We're joined this month by Johnny Schute, our Chief Operating Officer. Johnny speaks with us about RSSB's unique whole-system perspective and what that means for the GB rail industry. He touches on the value it generates, the efficiencies it enables, and how it helps us strive for safety while also ensuring cost reduction, revenue growth, and impro…

This month we're joined by Marcus Dacre, RSSB’s Head of Risk and Safety Intelligence. He talks with us about the importance of having good quality health and safety data in the rail industry. Marcus also covers the work that got us to this point, what the future holds, and the improvements we're making to SMIS to aid better data capture. He finishe…

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! This month we're joined by Dougie Hill, who is Chair of the National Freight Safety Group. He talks about the freight landscape in 2024, what it'll take to safely meet the government's rail freight growth target, and what RSSB is working on to make this happen. Find out more about the NFSG here: www.r…

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! This month we're joined by Tracy Orlandi, who is Head of Wellbeing and Occupational Health at East Midlands Railway. She talks about the progress being made in rail employee health and wellbeing, areas where gaps remain, and what it'll take to elevate health to the same level as safety in the rail ind…

This month we're joined by Thom Rawson, RSSB's Sustainable Rail Principal, to talk through the impact the Sustainable Rail Blueprint has had so far. He also covers how we're helping rail organisations embed it, how we're facilitating industry collaboration on sustainability, and what's next. Find out more at https://www.rssb.co.uk/sustainability/th…

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! Today, join four members of our Executive Committee — Johnny Schute (Chief Operating Officer), Keith Hanlon-Smith (Chief People Officer), Hannah Kingsley (Chief Finance Officer), and Paul McLaughlin (Chief Commercial Officer) — as they outline industry's current challenges, discuss RSSB's priorities i…

Welcome back to a new season of the RSSB Podcast. In this episode, we’re joined by RSSB Chief Executive Mark Phillips. Mark takes us through our five-year Strategic Business Plan covering 2024–2029, pulling out some of the key priorities along the way. He’s particularly excited to see how rail can leverage some of the technological and digital adva…

Rail has been the most environmentally-friendly form of long distance transport for many years, and now needs to reduce its carbon emissions even further. George Davies, director of sustainability at RSSB, and Martin Watt, counsel at global law firm Dentons, discuss the challenges and opportunities of net zero carbon for rail.…

The significant trends in safety risk from 2022-2023, and what's being done to keep our railway one of the safest in the world. 01:19 About Robert Sigrist 01:55 The work of the RSSB Risk and Safety Intelligence Team 02:55 The significant safety findings for 2022-2023 04:03 Changes in public behaviour, trespass and sitting on the platform edge 05:09…

Are you getting the best value from your assets? Could your asset management approach be improved? In this episode we look at ISO 55001 as a possible framework for better asset management. 00:53 Asset management in today’s economic context 01:59 What to include in an asset management approach 02:15 Which framework to use for asset management 03:23 …

As RSSB celebrates its 20th year, this episode looks at the work that it has done to help improve safety at level crossing, one of the biggest sources of risk for the railway. 00:57 About Michael Woods 02:00 The Ufton level crossing accident described 03:32 How Michael got RSSB involved 04:56 RSSB directors brief ministers and help secure RSSB’s fu…

Finding the right people to fill vacant roles can be difficult. Steve Womack of Amey Infrastructure Wales talks about how he has found workers with transferable skills. He's also contributing social value to his local area by employing ex-offenders. Hear about lessons from a steep learning curve and the benefits to be found. 01:41 About Steve Womac…

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch does what it says on the tin. It looks at both accidents and incidents to find their underlying causes. No blame is laid, but recommendations for mitigations are made; some of which may be around organisational culture. Here, two of RAIB’s accident investigators talk about a company’s safety culture, learning …

This is the first in a series on specific health conditions. In this episode, recorded in Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, an RSSB employee talks with one of our health and wellbeing specialists about his experience of diagnosis, and the support received during treatment. 00:43 About Deb Archibald 01:04 About Tavid Dobson and discovering his cancer…

Colds, flu, and other respiratory illnesses always increase over the winter period. That list now includes Covid-19, which is still with us. So, how can we best protect ourselves from it and the others in the coming weeks and months? Claire Shooter, our Public Health Manager, explains what we can expect and do to stay as healthy as possible. 00.44 …

Standards are talked about very often within rail, so this podcast provides an introductory overview. It describes what standards are, when rail started using standards, what the different types of standards abbreviations mean, how standards development is triggered, and where to find out more. 00:37 Introducing Tom Lee, Director of Standards at RS…

The railway is a very complex system. RSSB has developed tools for the industry to assess and target some hazards, but not all of them. Much of our risk analysis knowledge is based on the Safety Risk Model (SRM), now in version 9. One response to some identifiable hazards is to impose a blanket speed restriction. These can cover wide areas, and may…

