RISSB Connect Edition 18, June 2023

PRODUCTS

AS 7488 Locomotive and Passenger Flooring Update

AS 7488  Locomotive and Passenger Flooring  has completed the public consultation review process and we have attained sign off by all members of the Development Group. This new Standard will be presented to the Rolling Stock Standing Committee for the next stage of approval in mid June. 

AS 7488 is a new Standard that provides the requirements for the design, installation, and maintenance of locomotive and passenger vehicle flooring for new and modified rolling stock. It supersedes slip and trip prevention requirements of AS 7522:2021 and provides a comprehensive approach to vehicle flooring including areas such as installation, maintenance, geometry, ramps and gangways.

GENERAL NEWS

RISSB at CORE Conference in Melbourne

RISSB will be at this month's CORE Conference in Melbourne. Not only are we attending plenary sessions, but we also have a stand in the exhibition hall.

Come and talk to the friendly team at stand 31 about the national rolling stock register project, the Australian Rail Risk Model, projects we are delivering under the National Rail Action Plan, and how our Standards can be applied in your organisation.

The RTSA's CORE Conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 19-21 June 2023.

RISSB CEO to Speak at UIC Conference in Melbourne

RISSB CEO, Damien White, will be speaking at the the upcoming UIC Asia-Pacific Conference on Interoperability and Rail Harmonisation in Melbourne.

Adjoining the CORE conference, speakers from Australia and around the world will share their experience on how they are tackling interoperability challenges.

Attendees will learn what strategies have worked and what hasn’t and what is the best strategy for the future at this two-day event.

The conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22-23 June 2023.

For more information go to this page.

TRAINING AND EVENTS

June 6 Victorian Rail Advocate MasterClass Webinar

Join us on Tuesday, 6 June for our next MasterClass presentation.

Victorian Rail Advocate, Jill Walsh, will reflect on the last four years and update attendees on current initiatives including the Women on Track project, industry/supply chain engagement to support the delivery of Victorian rail rolling stock projects and National rail rolling stock projects that involve the Victorian supply chain, and the Federal Government's national rail rolling stock overview of the plan to deliver local content in national rail projects.

Jill's webinar will be held at 12PM (AEST) on Tuesday, 6 June 2023.

If you'd like to attend, please click on the blue 'Register Now' link below this story.

TRAINING AND EVENTS CONT.

Online Protection Officer Safety Critical Communications Course June Promotion

We're excited to announce the relaunch of our online Protection Officer Safety Critical Communications course.  Our Protection Officer Safety Critical Communications course is one of four Learning Express courses that were released in November 2021. Since then, the course has provided the basics of safety critical communications to countless workers across industry. To celebrate the relaunch, from now until the end of June, we are offering an EOFY 25% off our normal course rates for members and non-members.

Non Members - the standard price of $288 will reduce to $216 
Members - the standard price of $230 will reduce to $172.50

What the course covers:
* The application of the Australian Network Rules and Procedures (ANRP)
* Duties of a Protection Officer
* Safety critical communications (SCC) within safe working
* Resolving safety critical communications 
* Human Factors in safety critical communications.

To book, simply send an email to training@rissb.com.au with the code PROCOURSE23 in the subject line before 30 June to take advantage of this offer. Or phone (07) 3724 0000.  

Horizons Program Day 2

Day 2 of the Horizons Program kicked off with a presentation by Professor Michael Cholette from QUT who delivered a compelling presentation on best practice asset management before the group moved on to a team building activity with a difference.

Led by Thriving Leaders, the Helping Hands team building activity saw Horizons Program attendees built 20 artificial hands that will make their way across the world to worthy recipients - amputee landmine victims in developing countries. 

Each  intended recipient will receive their hand along with a photo of the group that built it and a handwritten note of support from the team.

Horizons Program Visits Cross River Rail Experience Centre and QR Mayne Facilities

Another highlight of the forum was the optional site visits being offered at the Queensland Rail's Mayne facilities and the Cross River Rail Experience Centre. 

The Queensland Rail Mayne yard hosted 20 participants giving them an opportunity to drive the train simulator and gain an understanding of how a driver applies safe working knowledge.  A further 20  attended the Cross River Rail Experience Centre enjoying the digital engagement experience in the reality theatre as well as the virtual reality stations.

Our thanks to both Stephen Betteridge, Traincrew Learning Technology Advisor and the helpful crew at the CRR Experience Centre for hosting our participants.  

Q What is your name?
Chris Polias

Q What is your position? 
Rail Safety Coach Sydney Trains SEQR

Q Who is your employer?
Sydney Trains

Q What does your job entail?

A lot including, but not limited to:

* Coaching and supporting protection officers during infield interactions to provide capability development and compliance

* Conducting competence assurance activities on the application of worksite protection

* Coordinating training and design material

* Coaching frontline staff, by sharing knowledge, skills in the understanding of the rules and procedures

* Providing specialised knowledge of the operating Network for complex protection requirements

*Conducting root cause analysis investigations of safe working incidents

* Facilitating briefs on the new safety initiatives, and rule updates to Line Managers and frontline staff.

* Supporting project Initiatives in the role of SME

* Infield Interactions with signallers to clarify any safeworking issues and to understand how we can further develop Protection Officers.

Q  What's a fun safety fact that you'd like to share?
Being an SME in safeworking, I’m continually asked questions on the Rules and Procedures, so I make it a habit to spend 30 minutes a day researching the Network Rules and Safety Procedures.

Award winning safety achievements

I presently sit on the working group for the RISSB Harmonised Network Rules (AHNR): Planning Works in The Rail Corridor, bringing subject matter expertise as a Rail Safety Coach to the working group. I was seconded to manage the ICON Corridor Safety team within Sydney Trains and initiated a supportive coaching approach when reviewing the worksite protection planning for protection officers prior to implementing protection, hence improved the customer experience for protection officers.

I'm a champion for the protection officer infield recertification program, which hinged on the excellent performance of the entire Rail Safety Coach team, and I have personally completed more than 250 protection officer Infield Recertification Assessments this calendar year. 

I promote the review and updating of training and incident investigations, I advocate for building close relationships with other safeworking professionals such as signallers and incident rail commanders, as well as our safety professionals. Lastly, I am a SME working with human factors  in the development of fault tree analyses and risked-based training needs analysis projects.

Q  Why am I passionate about rail safety?
Leadership in safety develops frontline workers to promote a positive safety culture. As a leader, to be able to share my knowledge, skills and experience through coaching and witnessing how the workers develop to become leaders in safety is my passion. Working in a high-risk environment, the responsibility on our workers is critical.

My greatest satisfaction is watching the people I have trained and coached passing their skills and knowledge and positive behaviours to new starters in the industry and hearing them say that safety on track is our first priority.