ATR Seminar 2006

 

Risk Management Requirements

 

•      Risk Management Requirements in Rail Safety Act

•      Demonstration of ongoing compliance with risk management requirements

•      Exemption from ongoing requirements

 

Transport Act Risk Management Requirements

Rail Safety Act Risk Management Requirements

•      RSA Part 5 – Accreditation of Rail infrastructure and rolling stock operations

 

–   Division 3, Risk Management Requirements for Accreditation

–   Division 6

•    Ongoing compliance with Risk management requirements

•    Exemption from ongoing compliance

 

RSA – Risk Management Requirements for Accreditation

•      Section 50, Identification of incidents and hazards, and risk assessments

 

•      Section 51, Measures to control likelihood, magnitude and severity of consequences of incidents

 

Section 50 - Identification of incidents and hazards

•       50 (1) to (3)  requires rail operators to identify all (credible) incidents) which could occur, and all hazards that could contribute to those incidents.

–    Regulator will emphasize examination towards hazards capable of producing catastrophic consequences such as

•    Train to train collisions

•    Derailments

•    Level crossing incidents

•    Collisions with terminal infrastructure

•       Documentation should show rail operator has given consideration:

–    Specific locations

–    Interface issues

–    Hazards during abnormal / emergency operations, maintenance, planned changes and other non-routine activities

–    Ways in which equipment might fail

–    Human Factors

–    Ways in which a sequence of events could lead to a major incident

 

•      What the regulator will expect to see:

 

–   A documented hazard identification process

–   A list of hazards covering both normal operations and emergency conditions

–   A list that doesn’t just consider historical data

–   Consideration human factors elements

–   Reference to interfaces and where risks are shared between organisations

 

Section 50, Identification of incidents and hazards, and risk assessments

•      50 (4) and (5) – requirements for assessments of risks and hazards

–   Purpose is to provide:

•    Information to make decisions regarding the acceptability of risk

•    Cost effective commitment of resources to accident reduction

Requirements for assessments of risks and hazards

 

•      What the regulator will expect to see:

–    Documented procedures for risk analysis and assessment, including recognition of different techniques

–    Detail of assessment sufficient to give confidence that all significant contributors to risk have been evaluated

–    That the controls to combat the risks have been identified and are in the SMS

–    A process for continual improvement of risk analyses

 

Section 50, Identification of incidents and hazards, and risk assessments

•       50 (6a) – Consider Hazards Cumulatively

–    Many major incidents have been caused by a number of hazards acting concurrently. E.g.,

•    Train rollaway – insufficient park brakes, insufficient roll-out protection

•    Train derailed hit by other train – Failure of defences to prevent derailment, failure of comms system to warn approaching train

–    A cumulative consideration necessary to understand the full range of incidents

–    Must consider common mode failures that can cause several hazards or failures to occur simultaneously

 

Section 50, Identification of incidents and hazards, and risk assessments

•       50 (6b) – Use assessment methodologies appropriate to the hazard

–    Qualitative

•    Where risks are well understood and could not credibly result in catastrophic consequences

–    Semi-Qualitative

•    Where nature of risk and causation are well understood e.g. station fire, fall from train

–    Qualitative

•    For incidents which could have catastrophic consequences , or for which causation is not well understood

 

•       50 (7) – Document all aspects of the assessment

–    All steps in the process should be traceable and the information used should be documented to:

•     Permit review

•    Ensure reproducibility

•    Help understand assumptions made

•    Help validate results

•    Identify responsibilities

•    Identify performance measures

•    Reference monitoring and review of risk controls

 

 

Section 51, Measures to control likelihood, Magnitude and severity of consequences of incidents

•      Adopt measures to reduce likelihood and consequences ‘So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable’ (SFARP)

 

Demonstrating SFARP

•       Demonstrate all that is reasonable is being done

 

•       Methods for demonstrating SFARP

–    Appropriate level of analysis commensurate with the risk

–    In most cases will simply involve determining whether benefits to be gained from alternative options outweigh the costs

–    Will involve an assessment of the risk, resources needed to avoid that risk and a comparison of the two.

 

SFARP Methods

RSA section 65,66

•      Accredited rail operator demonstrate compliance with Risk Management Requirements every 5years

•      Accredited tourist and heritage railway operators can apply for exemption from this ongoing demonstration

Rail Safety Regulations – Risk matters to be included in an SMS (Schedule 2, section 16)

•       Process to ensure compliance with the RSA

•       A description of control measures adopted

–    List controls at time of accreditation +

–    Processes for considering new controls to continually reduce risk

•       A Risk Register

–    Lists hazards, risks, control measures and those responsible, key standards applicable to controls, cross referencing to SMS

–    A live document, regularly updated

•       Prioritise work

–    Greater the risk, greater the degree of thoroughness

 

DOI Plans of Assistance

•      PTD sponsored workshop

•      PTSV visits to each Rail Operator

•      Guidance material