The Whistle Board Newsletter – No. 73, July 2020

New Learning Management System for RISSB 

RISSB is launching a new e-learning management system (LMS) - Learning Express - next month.  The decision to invest in an LMS is part of a broader plan to make training and information more accessible to RISSB members.

The LMS will offer an automated enrolment and payment process, enabling course participants to access learning when they are ready and at their own pace, either in the workplace or from the comfort of their own home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And, course enrollees will be able to access courses on multiple electronic devices.

Courses to be offered in the near future include Rail Fundamentals - Safety Governance and Risk Management, with others to follow.

As well as hosting online courses, the LMS will eventually contain a suite of online resources that will assist with take-up of RISSB publications.

RISSB is working towards accreditation as a Registered Training Organisation in 2021, and once approved, will be able to offer accredited courses.

To register your interest to attend a course, or to enquire about training, please send an email to jreynolds@rissb.com.au.

RISSB Leading the National Rail Action Plan’s - Common Standards Steering Committee

We’ve previously updated you on Government’s (endorsed by the Transport and Infrastructure Council) National Rail Action Plan:

“This plan is an agreed set of actions that will be undertaken by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and key members of the rail industry. The plan aims to implement changes to improve delivery of rail infrastructure and improve the safety and productivity of rail operations. An additional focus will be to create opportunities for manufacturers of rail equipment to supply rolling stock and components.”

RISSB is currently progressing an industry wide survey to understand where there are differences in infrastructure around the country – particularly if those difference pose a problem, or even just lead to some sub-optimal outcome. There are of course differences that are inconsequential, we’re not so interested in those.

If you’d like to participate please feel free to capture your examples in the proforma here. We’d be grateful for your response by the 7th Aug.

With this information we’ll be able to inform discussions at Governmental levels about what can be done to try to overcome some of these issues, and work towards solving some of industry's problems.

Leadership BS: Dangers for Safety Management

Join us at 12PM (AEST) on Tuesday, 4 August 2020 for RISSB webinar #18.

Tim Kuypers, Principal, Walbrook Partners will discuss recent academic thinking coming out of Stanford which challenges some of the key tenets of modern leadership approaches.  This includes challenges to the effectiveness of inspiration leadership techniques. He will discuss why doing good can give people license to be bad. Bringing this thinking closer to home, he will use it to challenge some of the approaches to safety improvement used in the Australian rail industry.

Please click on the blue 'Register Now' button to reserve your place in next week's webinar.

Missed this week's webinar? 
All past webinars have been recorded and are available on this https://www.rissb.com.au/home/webinars/ page. Simply find a presenter's name and click on the 'Watch' button near it.

RTSA Railway Professional of the Year

Also, a big congratulations to Andrew Hunt from KiwiRAIL who recently won the RTSA Railway Professional of the Year award. The Award is offered to a person above the age of 35, employed in the railway industry for at least 10 years in Australia or New Zealand, who has made an outstanding contribution to the Railway Industry in Australia or New Zealand.

Andrew was a key member on the Development Group for AS 7479:2020 Track maintenance and road rail vehicles - Collision avoidance and proximity warning.

Well done, Andrew.

AS 7460 Remotely Piloted Aviation Systems (Drones) 

The Development Group met recently to discuss a number of areas, including licencing requirements for RIMs and RTOs. This Standard is not far from being available for public comment – watch this space!

Light Rail Signalling Standard

The first full draft was sent to the Development Group for consideration and discussion recently, with a meeting to discuss the draft planned for early August.

Publications Now Available on RISSB's Website

Five publications are now available to educate and inform the rail industry. 

The following Standards were approved at RISSB’s 23 June 2020 Board meeting and are now available to download from RISSB’s website:

AS 1085.20:2020 Railway track materials Part 20: Welding of steel rail

AS 1085.21:2020 Railway track materials Part 21: Turnouts, switches and crossings

AS 7633:2020 Railway infrastructure: Clearances

AS 7473:2020 Complex system integration in railways

AS 7663:2020 Railway signal cables

Projects On Parade

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

Publication Type 
Guideline

Publication Name 
Achieving compliance at railway stations  with DSAPT

Overview
The rail industry is committed to providing the safest and most accessible service that it possibly can. While new rolling stock and infrastructure is (generally) compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act  (DDA), there are historical infrastructure and other systems, some that have been around for over 100 years, that the industry is striving to make compliant.

This Guideline will provide ‘how to’ instructions for: meeting DSAPT requirements, assessing compliance, addressing complex real-life examples and ways to provide equivalent and alternative access.

It will also provide a structured and logical methodology to roll out changes and system upgrades.

Standards Development Manager 
Sudha Niles - sniles@rissb.com.au

Congratulations to the Chairman of our Infrastructure Standing Committee

Congratulations to John Furness, RISSB’s Infrastructure Standing Committee Chairman on receiving the 2020 RTSA Individual Award.  

This prestigious award is presented to persons who have made an outstanding contribution in the engineering or technical services field to the railway industry.  

Thank you John for all your contribution to the rail industry, especially your contribution as the Chairman of RISSB's Infrastructure Standing Committee. You are a worthy recipient of a well deserved honour.