The Whistle Board Newsletter – No. 80, September 2020

How Safe is Safe Enough?
RISSB's Rail Safety Conference

RISSB’s Rail Safety Conference goes virtual for its 20th annual event, running from Tuesday, 27 October to
Wednesday, 28 October 2020. 

The event will be broadcast from 11am (AEDT) each day and features a who’s who of industry. 

Over two jam-packed days attendees will be able to stream a presentation on an
industry hot topic, watch in-depth panel discussions and network online.

Your virtual ticket will give you access to:
• More than 60 Australian and international speakers
• 50+ presentations and panel sessions
• 9 streams covering major rail safety issues
• Exclusive networking opportunities
• Content for you to download up to 3 months after the event.

Keep your finger on the pulse of rail safety and register now to attend Australia’s most popular rail safety event.

Please click on the blue 'Register Now' button below this article.

To view the comprehensive agenda, please go the official conference website.

Live, Online and Unfiltered – Ask RISSB

Most people are aware that RISSB is the Australian railway’s accredited Standards writing organisation and has a vast catalogue of more than 200 publications, but many people may not realise that we also create and provide training in certain areas, and we’re growing our training portfolio in response to industry demand.

As of FY 2020/21 we’ve also added a new stream to our work plan called ‘Major Projects’ which seeks to address significant industry issues such as track worker safety, interoperability, noise and national vehicle registration.

If you’re interested to know more about these things, or anything else about RISSB, then attend our latest online offering - a live Q&A event we've called Ask RISSB. 

Ask RISSB is your chance to engage directly with the very people who will be rolling out the work plan in the coming  year and hear how Tilo Franz (General Manager, CMET) and Scott Cornish (Executive General Manager Safety, Risk, and Assurance,QR) are working with RISSB to address some of their challenges.

Ask RISSB will run from 12-1pm on Thursday, 17 September 2020.  To register to attend, simply click on the blue 'Register Now' button below this story.

Second Meeting of the Safety Standing Committee’s Sub-group Focusing on Track Worker Safety

On the 4th September, RISSB facilitated a second meeting of Metro Trains Melbourne, Queensland Rail, Sydney Trains and the Australian Rail Track Corporation where those organisations came together to share the work they’re each doing in protecting our front line people. There’s a real willingness to share and learn in this forum, and it is already helping to make progress on this fundamental industry issue.

The Cross-industry Safety Managers Group Goes Virtual!

On Thursday the 10th of September the SMG went exclusively online for the first time ever. This important forum has its roots back in the days of the state-based regulators providing a communication channel between those regulators and industry. 

It’s evolved into a forum where industry comes together and shares best practice on whole-system issues, however it’s still also that conduit between the industry’s bodies and industry itself. It is the only safety meeting that brings industry together with ONRSR, TrackSAFE, the ARA and ATSB!

If you’re interested in knowing more about the SMG, contact Jesse Baker - RISSB GM Innovation and Major Projects jbaker@rissb.com.au

Guideline: Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM)

Development Group meetings are progressing as planned, with a high level of interest and participation in the development of a RAM Guideline for the Australian rail industry.

The Guideline uses applicable Standards available internationally to address requirements within the Australian rail context. 

It is expected that the Guideline will be available in Q1 2021.

Projects On Parade

Each week we'll showcase a publication in our 2020 / 2021 work plan that we will  be progressing in the coming year.

Publication Type 
Standard

Publication Name 
Axle Counters  

Overview
Axle counters are gaining greater use for rail vehicle detection with the Australian Railway Network. This Standard aims to assist Rail Infrastructure Managers to safely introduce axle counters, through identifying risks and opportunities,  providing a standard approach to resetting axle counters, and mandating requirements to ensure detection of rolling stock is properly managed. 

Standards Development Manager 
Cris Fitzhardinge
cfitzhardinge@rissb.com.au

Call for Public Consultation – Wheel defects Code of Practice

Planes, Trains and Track Worker Safety

Next week we'll be joined by Sydney Trains' Executive Director Safety, Environment, Quality & Risk, Chadi Chalhoub.

Chadi will be discussing how he has:

• Applied safety learnings from other industries to rail
• Changed the burning platform of safety change from ‘incident’ to ‘industry best’
• Pitched a compelling business case for implementing track safety technologies
• Progressed culture change ‘for us by us.’

Interested in track worker safety? Join us at 12PM (AEST) on Tuesday, 15 September 2020. 

Just click on the blue 'Register Now' button to reserve your place. 

Welcome New Members

We'd like to extend a warm RISSB welcome to our newest members - West Coast Wilderness Railway (WCWR) and Salcef.

WCWR
The West Coast Wilderness Railway (WCWR) is unique. It is the only railway of its kind in operation in the southern hemisphere in a unique wilderness environment. It has great value as an important Tasmanian heritage asset and has incredible potential as a tourism drawcard to encourage visitors to the West Coast.

www.wcwr.com.au

Salcef
Based in Italy, Salcef Group is a global leader in the railway infrastructure sector, with a solid operational and financial structure. Throughout its history it has achieved increasingly important goals, drawing strength from consolidated experience in the field.

Salcef has carried out hundreds of projects over the years, gaining extensive practical knowledge of construction sites and the needs of the railway industry.
The Group has expanded to work on three continents, directly acquiring the skills needed for every element of projects: from research and design to construction.

www.salcef.com/