Staying ahead of the curve
Research short: Testing and validating new tech
Sharon OdetundeHead of Partnerships, RSSB
By now, you’ll know that one of our missions is helping the industry adopt and leverage new technologies. We believe this is vital to support rail growth and efficiency.
But introducing innovations to rail is often challenging and costly. This is why testing and validating the tech is a vital first step. This process will either confirm or deny the innovation’s viability for use.
For newcomers to rail, whether they’re a tester or an innovator, it can be difficult to know where to start with this process. So, we’ve produced some robust guidance about the testing and validation of new technologies to make it easier for industry to adopt such innovations.
In partnership with the University of Birmingham, to craft this new guidance, we examined all the existing guidance for testing and validation in the rail industry. This gave us a steer on the gaps we needed to fill.
Our main goal was to ensure that the new documentation would meet the needs of:
innovators wanting to commission tests or trials for the first time
those responsible for conducting or advising on said tests
newcomers to the industry seeking uptake of their technology.
To achieve this, we sought input from a number of organisations across the industry. Having insight from academic institutions, train operators, infrastructure managers, and more meant that we were confident in addressing a wide range of requirements.
The result of this work is a robust guidance document that, we feel, will be key in rail’s continued adoption of exciting new technologies.
Importantly, by outlining the roles and responsibilities in the testing and validation process, the new guidance will aid more efficient uptake. And in turn, it will strengthen our ability to adopt cutting-edge innovations, keeping us ahead of the curve.
Check out ‘Guidance for testing and validation of new technology for GB rail’. It’s available on our Research Catalogue.
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