6.3 Briefings, During the Work & the Worksafe Procedure

6.3 Briefings, During the Work & the Worksafe Procedure

A safe system of work only protects you if you understand it and keep to it. This section covers the briefing you receive before work (PTS handbook section 5.4), the rules during the work (section 6) and what to do if you believe the work is unsafe.

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The Briefing

Before you walk to site or start work, the COSS or person in charge will:

• show their Sentinel card and swipe themselves in to show they are qualified to act as COSS or person in charge;
• swipe your Sentinel card to check that your card, medical, PTS and any other relevant qualifications are in date.

They will then tell you:

• the nature and location of the work;
• the approved access point and the walking route to the site of work;
• the limits of the site and how they are defined;
• the first aid arrangements and who the emergency contact is;
• the lines at the site, the maximum speed at which trains are allowed to travel, and their direction;
• the best means of contacting the signaller, the emergency services and, if necessary, the Electrical Control Operator;
• information about site hazards, such as electrification equipment, buried services or poor access conditions;
• the lines that will be blocked to trains and the lines that will remain open;
• the location of the nearest hospital and of the welfare facilities for the group.

For a safeguarded, fenced or site warden safe system, they also tell you the safe limits of the work area and how they are defined, and where relevant who the site wardens are and their method of warning. For equipment or lookout warning, they tell you where the position of safety is, the method of warning and, where relevant, who the site and touch lookouts are and where they are positioned.

On electrified lines, you must assume the OLE or conductor rails are live and dangerous unless the person in charge or COSS tells you the equipment has been isolated, and tells you the limits within which it is safe to work, whether any nearby electrification equipment is still live and where it is, and whether non-electric trains or on-track plant could still approach on the isolated lines.

The COSS or person in charge will also cover other safety aspects of how the work is being carried out, such as the PPE for the task, welfare arrangements and the work content. The COSS may also be the person in charge and brief both the train and the working risks.

Confirming Your Understanding

You will be asked to confirm your understanding. The COSS or person in charge will question you on the safe system and then ask you to sign a briefing form or scan your Sentinel card to give your digital signature in the Sentinel app. HB1 refers to this as the safe-work briefing form, RT9909. If you are unsure about any part of the briefing, ask for it to be repeated or explained further. Do not sign if you do not understand.

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During the Work

Keep to the Safe System

The COSS sets up a safe system so that you are not put in danger by trains or electrification equipment, but it only works if you follow the instructions and comply with the track safety rules.

• If you have any doubts about the safe system, stop work, make sure you are in a position of safety and tell the COSS or person in charge.
• Only do things you are competent and, if necessary, qualified to do. Never do something you think is unsafe or against the rules, even if you feel under pressure to get the job done.
• Always stay within the limits of the safe system of work. If a fence has been put up, do not lean over it or place anything against it.
• If a site warden has been appointed, do not distract them; if the site warden shouts a warning, make sure you are still within the safe system and move back into it if you are not.
• Under equipment or lookout warning, stop work straight away when a warning is given and go to the position of safety. Raise one arm to show you have heard a lookout's warning, never distract a lookout, and do not leave the position of safety after the train has passed until the COSS says it is safe.
• If you think you might not hear a warning, make sure you are in a position of safety and tell the COSS.

Tools and Materials

• Tools and materials left on the ground while a train is passing must be at least 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) from the running line, unless there is no chance of them being moved by the train's slipstream. HB1 section 7.1 states the same rule.
• Make sure tools and materials do not cause an obstruction. When the work has finished, remove them from the railway or secure them so vandals cannot use them.
• Take care with metal equipment. If it makes a connection between the two running rails, it might put a signal to danger; it can also interfere with signalling and level crossing equipment, and on electrified lines you could get an electric shock.

Deviating from an Authorised Safe System of Work

If the person in charge or COSS asks to use a lower level of safe system of work than the one authorised, it may only be implemented if the responsible manager authorises the change and issues an authority reference. If this happens, the COSS will stop the work and make sure you are in a position of safety, and will make sure you understand the new arrangements before allowing work to start again.

Anyone who joins the group after the briefing must be briefed before they start. If conditions change, for example fog reduces the sighting a lookout needs or a fence is damaged, work stops while the COSS puts the safe system right.

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The Worksafe Procedure

Network Rail's Worksafe procedure, standard NR/L2/OHS/00112, has existed since 2009 and was updated in 2020. It gives everyone the right to stop work they believe is unsafe and to have the situation assessed fairly. You can use it, for example, if you are asked to do a task without the required training, equipment or PPE, or if there is no safe system of work.

1. Stop work, move to a position of safety, and immediately contact the person in charge. Explain that you have invoked the Worksafe procedure and why.
2. The person in charge, in discussion with you, assesses the situation and decides what action is needed.
3. If you agree that there has been a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the task and that the system of work is safe, the work can restart.
4. If no agreement can be reached, the work is not restarted. The person in charge consults their manager to agree when the work can be made safe and when staff can return, and can assign you to other work in the meantime.
5. The supervisor records the issue and the decisions in a Worksafe report.

Network Rail's Worksafe procedure was developed with the trade unions, and Network Rail has agreed that no worker invoking it will be subjected to any detriment. The law supports this: section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employees to take reasonable care of themselves and others, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require procedures for serious and imminent danger, and sections 44 and 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 protect workers who leave or refuse to return to a place of serious and imminent danger.

For concerns that cannot be resolved on site, or that you do not feel able to raise through your company, use the reporting routes in section 8.3, including CIRAS.