RISSB's 20th Annual Rail Safety Conference Concludes With A New Attendance Record

The 20th annual Rail Safety Conference officially wrapped up yesterday afternoon proving that COVID-19 and the tyranny of distance is not a barrier to a great conference experience and effective communication.

Themed How Safe Is Safe Enough? the conference set new attendance records attracting more than 220 delegates/speakers representing government, regulators, operators, network managers, safety leaders, and suppliers from right across Australia and overseas – the most people at a RISSB rail safety conference in a decade!  

More than 50 industry experts highlighted the need to maintain safety vigilance in our new normal and encouraged conference attendees to challenge the status quo in their organisation

This year’s conference included 6 keynote presentations, 9 streams focused on industry’s most pressing safety concerns, two panel discussions and what is believed to be the world’s first virtual site tour – attendees were given a sneak peek at works underway to deliver platforms and a pedestrian concourse under Sydney’s busiest train station. 

With presentations ranging from safety leadership and SPAD management, risk management of operators, train control and SFAIRP, to incident investigations, the range of topics and presenters reflected the diverse needs and interests of those attending the conference.  

In addition to keynote speeches and compelling presentations, this year’s conference featured plenty of networking opportunities for attendees including a 2D networking lounge where attendees could go from table to table virtually and video chat each other.

A big thank you to our session and conference Chairs for expertly moderating discussions and to our 50+ speakers who helped make the conference as memorable as it was rewarding.

If you attended the conference thank you for putting our presenters through their paces. We enjoyed reading your tough questions and hearing the considered responses. 

The conference came at a time when business routines and rituals have been disrupted and people have had to modify activities to adapt to a new normal. With so much going on, we’d like to thank and acknowledge those who took time out of their busy day to make rail safety a priority.

We're Accepting Nominations for Horizons Program 3.0

Do you know someone who is ready to take the next step in their career? Someone who is aged 35 and under and is highly regarded in their organisation?

If so, nominate them for a place in Horizons Program 3.0. We're accepting nominations from today.

What's Horizons?
The Horizons Program is a 7 month professional development program for emerging leaders in the rail industry. Participants will be taken on a practical professional journey, growing their knowledge of cutting-edge technology and developing an innovation mindset that will help position your business as a business of the future.  

Among other things, program participants will engage with CEOs and senior managers of major transport-related companies, develop soft skills and learn about the real world application of innovation and new technology in rail.

If you have a direct report that would benefit from this career defining opportunity, complete a nomination form and submit it to RISSB by Friday, 4 December.

To discuss a potential candidate's suitability, please contact Phil Allan via email pallan@rissb.com.au.

Horizons 2.0 Wraps Up

Forty-nine very talented young professionals have graduated from the Horizons 2.0 Program.

The final (virtual) forum was held on 26th and 27th October and featured a conversation with Howard Collins OBE, presentations on AI, robotic vision and digital twins, and three workshops.

The highlight of the forum was the group presentations on new ideas for the rail industry and wow, what a great job everyone did. A total of 8 fabulous ideas were put forward! More on these in future The Whistle Boards!

Thank you to the 55 industry leaders, CEOs and other professionals who presented to the H2.0 Program and to the participants who are very much the future of this industry.

An Update On Our 2021/22 Priority Planning Process

We’re always seeking to improve our processes, and to that end we’ve made some improvements in the way we invite and prioritise the Priority Planning Process (PPP) submissions we receive from industry.

These include improvements to our proforma, which will make the benefits to industry clearer, and the overall submissions more robust. Another major improvement is the increased consultation with industry stakeholders, which we’ll carry out through December and January – before bringing it all together into next the work plan for 2021 / 22.

Next week we will be providing a link to our new proforma that we will be using for our 2021 / 22 PPP. To be considered for our 2021/ 22 work plan, you will need to complete and forward a submission by Friday, 4 December 2020.

We thank you in advance for your input, the PPP is a very important part of RISSB’s process in:

1. making sure that we’re writing the Standards / Codes of Practice / Guidelines that are the highest priority for the rail industry, and
2. delivering the most value in reducing costs and improving performance, interoperability, harmonisation and safety.

AS 7450 Rail Systems Interoperability

The Development Group met online for the first time last week to discuss the objective and scope of the review. A wide ranging discussion covered multiple topics, including change management, security, human factors and harmonisation of approval processes. A first revised draft will now be produced for the group to consider.

Guideline for Mitigating Safety Risks When Planning Works in the Rail Corridor

A large number of submissions have been received from the Development Group on the current draft. Overall, the draft is in good shape, and with some additional work should be available for public comment before the end of 2020.

AS 7460 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drones) – Operational Requirements

AS 7715 Train Detection Amendment No.1

Firmware, Software and Configuration Management for Operational Rail Assets Publication

AS 7636 Railway Structures

Rail Infrastructure Standards - AS 7639 Track Structure & Support and AS 1085.17 Railway track material Steel Sleepers

Safety Critical Communications Code of Practice

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 
AS 7533 Driving Cabs
(Review)

Overview
This Standard will provide a methodology for the integration of new technologies in cab design incorporating anthropometric and human factor requirements.  The new, reviewed Standard will support innovation, without preventing barriers to trade and deliver economic benefits by providing a standardised cab layout suitable for the Australian rail operating environment.

Standards Development Manager 
Ian Routcliffe
iroutcliffe@rissb.com.au

I’m Going To Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse

Next week's webinar guest presenter is Amy Lezala from Metro Trains Melbourne. 

Her webinar titled I’m Going To Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse will focus on the integration of engineering, asset management and maintenance.

The webinar will start at 12PM (AEDT) on Tuesday, 3 November 2020.

Register to attend next week's webinar event by clicking on the 'Register Now' button below this story.