are being discharged under the

Rail Safety National Law and risks

they are exposed to are understood

Contract requirements often stipulate

management of safety assurance.

Understanding of the risks future

operator will be exposed to during

operations phase of the assets

Regulator will look for evidence of

management of safety risk in

accordance with operator’s safety

management processes

Overseas experience Australian experience

Comparison of safety assurance experience

Approach well established

Cohesive industry approach

Requirements highly specified

Collaborative relationships

Approach still being established

Fragmented industry approach

Requirements more broad

Contractual relationships

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Determining how much is enough

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Level of assurance must match the risks associated with the project

Low Risk

Low Complexity

Use of Well-Understood Assets

High Risk

High Complexity

Use of Novel Assets

Most Projects sit

in between

Assurance through

demonstration of

compliance with standards

Assurance through

development of detailed

safety case

Resist the urge to

‘over-assure’

Safety assurance approach

Safety assurance is an integral part of the asset

development lifecycle

Safety assurance requires particular effort at

back-end of project

Requires completion of other activities from

many different groups

Safety assurance often gets squeezed

Unreasonably blamed for project delays

Planning

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Do not underestimate the effort of assurance

Undertake assurance progressively

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Safety assurance approach

Ensure duties of all involved with a project are understood

Rail Safety National Law places duties on people undertaking the design,

construction, commissioning and bringing into operation of railway assets

Key duties under law are around ensuring so far as is reasonably

practicable that assets are safe

These duties cannot be delegated e.g. to consultants or assurance team

They must remain with the designers, constructors, manufacturers etc.

Understanding where duties lie

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Safety assurance

Safety assurance should be an integral part of the asset management

lifecycle

During asset development, put yourself into the shoes of the future O&M

Determine the level of assurance required during asset development

phases – determination should be risk-based

Work with stakeholders collaboratively

Plan as an integral part of the asset development lifecycle

Make sure all understand their responsibilities with respect to assurance

Conclusion

Safety assurance

Questions?

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