PLANNING AND DELIVERING SAFE WORK
24 October 2014
Edition 2B
Welcome to the Planning and Delivering Safe Work
Cascade
Key Programme
Dates:
Welcome to your cascade about Planning and Delivering Safe Work (P&DSW). As
expected with a programme of this size and importance, it continues to develop and
progress at quite a pace. Since the relatively short period of time since the last cascade,
there have been a number of key developments which the team will tell you about below.
The immediate key
programme
milestones are:
Our biggest achievements of the last two weeks are the roll out of the training programme,
for our new Safe Work Leaders, and the uploading of the risk based control of work
software Proscient onto the Network Rail server. Both of these achievements have
presented some challenges to get to this stage, and as we progress we expect more, but
we are also excited by the opportunities that they present.
There is still no change on implementation plans since the last cascade, but we will keep
you informed of any further developments.
I hope you find this cascade useful as we continue to change the way we update you as the
programme evolves. If you are a line manager and your team is involved in this project,
please share this cascade with them.
Martin Frobisher
Programme Director (P&DSW)
Briefing Material & Version Control
We are aware that the programme will be touching everyone that works on the railway
infrastructure and we are keen to maintain as much transparency about the programme
as possible.
We will continue to share our most up-to-date material on our Safety Central pages
and keep you updated with any developments via these cascades.
20 October - SWL
Training programme
commences
Ongoing - Train the
Trainer courses
running
21 October - RCC
Web-Exs Training
Services
22 October - RCC
Web-Exs Non-Training
Services
14 November - Follow
Up TU Consultation
If you have any feedback
on this cascade or on
any questions regarding
the Planning and
Delivering Safe Work
programme, then please
email us at:
[email protected]
www.safety.networkrail.c o.uk/On-site-Solutions/ Planning-and-Delivering- Safe-Work
http://www.safety.networkrail.co.uk/
[email protected]
Roles and Responsibilities Update
For ease we have regularly used comparisons to help us explain the new SWL duties e.g.
SWL1 is like the COSS, or SWL2 is similar to the ES. However it is important to note that the
SWL1 is not just the COSS, and the SWL2 is not just the ES i.e. this is not a re-badging
exercise.
SWL1 is a competence focused on:
 Leading a team to undertake a task safely in a line blockage or on an open line
 The necessity to carry out the rule book duties of a COSS.
 They cannot take charge of a worksite in a possession.
The SWL1 is responsible for:
 Confirming that all task risks and hazards are considered and controls are in
place.
SWL2 is a competence focused on:
 Leading a team or a number of teams safely
 The necessity to carry out the rule book duties of an ES
The SWL2 is responsible for:
 Confirming that all task risks and hazards are considered and managed effectively
 This includes the additional risks & hazards occurred during interaction of numerous
tasks within a worksite.
SWL3 is a competence identified on site as the Safe Work Manager (SWM). It will be
used on the most complex project worksites. In this scenario, the SWM is supported by
a separate Engineering Supervisor (ES).
How do I know which level I need to do work as SWL?
This is determined during the Planning process, and is based on:
 The Operational Environment.
It is important to note that it is the line management responsibility to consider the level and
capability of the SWL.
Control of Work (CoW) Update
The Risk Based Control of Work Software
(Proscient) has now been uploaded to
Network Rail’s servers and will be available
online to those who have completed the
training.
Having completed its second round of User
Acceptance Testing (UAT), the software is
working well and can be used to support the
training programme. However, as with all
major software installation projects, there are
some minor issues that will need to be closed
prior to the system going live. These issues
are currently being looked at by our
technicians.
The system has not been tested on a Mac
(Apple) based platform, however testing on
Google Chrome has been completed. Google
Chrome can be used on Apple systems.
http://www.safety.networkrail.co.uk/
[email protected]
Trade Union Consultation and Validation
We had a useful consultation meeting with trades unions
on the 16 October and many of their questions have now
been answered. A further meeting has been arranged for
14 November to continue discussions.
Safety Validation is going well with just seven issues
outstanding, most of which are to do with post-implementation
review and we anticipate that these will be closed shortly.
Training News
Training has now started, with five Safe Work Leader (SWL)
courses beginning on 20 October. The courses are being
held in Bedford, Romford and Derby, with up to 12 people
on each course.
This is fewer courses than we had anticipated, but there are
issues with the number of trainers that have currently
achieved the required standard on the Train the Trainer
courses. As we don’t want to compromise on quality we
have put in place additional mentoring to provide greater
support. Train the Trainer courses will continue to be run in
parallel with the SWL training package.
Contractor Use of SWL
Network Rail will be issuing a letter to all
Sentinel Primary Sponsors to inform you of the
arrangements for supplying Safe Work Leaders
on complex worksites where some elements of
work are sub-contracted.
This clarification is necessary to ensure Principal
Contractor Licence (PCL) holders can still
practically fulfil their contractual obligations, and
for Network Rail to retain adequate control and
understanding of who can and cannot act as
Safe Work Leader on Network Rail
infrastructure.
Copies of the letter will be sent to all Sentinel
Primary Sponsors, including PCL holders our
potential RCC Suppliers, as well as being
posted on Safety Central.
This means that the number of competent trainers available
will continue to be less than anticipated, which will reduce
the number of SWL courses available. We will be focusing
on delivering this training in the East Midlands and Anglia
areas, with a revised plan being developed for the rest of
the country. Further updates on this will follow.
After a number of issues emerged with the pre-assessment
questions for the SWL training, it has been agreed that
candidates on the early courses will not need to complete this
before attending the training, but can simply complete the
questions at the start of the course. Once the problems have
been fixed, the online assessment will be re-introduced at a later
stage.
Railway Contractors Certificate (RCC) Update
We have had positive feedback about the RCC process and all of
the potential RCC holders have returned their completed RCC
Questionnaires.
To supplement this, we have now successfully completed two
rounds of RCC WebExs for both training services and non training
services.
The Q&A captured from these WebExs will be uploaded to Safety
Central (If related to RCC then they will be included in the next
version of the RCC Process Guide, if related to SWL or wider
PDSW programme then it will be added to the next version of PDSW
FAQs).
For any specific queries about the RCC process please email at:
[email protected]
http://www.safety.networkrail.co.uk/
[email protected]