MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

RISSB has hit the ground running in 2018, and is looking forward to another busy year!

After finishing 2017 on a high with the launch of the Risk Model (ARRM), RISSB has finalised the calendar for another year of product development, education and training, and conferencing and industry networking.

2018 sees the return of the RISSB Rail Safety Investigation Course and the Derailment Course.  The Rail Safety Investigation Course is due to commence on 26th February in Sydney, while the first Derailment Course is scheduled for May.  A full training calendar will be on RISSB’s website in the coming weeks.

RISSB’s Rail Safety Conference will be held in Sydney on 9th and 10th May 2018, at the Rydges World Square Hotel.  Sydney Metro has kindly offered to provide a tour of the new metro on the first morning, and registration for the conference will open in early March 2018.  Following its success last year, RISSB’s Rail Cyber Security Conference will be held again, this year in Brisbane on 11th and 12th September.  Stay tuned for more details.

To everyone who participated in a Development Group in 2017, I say thank you for your contribution to our products, and I encourage everyone to consider taking a place on a Development Group in 2018!

Paul Daly
RISSB CEO

Welcome Phil Allan

RISSB would like to welcome Phil Allan to the team. Many will know Phil from his five years at the ARA where safety was a key aspect of his role. Prior to joining the ARA, Phil held senior executive positions at the Federated Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and in the South Australian Government including as Executive Director Safety and Regulation which incorporated rail safety, road safety, heavy vehicle safety and marine safety.  

For three years Phil was the Chief of Staff to the Minister for Transport in SA and spent nine years establishing and being the inaugural Director of the Investigator Science Centre in Adelaide.

Rail Cyber Security Update

RISSB continues to work with industry on the Rail Cyber Security Program as an important and critical area of focus.

On 31 January 2018, a workshop was held in Sydney to progress the Rail Cyber Security Strategy. RISSB is leading the development of the Strategy with the National Rail Cyber Security Advisory Group being the custodian for its future direction. The vision for the strategy is: ‘Protect the integrity and safety of Australasian railway operations from threats to digital systems.’ 

The AS 7770 Rail Cyber Security Development Group recently finalised its review of comments received from public consultation in July 2018 and is working hard to achieve its July 2018 publication date.

Priority Planning Forum Update

NEW PRODUCT IDEAS DEADLINE
On Thursday, 15 February, the deadline for submission of new product ideas ended with RISSB collecting a large number of credible ideas.  The number of responses and considered views RISSB received from industry is commendable and RISSB would like to thank everyone who took the time to contribute an idea for participating in the ideation process. Contributions from a cross-section of industry has helped us get a better understanding of the rail sector's needs and expectations.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED NEXT MONTH
Help us determine which products are the most important and will deliver the greatest benefit to industry, by reviewing the scoping documents during the Information Period and prioritising products during the formal Ranking Period.

KEY DATES
Information Period
Sunday, 4 March – Sunday, 18 March
Scoping documents will be made available online.
Ranking Period
Monday, 19 March – Saturday, 31 March
Stakeholders will be able to rank individual projects from most urgent to least urgent.

Please visit our Priority Planning Forum 2018/19 page to find out more about the PPF process and how you can get involved.

RISSB Welcomes New Board Member and Seeks Independent Director

RISSB is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Paul Lowney (Arc Infrastructure) to the RISSB Board. Paul joined the Board in January 2018 as Industry Director – Network Managers/Owners. Members will have the opportunity to confirm Paul’s appointment at the AGM in November this year. Further to Paul’s appointment to the Board, RISSB is now seeking to appoint an Independent Director to work with RISSB as it builds on its successes of the past twelve months, and implements its 2017-2022 Strategic Plan. If you believe you have the required skills and experience, please read the Expression of Interest and submit an application by Friday, 23 February 2018.

If would like to have a confidential discussion about the position or obtain a Position Description, please contact RISSB Company Secretary, Kirk Alber, on (02) 6270 4528.

RISSB would like to thank former Board member, Tim Ryan, for his leadership, strategic thinking and significant contributions in the areas of risk and finance. 

National Rules Update

The National Rules program has completed its review phase and will be moving into the development phase during March 2018. Members of the National Rules Development Group are working hard to ensure the current 78 modules of the Australian Network Rules and Procedures (ANRP) are reconfigured into a set of nationally applicable rail operations rules. Future rule development will consider advancements in the use of technology in rail, and provide supporting handbooks for rail systems. Industry can expect a new look and feel to the national rules, including better accessibility and usability.

The Australian Rail Risk Model Continues to Go From Strength to Strength

During AusRAIL we hosted several ‘teaser’ sessions showing the model to people and answering questions, and since then ARRM has enjoyed a growing exposure. We’ve hosted face-to-face training sessions in many of Australia’s capital cities - 3 sessions in Brisbane, 2 sessions in Adelaide, 1 session in Perth, 2 sessions in Melbourne, and 3 sessions in Sydney. We’ve trained over 100 people who are now set up, and drawing on the information within ARRM. We’re seeing usage that is higher than we could have expected, and we’re delighted.

Many more people have expressed their interest in ARRM, please be patient! We’re organising more training sessions to ensure people can engage with the system, use it properly and get the full benefit. Watch this space!

Several organisations have approached RISSB seeking to initiate new projects, or understand how ARRM can integrate with and/or support other initiatives; RISSB welcomes this interest in ARRM. The model is proving to have benefits in ways we didn’t imagine. ARRM looks set to exceed its expected safety dividend!

ARRM is heralding in a new era in risk management for the Australian railway. It’ll give us a common language to talk about risk and give us the ability to compare across the country, it’ll direct us to the issues that most need our attention and help us measure the safety improvements that we make, helping us build on our safety successes.

Thank you for being part of the journey!
 

National Rail Safety Investigation Course
26 Feb - 2 March 2018 

Only five spots remain in our February National Rail Safety Investigation Course.  Find out more information about the course on our website, or call 0455 556 287.
 

Call for Development Group Members

The following Development Groups are seeking members:

AS 7471 Australian Rail Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
https://www.rissb.com.au/communiques/359/

AS 7643 Railway Infrastructure: Track Stability (REVIEW)
https://www.rissb.com.au/communiques/360/ 

To become a member of a Development Group and contribute to the content of RISSB Standards, codes of practice and guidelines, click on the links above and send your details to the SDM’s email address provided.
 

Expressions of Interest for a Panel of Service Providers

RISSB is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a Panel of Service Providers. All documents and information related to this EOI is available here.

The deadline for Expressions of Interest is COB Monday, 12 March 2018.
 

Upcoming Events

View all upcoming events here