People have different views on what competence is. In the rail industry, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) puts it simply and clearly: “Competence is the ability to work to an agreed standard on a regular basis… [It’s] vital in controlling health and safety risks on the railway.”
So, by embedding competence in your rail company, you can ensure risk is minimised.
But how do you do this?
In this guide, I’ll explain 5 ways you can embed competence in your rail organisation.
- Follow industry advice and guidance
The ORR’s Developing and Maintaining Staff Competence (RSP1) describes the principles and factors you should consider in your competence management system (CMS).
In that document, the rail regulator gives clear guidance on how to carry out this process, while recognising every business is different. It’s aimed at passenger and freight operators in the railway and other guided transport systems industry, including light rail and trams, and is also for their contractors and subcontractors.
- Ask yourself: is your CMS good enough?
You should carefully consider if your competence management system is up to scratch or if the only reason you have one is to pass an audit.
There are many senior people in the rail sector who aren’t familiar with key industry guidance. They also don’t understand the nature of a robust CMS or how to check compliance with it or how to review and develop it.
- Adopt a continuous improvement mindset
You shouldn’t rely just on initial training and professional body registrations to imply competence across your team. You’ll also need to ensure ongoing competence, so your business and its people can continue to meet industry requirements.
And you can choose between following national occupational standards or creating your own.
In their Developing and Maintaining Staff Competence guidance, the ORR describes 15 principles that should guide and assist you in the development of your bespoke CMS, starting with a review of your current system.
- Get quality assurance support
Too many people rely on flooding their paperwork with signatures, dates and references to national standards as a benchmark. It’s also important to give your CMS real meaning and added value, so you can reduce your risk profile, increase staff development and maintain skill levels.
Your assessor plays a crucial role in your CMS, and they can benefit from the support of an internal quality assurer (IQA). The IQA will ensure checks, evidence gathering and recording are carried out fairly and accurately. They can rate your assessor and provide a supporting framework to ensure consistency.
- Prevent skill fade
Skills can get ‘rusty’ if they’re not practised regularly or haven’t been used for a while. But you can help prevent this by carrying out interim checks to monitor the abilities of your team.
Both your assessor and internal quality assurer can support you with tackling skill fade. Accurate reporting will provide valuable information on your staff’s skills and highlight any areas that need work. You can then ensure your people are given the right skills and opportunities to meet the required standards.
As a senior person in your rail business, it’s your responsibility to support your team. By investing in your people, they’ll benefit from their own professional development, while you’ll be rewarded with a more motivated and capable workforce who can help your organisation move forward.
