Taking safe decisions

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Taking safe decisions

• George Bearfield.
• Programme Manager
• Rail Safety and Standards Board.
• Yellow Book Conference
• 27th November 2007

2
Contents

• Taking Safe Decisions
• Types of decision
• Industry decisions
• Policy decisions
• Publications
• ORR Consultation

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Why Taking safe decisions?

• Lack of clarity
• Legal duties subject to interpretation
• Regulatory guidance not clear
• Lack of clarity drives risk aversion.
• The Safety Decisions Programme was set up to
  achieve clarity through research and
  consultation.

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Taking safe decisions

• The work of the Programme has lead to the
  publication of
• Taking safe decisions how Britains railways
  take decisions that affect safety
• The document describes how, in the GB railway,
  the industry embeds consideration of safety
  effectively into decisions.
• approved by the Safety Policy Group under the
  authority of the RSSB board.
• SPG agreed that duty holder SMS submissions
  should be consistent with the principles in the
  document.

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Types of decision

• Agreed approach in UK
• Industry determination of legal duty. Mandatory.
• Industry business decision. Optional.
• Policy decision. Not a duty holder consideration.

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Industry decisions
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Policy decision to regulate

• The government / regulator may consider a wide
  range of issues when setting policy and
  legislation, including societal concerns and risk
  aversion.
• These decisions would be mandated on industry via
  legislation.
• A decision may be taken by government even though
  it cant be shown to pass a CBA using the VPF
  (e.g. TPWS installation).
• This does not imply a higher VPF for industry as
  this is a governmental / regulatory decision.

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Publication
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ORR consultation

• The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has decided
  to revise and consolidate its internal high-level
  guidance and general principles for inspectors
  and to replace their existing guidance with two
  new ORR documents
• Internal guidance on cost benefit analysis (CBA)
  in support of SFAIRP decisions and
• Internal guidance and general principles for
  assessing whether health and safety risks on
  Britain's railways have been reduced so far as is
  reasonably practicable (SFAIRP)
• Deadline for comments on CBA guidance is 14th
  January.
• The SFAIRP principles document is to be sent out
  for consultation at a date to be determined in
  2008.
• RSSB is preparing comments on both documents

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Finally

• More info
• Taking safe decisions is on our website at
• http//www.rssb.co.uk/sdmoukr.asp
• ORR consultation documents can be found at
• http//www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.67
• For more information contact
• George Bearfield,
• 020 79047706
• george.bearfield_at_rssb.co.uk

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