How well do we support our drivers? asks Govia Thameslink Railway’s Justin Willett.
An holistic view is needed to understand how to reduce incidents.
When we talk about SPADs, we often focus on the driver, the train or the signal. But there’s a lot more that can contribute to cutting the SPAD rate, and therefore the potential for harm.
For trainees, the driving instructor is the most influential part of their training, which is why it’s vital that they teach what it takes to be a train driver. This isn’t just about how to drive a train but route knowledge and route risks too. We didn’t do that back in the days of Ladbroke Grove, but we’ve got better at training since then.
The driver manager then assesses, coaches, develops and manages the driver, setting standards to aspire to, identifying areas where improvement is beneficial and challenging misunderstandings to make sure everyone is at the top of their game.
How well have we trained our managers to do this? The ORR’s Railway Safety Publication 1 indicates we should not rely on one-off qualifications as an alternative to other training, but how many think an assessor’s qualification is all it takes? Have we put them in the ‘magic suit’ that provides them with the capability to deal with this and fixes any gaps in rules and traction knowledge? Or have we got a more structured programme of training and on-the-job learning, mentoring and so on?
For trainees, the driving instructor is the most influential part of their training, which is why it’s vital that they teach what it takes to be a train driver.
Do your organisation's assessors know their responsibilities and the importance of their assessments? Do they know how the assessments should meet legal requirements? Do they know they’ll be subject to an external and critical review if anything goes wrong, or are they just writing up what they did before?
Do we help improve the technical knowledge of the driver manager and make it clear they need to set a high standard for their drivers? Or are driver managers just focusing on what’s easy to identify rather than what’s important? Do we include details such as running brake tests or power percentage taken in a certain order, because, if we’re being honest, they don’t always improve operational competence or risk?
Have we lost the cooperate knowledge and experience of the importance of the driver manager roles and how this needs to be effective in order to manage our operational risks, or are we just measuring assessments done on time?
But not everything old is good, and I still see working practices that we need to move away from, such as only seeing your manager when things have gone wrong and praise being only the silence between tellings-off.
When a new manager or assessor starts, they’re given the critical and important job of assessing the competence of our drivers. So how do we make sure they understand their responsibilities, have the right technical knowledge and the right skills to help them develop their drivers? Food for thought.
Do we help improve the technical knowledge of the driver manager and make it clear they need to set a high standard for their drivers?
