A project which is aimed at addressing possible under-reporting of health and safety concerns and hazardous events has reached a major milestone with the completion of research focus groups with frontline staff on four UK tram networks.
The initiative – which has been led by the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board and the confidential safety hotline CIRAS – has set out to understand the challenges employees may face when reporting concerns and incidents, whilst also listening to their ideas on how reporting channels and feedback could be improved.
Laura Reardon, Head of Safety Risk Management at LRSSB, said: “The project will establish if there’s any evidence of under-reporting of health and safety concerns and incidents on the light rail sector’s front-line, as well as exploring in more depth what the causal factors may be.
“It will also look at developing recommendations to address any issues found as part of a three-stage approach covering analysis of existing LRSSB data sets, field work with drivers, other tramway staff and safety teams, and a review of the anonymised findings with appropriate potential measures.
“It’s vital for any organisation that makes data-led decisions to understand any potential reporting gap, and we’re very appreciative of the opportunity to hear workforce concerns. We’re looking forward to improving how we work in light of the results, as well as supporting the networks in their response.”
CIRAS Stakeholder Manager, Susan Gray, added: “We’re delighted to be working so closely with the LRSSB on a project that aligns so closely with our values, helping tramway operators to build a listening culture while gaining a deeper understanding of potential under-reporting from front-line staff.”