Safety Decision Making

'Taking safe decisions' - a new publication for the rail industry

Taking safe decisions has now been published in full and is ready for download from this section of the website.

Almost every policy, investment or operational decision taken by the GB railway industry has an impact on safety. It is therefore vital that safety considerations be embedded effectively into the decision-taking process.

Taking safe decisions follows an extensive programme of research, analysis and consultation, which RSSB carried out to clarify how this balance is achieved. It describes the industry consensus view of how decisions should be taken that properly protect the safety of rail industry staff, passengers and others, satisfy the law and respect the interests of stakeholders, whilst remaining commercially sound. The document was developed by a Think Tank of industry experts, and has been endorsed by the industry through the Safety Policy Group and RSSB board. It has also been developed in tandem with internal guidance on cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in support of safety-related investment decisions, produced by the ORR for its own inspectors.

The hierarchy of documents forming and supporting Taking safe decisions is outlined in the diagram below.

Taking Safe Decisions consists of three parts (which can be downloaded here):

• Part 1 - a statement of principles.
• Part 2 - the Decision taking framework: describing how the principles can be put into practice.
• Part 3 - a set of worked examples to show how the decision taking framework should be applied.

Part 1 of the document should be of interest to both senior managers and safety practitioners. Parts 2 and 3 provide guidance targeted at safety practitioners. NB: Taking safe decisions presents the industry’s considered response to questions raised by How safe is safe enough (2005). How safe is safe enough has therefore now been withdrawn.

The Route to Taking Safe Decisions is a record of the logical, practical and legal arguments behind the industry consensus set out in this document. It is a useful reference for anyone wishing to understand the basis of the industry consensus position described in Taking safe decisions in more detail.

Taking safe decisions states that in the GB railway industry duty holder decisions which impact on safety are taken:

• In order to meet legal requirements
• Because they are sensible from a commercial perspective

These different types of decision have different implications and involve different considerations which the document clarifies. The understanding and clarity that the document brings may result in changes to what has previously been done in some parts of industry. Key clarifications are:

• Societal concern about risk impacts on government decision making. The document states that societal concern should not be taken into account by duty holders when deciding whether a measure is necessary to ensure safety so far as is reasonably practicable (SFAIRP). However, the impact of societal concern on a company’s reputation might mean that the company takes account of it optionally for business reasons.
• A judgement about whether a measure is required to ensure safety so far as is reasonably practicable might be supported in some circumstances by a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Specific guidance about how to construct a CBA for this purpose is included
• This document clarifies that application of the TOR framework presented by the HSE in Reducing Risks, Protecting People is not a requirement of the Heath and Safety at Work Act etc 1974. The tolerability of risk (TOR) framework is a conceptual guide for regulators that may help duty holders manage and prioritise safety activity by providing an alternative perspective on risk.

Taking safe decisions describes these key principles in full and provides guidance on what they mean in practice for those taking decisions that impact upon safety.

For further information please contact George Bearfield (george.bearfield@rssb.co.uk),
0207 904 7502

Previous MORI survey into Public Attitudes towards Safety on the Railway

One of the key elements of RSSB's remit is to measure, report and inform on health and safety performance, safety intelligence, trends, data and risk. The following report presents the summary findings of a survey of the general public conducted by MORI during 2006, exploring the way in which the general public form perceptions of safety and risk on the railways. This survey tracks trends in the public debate on railway safety over three years, by comparing the 2006 survey with the opinions expressed in 2003 and 2005 surveys. Download the report "Public Attitudes to Safety on the Railways".