Safety management of complex technology

One of the key success factors behind the human species is the ability to think, plan and pursue goals. Apart from wisdom and tacit knowledge, experience and awareness of the physical laws governing the universe are themselves the ingredients of success in a particular undertaking. However, unfamiliar circumstances pose a challenge to the extrapolation of the past experience to the future expectations. This is particularly true within the context of new discoveries or novel application of emerging and complex/adaptive technologies. Amongst many facets of performance pertaining to a product, process or undertaking, safety is generally a more demanding aspect to forecast, manage and deliver. The statutory framework poses further constraints on performance where the potential for harm to people or the environment arises from a product or system. The modernisation programme for the West Coast Main Line (WCML) railways in the UK involves adoption and implementation of a few advanced technologies to assist with better train protection and network utilisation. The extent, scope and inter-related nature of these advanced technologies within WCML modernisation programme necessitate a systematic framework commensurate with the scale of the problem and undertakings. To this end, an advanced risk forecasting model was devised at Railtrack to support the safety assessment and assurance of the programme within its three key evolutionary phases.