Monday, July 19, 2021

Contractor management update - July 2021

The contractor management national priority has been scoped to include a 4-phase approach

• Contractor Information
• Contractor Engagement
• Operator Engagement
• Compliance

Currently, the project is sitting within phase 2 – Contractor Engagement – which involves the engagement of approximately 150 nominated contractors by ONRSR’s rail safety officers (RSOs).

This engagement has commenced with letters being sent to contractors,detailing the background to this particular national priority and proposing a meeting to discuss their concerns and issues.

The meeting also serves as an opportunity to educate industry with the newly published 'Contractor Management information sheets that were developed as an integral part of the operator engagement phase.

Initial responses and feedback to the invitations has been overwhelmingly positive and have demonstrated a willingness to participate, with many viewing the strategy as an excellent safety initiative by ONRSR. Several contractors have made senior managers and executives available to meet with ONRSR indicating the seriousness with which they take this issue and the opportunity to engage with us.

During the meetings held to date, there has been a valuable exchange of information and identification of safety themes – information that will not only drive the remainder of this project but will assist ONRSR in scoping their BAU activities with operators in the future.