Welcome to the IOSH Railway Group website

Three years ago I agreed to Chair this Group. I did so with a view to getting more of us working together to raise the standard of both the work we do and our own professionalism. To do that we as a group need to be credible, we need to be relevant and we need to communicate with each other much more than we did three years ago. I believe we have made progress in these areas but also feel that we still have a way to go. In a long overdue update I want to cover five aspects of the group. Working with you, working with ORR, working with industry, working with IOSH and working for you.

Working with you

The Railway Group, now numbering over 1300 members, has continued to be active over since my last update. The committee has delivered a number of networking events and is actively planning four events for 2012.

In March 2011 we delivered a session on Occupational Health to over30 members at the York Railway Museum supported by a visit to Siemens York TPE depot . This event was covered in railway media and helped to raise the profile of both the need for better occupational health management, and also the work of IOSH in this area.

In June 2011 we ran a webinar covering developments in thinking on the use of Safety Performance Indicators. I referenced ongoing work within RSSB. This guidance has now been published and is available by clicking here. I recommend the work and would encourage you to use it to influence the senior management in your teams to revisit the indicators they use. The guidance emphasises the need for an organisation to understand its true risk profile and where its risk controls are vulnerable.

The webinar is available to view here.  I've been told that our members around the world have been able to view it. As a result I intend to run another event in early 2012. If you are interested in running a webinar then please let me know. The team at IOSH HQ can guide you through the process.

In November we completed our seventh conference. The event continues to attract good numbers and rail media attention. This event focussed on building on the basics. The theme intended to support one of the underlying themes of McNulty's Review. We do what we do well, but we can do more, and do it more effectively and more efficiently. The event showed that this can be done. Terry Morgan's presentation on managing contractors in Crossrail was particularly noteworthy, as was Ros Seal’s insight into the delivery of the Olympic Park, safely and on time. 

Planning for next year’s conference has already begun, We run the event for your benefit, want your insight and we will be sending out a survey get that inisight. Please support us by taking the time to complete it, and if you have good contacts and good ideas, get involved with organizing it.

At the conference we launched the IOSH Railway Group Occupational Health Award. The award will recognise industry leading practice in relation to Occupational Health management. The award will be made at next year’s conference and the two finalists will be invited to present what they have done.

Working with ORR

One of the key events for us was July's joint event with the Office of Rail Regulation. The event was themed around RM3. This is ORR's Railway Management Maturity Model. The tool was developed by ORR but IOSH RG provided opportunities for the developers to consult with practitioners.

Now it is in use by ORR, Network Rail, a number of operators and suppliers and now more widely in Europe and beyond. The focus now turns to sharing good practice that has been identified from using the tool.

The July event was well attended by members and non-members. There was good debate and feedback on the event indicated that the event should be repeated.

I'm pleased to say that we will be running an RM3 Good practice workshop on14 March 2012. The session will include a users forum as well as opportunities to share with pride and network with other's who are working towards the same objective.

Working with IOSH

We have a number of events that we are planning for next year. This includes events with other Groups and Branches and a move towards different ways of running the events. More details in the New Year.

Working with Industry

This is an area I believe we can do more on. I think we can and should be more active in providing value to organisations in the sector. One way of getting greater engagement is to get you, our members more engaged. We are therefore progressing a project that will provide practitioners with opportunities to act in an exchange capacity.

The concept is that IOSH RG will act as a medium to assist organisations arranging an exchange of safety management expertise. The benefit of doing this is that a fresh pair of competent eyes can be beneficial in identifying improvements that can be made or where good practice is already in place.

It also exposes our members to organisations that they would not normally associate with. The Committee is working to agree a framework of criteria that will help practitioners perform the exchange consistently.

Working for you

As volunteers, it is difficult to secure the time we need to deliver what we know you as member's need. I'm always happy to receive feedback and you can do so by e-mailing me. The committee has gained two new members. They are Alan Reavey, from First Group and Keith Morey from Network Rail. The committee continues to have pan industry representation.

The committee has also had three members step down. On your behalf, I'd like to thank Richard Williams and Adam Herring for their support over the years they have been involved and wish them well in their new ventures.

I'd reserve a special mention for Trevor Jones who has retired after many, many years of service. His wit and wisdom will be missed by the Railway Group, by the London Metropolitan Branch and by the other parts of IOSH that he supported during his career.

If you have ideas for what you would like to see the Group do, let me know or even better, get involved.

Iain Ferguson
Railway Group Chair