Train Driver Health Research Underpinning RISSB Guideline Wins Opal Award

A CQUniversity project “On track for health and safety: Investigating the link between health, accident risk and organisational outcomes in Australian train drivers”  has taken out a prestigious Opal Award in the category Excellence in Engagement: Engaged Research and Innovation.

The research output from this project directly underpinned the RISSB “Good Practice in the Management of Train Driver Health and Wellbeing Guideline” published earlier this year.

Congratulations to A/Professor Anjum Naweed (a major contributor to the SPAD Group and RISSB products) and his research team Dr Janine Chapman (Flinders University) and past Research Assistants, Dr Josh Trigg and Matthew Allan.

Rail Cyber Security Codes of Practice

Work has been ongoing developing two Codes of Practice in parallel:

• Rail Cyber Security in Rolling Stock 

• Rail Cyber Security in Train Control.

However, due to the vast amount of overlapping content, the two documents have now been merged into one.

The Development Groups have also merged and will meet to discuss the latest draft mid-January 2020.

Requirements for the Procurement of Rolling Stock Guideline

Work has been ongoing developing two Codes of Practice in parallel:

• Rail Cyber Security in Rolling Stock

• Rail Cyber Security in Train Control.

However, due to the vast amount of overlapping content, the two documents have now been merged into one.

The Development Groups have also merged and will meet to discuss the latest draft mid-January 2020.

AS 7659  Point Locking and Point Detection

The Development Group met for the first time this week. A broad range of issues were discussed and an initial draft was prepared. The group will reconvene in the new year to continue working on this Standard.

AS 7724 Rolling Stock Runaway Protection 

Considerable work has been taking place in the background on this Standard. The Development Group will be meeting in January to close out a number of issues and finalise a draft available for public consultation. 

New Member Profile

One of our most recent new members,Theta International, is the Australian and New Zealand representative for a number of international companies specialising in the design and development of instruments to:

· Measure, monitor and record track and wayside infrastructure condition

· Condition monitor track circuits and balises at operating speeds

· Onboard diagnostic tools for locomotive and track maintenance equipment

We have inhouse Data Scientists, IT personnel, Engineers and App developers.

AS 7479 Collision Avoidance and Proximity Warning on Track Maintenance Vehicles Including Road Rail Vehicles

The final meeting of the Development Group was held in Newcastle on Tuesday 17 December to review comments and suggestions made during public consultation. The DG assessed each comment and the final Standard is being prepared for RISSB Board approval and release in early 2020.

AS 7658 Level Crossings – Rail Industry Requirements

AS 7658 Level crossings – Rail industry requirements is now available for an 8-week public consultation.

To access the draft, please download it from here:

AS 7658 Level crossings – rail industry requirements

To make comments on the draft, please use the commenting tools in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to comment in-line with the text.

Please return your PDF with comments to cfitzhardinge@rissb.com.au by Sunday, 9 February 2020.

AS 7511 Onboard Train Protection Systems

This Standard has recently entered the consultation phase of its development. This is a major milestone for the project. Due to the popularity of the topic, we expect there will be a number of comments from the public to address when the Development Group meets again in mid-February 2020.

To access the draft, please download it from here:

Onboard Train Protection Systems

AS 7460 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems

The Development Group will be meeting in the first week of January to begin development of this exciting new Standard. Remotely Piloted Aviation Systems (Drones) are becoming more and more prevalent in the Australian railway network so it is timely that RISSB, along with industry experts, are preparing an Australian Standard® to provide some rigor around their use in the rail corridor.

AS 7703 Signalling Power Supplies

A final draft has been prepared for the Development Group's consideration. This will be discussed at our next meeting in January with a view to releasing it for public consultation by February 2020.

IRSC Resource Library

IRSC presentations, videos and papers are now available on RISSB's website. Please access our IRSC resource library via this link:

https://www.rissb.com.au/resources/

The page will be progressively updated.

Rail Safety Investigation Course 
17 - 20 February 2020

Location: Chullora, NSW

RISSB's Rail Safety Conference 2020 
31 March - 1 April 2020

Location: Sydney, NSW

Horizons Brisbane Forum

Feedback from the Horizons Program participants was that Brisbane was one of the best forums of the program so far. The venue at Aurecon was fantastic, there were some sensational presentations, workshops and panels and the hackathon with PwC and Arup was a new and successful part of the program. The final forum for Horizons 2.0 will be held in Sydney on 1,2 and 3 April 2020.

Every week we'll be introducing our new Horizons 2 participants to you. This week say hello to Amy Washer, Adrian Hudson and Dean Nguyen.

Hi, I’m Amy Washer and I am a Regional Engineer for Arc Infrastructure in Western Australia.

The role involves assisting in the planning and delivery of capital works within the regional areas of Arc Infrastructure.

I am passionate and interested in the rail industry due to the varied environments and tasks of operation.

In 5 years’ time I would like to be leading technology focused change with the knowledge and skills I have gained and developed.

My name is Adrian Hudson, I am a civil engineer working in Rockhampton, Queensland for Aurizon, on the Central Queensland Coal Network.

 I work in the Civil Reliability and Performance Team responsible for track products including rail grinding, lubrication and stress management in the South District.

 The rail industry energises me as it is a place where the performance bar is always being pushed higher, the status quo appears to be seldom sufficient.

 In the medium term, I would like to take on a managerial/leadership role driving optimisation.

My name is Dean Nguyen and I work at Mcleod Rail as a Civil Engineer. I have been involved in different stages of rail projects and maintenance activities such as developing methodologies, planning, monitoring, cashflow and progress claim.

Being a part of the rail industry and involving in the projects which shape not only the industry but also the country future always interest me. I am always eager to learn and improve my knowledge in management and safety aspects so I can contribute my experience to ensure all the projects to be safely delivered within time, budget and exceptional quality. In the next five years, I would like to see me at least a mid-level to senior rail project manager.