Deal with incidents and contingencies within the railway environment
Overview
This standard is about dealing with the immediate actions that need to be taken in the event of any incident or contingency and understanding their effect or implication on the safety of the line, life and the environment.
You will be required to deal with incidents and contingencies within the railway environment. Where necessary, authorisation must be obtained before work is carried out within the railway environment. You will be expected to work in accordance with your organisation's procedures and specifications.
The actions to be taken will follow approved organisational procedures for dealing with incidents.
During this work, you must take account of the relevant worksite operational requirements, procedures and safe working practices as they apply to you.
Your underpinning knowledge will provide a good understanding of your work and will provide an informed approach to applying problem-solving techniques and procedures when dealing with incidents and contingencies within the railway environment.
You will comply with any organisational procedures, and legislative or regulatory health, safety and environmental requirements applicable when dealing with incidents and contingencies within the railway environment.
This standard is for all skilled operatives carrying out permanent way engineering activities.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
P1 maintain safe working practices and comply with all relevant health and safety regulations, directives, and guidelines
P2 assess the nature and extent of the incident/contingency on arriving at site and secure the safety of the area
P3 identify any necessary changes to safety requirements upon site arrival and report to the relevant person(s) without delay
P4 source and follow the appropriate schedules, diagrams and related specifications for the work being carried out as approved by your organisation
P5 call for additional and/or expert help in the event of incidents or contingencies occurring, using warning systems as appropriate
P6 take prompt and appropriate actions in line with organisation's procedures to minimise risk of personal and third party injury as a first priority before considering damage to property and equipment
P7 follow shutdown and evacuation procedures in line with organisation's procedures
P8 deal with dangers that can be contained using appropriate equipment and materials, in accordance with your organisation's procedures
P9 give advice and support when dealing with requests for rapid response, including communicating with others, in line with your organisation's procedures
P10 prepare appropriate documentation to update on progress and report completion of activities in line with your organisation's procedures
P11 address problems within your control and report unresolved issues
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 the relevant health and safety regulations, directives, guidelines, and safe working practices and procedures defined by your organisation, as appropriate to the activity and your working area
K2 your responsibilities in respect of health, safety and environment, including the limits of your personal responsibility, your legal responsibility for your own health and safety and the health and safety of others
K3 the importance of wearing protective clothing and other appropriate type of safety equipment (PPE) and where to obtain it from
K4 how to locate and access the site
K5 hazards associated with working on permanent way infrastructure
K6 how to source and follow schedules, diagrams and specifications relevant to your role, as approved by your organisation
K7 the relevant first aid procedures that are approved by your organisation
K8 the relevant evacuation procedures that are approved by your organisation
K9 how to locate and identify incidents within the railway environment
K10 how to deal with the various incidents and contingencies including the advice and support to give when dealing with requests for rapid response, including communicating with others, in line with your organisation's procedures
K11 the type of incidents and contingencies that will affect the safety of the line, the safety of life and/or safety of the environment
K12 the actions to be taken following approved procedures, including for incidents involving:
K12.1 broken rails
K12.2 track distortion
K12.3 bridge strikes
K12.4 obstructions
K12.5 security alerts
K12.6 fencing defects
K12.7 unstable embankments/cuttings
K12.8 trespass
K12.9 animals on the line
K12.10 contacting the emergency services
K12.11 implementation of flood procedures
K12.12 adverse weather arrangements (heat duties, manual de-icing)
K12.13 implementation of speed restrictions
K12.14 oil spillage
K12.15 fire
K12.16 leaf fall procedures
K12.17 fumes
K13 how to obtain feedback on the support and advice provided
K14 your organisation's procedures for incident and contingency reporting
K15 the relevant data management processes and technologies for recording information
K16 the relevant reporting lines, timeframes and procedures as approved by your organisation
K17 the impact of your work on the operations of other departments and the impact of their work for you
K18 the limits of your own authority and responsibility and those of others involved