How learning lessons from the past can help shape the future of railway safety and health will be highlighted at a leading industry conference next month.
IOSH’s Railway Group will use its annual conference to explore the positive impact that any investigation into an accident, incident or near miss can have when planning for tomorrow’s rail projects.
The RAIB’s acting chief inspector, Simon French, and Steven Fink, health and safety director of HS2 Ltd’s Phase 1 Infrastructure project, are among industry experts who will address this year’s conference.
Keith Morey, chair of the IOSH Railway Group, said: “When you look back after any accident, it is often the case that there have been a lot of warning signs and close calls before the serious incident occurred.
“We want to highlight the importance of taking these warning signs seriously and acting upon them to avoid major incidents happening. By learning lessons from the past, we can ensure the rail industry will be safer for all in the future.”
Mr French will discuss key safety learning that have arisen from RAIB investigations over the years, while Dr Greg Morse of the RSSB will assess how the railway learns from experience.
Delegates will also hear from industry experts on how to mitigate safety through confidential reporting, understanding the safety issues of labour supply and what are the latest occupational health and legal matters affecting the rail industry.
Common risk factors associated with work-related cancer diagnoses in the sector will also be highlighted at the conference. IOSH is currently raising awareness of occupational cancers through its No Time to Lose campaign (www.notimetolose.org.uk).
Keith said: “The rail industry is one of the biggest sectors associated with work-related cancers. Workers who are being exposed to ballast dust, diesel engine exhaust emissions and the sun without adequate protection are particularly at risk.
“We hope delegates will take on board advice that IOSH is offering through the No Time to Lose campaign so that the risk of people being exposed to carcinogens in the rail sector can be reduced.”
The inaugural winner of the IOSH Rail Group’s International Award will also present about their success at the conference.
The award was launched to honour projects outside the UK that have brought about safety and health improvements in the rail sector for employees or the public.
Representatives from the award’s winners, Rift Valley Railways (Kenya) Ltd (RVR), will address delegates on how they used a mixture of safety, environment awareness and behavioural change to drastically reduce the number of injuries in its Nairobi production workshops cut by around 90 per cent.
The IOSH Rail Industry Conference 2015, sponsored by business insurance specialist QBE, will take place at the Congress Centre, London, on Wednesday 25 November.
For more details visit www.iosh.co.uk/events
This eBook will guide you through some of the key understandings you need to be able to manage driver safety effectively and, at the end, provide a series of free resources you can access to help you ensure your own driver safety management system is robust, legally compliant and in line with industry-accepted good practice.
Download this eBook from Driving for Better Business and SHP to cover:
- Why do we need to manage driver safety?
- Duty of care – a shared responsibility;
- Setting the rules with a driving for work policy;
- Managing driver safety;
- Ensuring safe vehicles;
- Safe journeys and fitness to drive;
- Record keeping;
- Reporting;
- The business benefits of good practice;
- Additional resources
