Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. (MRT) Policy Directive

Reference: HS/2 (1/89)

Subject: Supervision of work.

For the attention of: Traffic Manager, Civil Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Sales Manager. This Directive forms part of the Safety Management System.

Revision History

Previous versions of this Directive were as follows. Reference 1/89/1 was the initial version.

This version implemented the revised numbering scheme for directives, but made no other changes to the content.

Content Summary

This Directive contains the following sections: Introduction

Action Required

Introduction

1. To ensure safe working practices and adequate supervision within the requirements of the MRT's rules and regulations, the Health and Safety at Work Act and other statutory regulations, it is necessary for a system of supervision to be brought into operation. This will have to cover all times that persons are working at the MRT, unless this work is specifically exempted by suitable written instructions.

• The objectives that this system of supervision will have to meet are:
  • to ensure adequate coordination of work that is being carried out by several persons;
  • to ensure that all persons working are aware of any safety precautions or procedures that may apply to the work being carried out, and that they observe these precautions and procedures;
  • to enable persons working to obtain additional instructions if they need them;
  • to provide a channel for the reporting of accidents, breakages and other related occurrences;
  • to ensure that inexperienced persons do not undertake jobs which would be beyond their capability.

Action Required

• In order to ensure that this is put into practice, the following officers are charged with creating and arranging suitable systems of supervision for the activities specified, to come into effect by 23rd March 1989.

• The Traffic Manager must make arrangements to ensure that all train operations are carried out under the supervision of a suitably rostered Operations Supervisor. This person may be the duty driver when only one locomotive is to be in service, but must be specified by the rosters at all times when it is likely that a train may need to be run.

• The Civil Engineer and Mechanical Engineer must determine the level of supervision that is required for all classes of work on the railway, other than those directly involving the operation of trains or sales and catering, and must make arrangements to ensure that all such work is adequately supervised by suitably rostered Engineering Supervisors.

• The Sales Manager must make arrangements to ensure that all work with sales or catering is adequately supervised, and that Shop Supervisors are rostered as required.

Policy Directive HS/2 (1/89) continued

• Once these systems have been brought into effect, these officers must ensure that no work of any sort is carried out unless properly supervised in accordance with these systems.

Drafted by A J Cowling and S J Roberts, and approved on 12th January 1989.