Achieving net zero carbon by 2050 will need more electrification of the GB railway. This episode looks at new and updated standards that don’t just make the requirements easier to understand. They also have the potential to deliver cost savings of well over £27m over five years. So, if you design OLE or AC-powered trains, you’ll want to listen to t…

Overspeeding isn’t just an issue when driving trains. It happens on the roads as well. With nearly 10,000 road vehicles in its fleet Network Rail took steps to put numbers to it, and the findings were alarming. Hear what’s being done to tackle the problem and the outcomes so far. 00.48 About Simon Morgan 04.04 A definition for and consequences of r…

Good decision making needs the support of good data. So, in this episode you can hear about the work that goes into assuring data quality, and the people behind it. 00:46 Introducing Siona Vass 01:43 About data quality and why it’s important 03:29 How RSSB measures data quality 04:26 Industry’s involvement in improving data quality 06:15 Continuous…

SMIS is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. Hear something of its history, its reason for being, and what it has done for our industry. How SMIS supports risk modelling and safety decision making. 00:48 Introducing Kevin Thompson 01:16 The origins of SMIS after the 1988 Clapham rail crash 02:39 How SMIS functionality and technology have devel…

Good information makes for good, evidence-based, safety critical decisions. Much of that information comes from data in the railway’s Safety Management Intelligence System, SMIS. This podcast looks at what’s being done and planned to make it easier and more efficient to use. 01:34 A bit about Paul Murray 01:58 About SMIS and how it is used 02:56 Wh…

Assets are everywhere. They are the things, physical and digital, that make up the systems we work with. When they work as designed and planned, to meet their objectives, the people who manage them go un-noticed. But these are the people who keep the risk of using them as low as reasonably practicable. 00:56 Chris Knowles, an introduction 02:07 Ass…

Safety Culture is everybody's business. In the first of a new series Ellie Burrows, Chair of the System Safety Risk Group, talks about the role of leaders in embedding safety culture. She describes the need for a fair culture and how that works to support safety learning. 01:43 Ellie Burrows, an introduction 02:20 What Safety Culture means to Ellie…

RSSB’s work with BowTie risk analysis has made it easy to visualise operational hazards, their precursors and mitigations. At LNER they’re applying the method in a novel way, to develop a corporate risk register. To identify the hazards faced in running a train operating company. 01:29 Introducing Ian Baulch-Jones 02:55 Ian recaps risk analysis and…

Not just a certificate for the wall, but a seven step guide for how to support your employees and colleagues towards better mental health. 00:00 A little bit about mental health at work 01:47 Meet Faye Bacon 02:14 About the Railway Mental Health Charter 02:42 How the Charter helps companies support mental health 03:28 Action 1, the importance of se…

Only when we investigate can we understand. Incidents while driving for work can have fatal or life-changing results, so we need to investigate to find ways to stop incidents repeating. Here’s what’s needed for an effective investigation. 01:58 About Gill Milner, RTC investigator 02:55 Gill offers a definition of an RTC 03:40 Why start your investi…

On the railway the state of the track that trains run on is vital to the safety of passengers and crew. It needs to be monitored and maintained regularly. But in the late 1990s that wasn’t always happening. And in October 2000, that led to a derailment that caused 4 deaths and injured over 70 more. 00:37 What happened at Hatfield 02:18 What causes …

If road traffic collisions cause as many as half of the fatalities to our workforce, why aren’t they RIDDOR reportable? Fortunately, few collisions have fatal results. But that means close calls and near misses must be investigated seriously, to prevent the next incident, that may be more serious. When a collision happens: Who is responsible? Was t…

One of the railway’s aims is to deliver better customer service. Much of the operating timetable is set many months in advance. But there is also a need to make very-short-term plans (VSTP) for train paths. Sometimes just hours in the future. PathFinder aims to be an end-to-end solution for VSTP that can design, deliver, approve, and resource a new…

Learning from… previous experience is vital. But unless we keep and communicate what we learn, the memory is lost. As Right Track magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary, we look at why and what it delivers for those who work at the front line on the railway. 00:48 Why Right Track was created 01:25 How Right Track set out to stand out from the cro…

We can learn a lot from accidents. As we try to avoid history repeating itself, Greg Morse looks back at the Potters Bar accident of 20 years ago. What went wrong? What have we learned? 00:36 What happened at Potters Bar. 02:28 The errors that led to the accident 04:19 The blurred edges of maintenance programmes 05:38 How we now respond to safety r…

As it has accounted for as many as half of our workforce fatalities, road driving is an important area for risk management. Both as employers and contractors of services, rail organisations have a duty of care to those who work for them. Part of the Road Risk Group’s strategy for reducing road driving risk is to implement the National Highways prog…

