Meet the Industry Standards Coordination Committee
Learn about our cross-industry group or committee of the month
This month, we’re shining a spotlight on the essential work of the Industry Standards Coordination Committee (ISCC). Governed by the Railway Standards Code and the Railway Standards Manual, this senior stakeholder group handles a range of railway standards issues.
Cliff Cork is the independent chair of the committee, appointed by RSSB’s board. ‘ISCC supports the industry in overseeing the development of standards,’ says Cork. ‘We help users apply standards more effectively so that the economic and wider benefits of standardisation can be achieved. We will produce simple training tools to help improve and demonstrate a practitioner’s competence in standards. We support RSSB projects to improve standards.’
The ISCC is an authority on the management and effectiveness of standards for the mainline railway. Its role is to oversee standards committees, giving them direction, guidance, and advice. It addresses strategic and legal issues relating to standards, too.
The committee represents the role of the requirements in Railway Group Standards (RGS) as national technical rules or national safety rules to the Department of Transport (DfT) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
It also advises relevant government bodies on the implications of these roles for managing the mainline rail network. Also in the committee’s remit is learning from European standards that could be applied to Britain’s railways.
Control Command and Signalling Standards Committee
Data, Systems and Telematics Standards Committee
Energy Standards Committee
Infrastructure Standards Committee
Plant Standards Committee
Rolling Stock Standards Committee
Traffic Operation and Management Standards Committee
October’s Horizon, they motioned to phase out detonators. The ISCC arranged trials with Network Rail to explore the motion and gather evidence to support it. Eventually, they concluded that all use of detonators should be stopped in the next two years.
This is just one example of the ISCC’s work that has brought positive change by increasing worker safety and removing outdated recommendations that no longer serve the industry. As well as safety and efficiency, the ISCC’s work benefits the whole of rail, financially. The committee’s research and subsequent updates to standards for signals faults and failures will save the industry more than £231 million over the next decade.
Joining Cliff Cork, the 19 members of the ISCC represent interests from across the industry, including:
passenger, non-passenger, and freight train operators
rolling stock owners, leasing companies, suppliers, and manufacturers
infrastructure managers, owners, and contractors
DfT and ORR—in an observational capacity.
The ISCC publishes the Standards Annual Report, which shares their achievements and learnings from the year. Find out about their goals and desired outcomes moving forwards and get summaries of new or amended standards.
Get involved in the ISCC’s work, watch the latest Standards Quarterly Update in March 2024.
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