Small talk does save lives, as Dom Mottram found out when it saved his life. Now a project manager at Network Rail, he talks about how someone helped him with small talk, and how he now pays that back. 00:04 Introduction 01:27 A bit about Dom 02:00 Samaritans work with the rail industry in the last year 04:05 The 2021 Small Talk Saves Lives campaig…

Christmas is a time for many to celebrate with family and friends. But for others it can be a time of isolation and despair. It's a time when Samaritans can be called on to shed some light in a dark place, or we can make an intervention with someone for whom small talk could save their life. When you could be that Christmas Star. In this episode we…

This episode was originally published to the RSSB at the Front Line stream in June 2021. It features Nick Millington, Director of the Safety Task Force at Network Rail. He talks about recent accidents on the mainline railway, and what the task force is doing to reduce open line working. We talk about the removal of lookouts, night shift working and…

Do you, or your employees, drive or ride a vehicle for work? The HSE's guidance on Driving and riding safely for work tells you what you need to know to comply with current legislation. Nicola Jaynes, HM Inspector of Health and Safety, talks about what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does, and about its most recent, update to guidance for tho…

Checking that freight vehicles are safe to go onto the rail network is not an easy task. It's work that's often done in difficult conditions, and the consequences of mistakes can be costly. The role of ground staff in freight depots and yards has changed dramatically over recent years. The conditions in which they work, in freight depots and yards …

In this episode we talk about lone working, and how it can affect health, wellbeing and personal safety. I talk with Joana Faustino, Senior Work Psychologist at RSSB, and Rachel Rowlinson, Associate Director at Britain Thinks, who has a special interest in health matters in the rail industry. 01:56 About Rachel and her role in the railway. 02:34 Wh…

Fortunately, multiple fatality rail accidents in Britain are rare. But only by learning from the past can we reduce risk in the future. Learning and remembering are vital. Even the lessons from a major accident, like that near Clapham Junction in 1988, can all too soon be forgotten. In this episode we look at the Clapham accident, some of its cause…

Would you like to offer your freight customers a more flexible and efficient service? Many freight routes are booked months in advance, but not always used. Or perhaps you need a detour, either to deliver for a customer or because your route is blocked. The hurdles in the way of Very Short-Term Planning can delay approvals until it's too late. This…

HS2 is set to cost the taxpayer £96 billion – 71% more than the 2015 estimate. Is cutting the journey time from London to Birmingham by 30 minutes really worth all that money? According to Ben Rule, Infrastructure Management Director at HS2, the high-speed railway line is an invaluable investment, which will bring much wider benefits to Great Brita…

How can you share your data outputs without revealling how you found them? The Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) protects commercially sensitive and valuable intellectual property, while generating richer answers. In this episode David Golightly and Ken Pierce from Newcastle University talk about the tool, which is creating opportunities for rail.…

In this episode Dave Hatfield and Simon Rodgers talk about the work they are doing to improve the lot of passengers. A pilot project to deliver and respond to real-time data about the environmental conditions inside train carriages. Ultimately, they want to predict issues up to 24 hours before they happen and take remedial action to prevent or mini…

In this episode Patrick Allinson, Operations Control Manager at Great Western Railway, talks about his experience of the G-FORCE Tool. Used in the GWR control centre for nearly 12 months, Patrick talks about his experience and some of the incidents when G-FORCE has been used to speed decision making. 01:39 About Patrick. 02:30 How decision making i…

In this episode George Davies, Director of Sustainable Development at RSSB, talks about the collaborative work done, and to be done, to deliver the Sustainable Rail Strategy. Both as a document and as a living set of ambitions and actions to achieve a sustainable world. 01:51 Determining the Sustainable Rail Strategy, the need for clear ambitions, …

In this episode Chris Lewis, Health, Safety, Security and Environment Change Business Partner at East Midlands Railway, talks about the Driving for Better Business Gap Analysis Tool. We hear how he has used it, its simplicity and strengths, his lessons learned from using it, and how outputs from the tool have helped prioritise actions and widen thi…

In this episode Ben Gilmartin talks about the BowTie Method of risk analysis: its history, and his experience of using it. About RSSB's work to broaden understanding of risk by using the method, and to develop BowTie analyses for all the risk areas included in Leading Health and Safety on Britain's Railway. 01:35 About Ben. 02:34 Why and when RSSB …

In this episode Simon Turner, Campaign Manager for Driving for Better Business (DfBB), talks about what DfBB aims to do to help reduce road accidents, injuries and deaths. One of the tools DfBB has produced is a Gap Analysis Tool. Simon talks about what it can do to help rail industry companies to identify whether they are meeting legal requirement…

In this episode Steve Enright, Head of Safety, Security & Sustainability for Abellio Transport Holdings UK, and Chair of the Road Risk Group, talks about the Occupational Road Risk Management Charter and why companies should sign it. He also looks at how companies that don't have vehicle fleets can still be vulnerable to road risk. 01:30 About Stev…