Stockton Engineering Management provides the highest standards in the production of technical and operational safety cases, covering system safety through to product and component-level safety assessments. The breadth of our Capability covers all aspects of the Safety Management Process enabling us to support  any part of the project Lifecycle.

There are two main methods for Engineering Safety Management on the railway – the Yellow Book and the Common Safety Method:The Yellow Book, as it is commonly known, was written to help people who are involved in railway engineering to make sure that their work contributes to improved safety and get changes to the railway accepted more efficiently.The Yellow Book is written to help set up a process that protects you and others from mistakes and gives documented evidence (such as a safety case) that risk is at an acceptable level.

The Yellow Book is not mandatory, but there is consensus among railway engineers in the UK and elsewhere that the fundamentals represent good practice in engineering safety management. London Underground has confirmed that, until further notice, they will not be applying the CSM regulations for their Engineering Safety Management and that the Yellow Book will be continued to be used as guidance.

Our consultants are experts in risk evaluation and assessment and have wide experience of applying both the Yellow Book and the Common Safety Method for railway projects.

The CSM defines a common mandatory European risk management process for the rail industry.The CSM has implications for the way that safety arguments are made on the mainline railway. The CSM is a European Commission (EC) regulation, but it is not applicable to all railways for example trams and metros. All changes to the railway after July 2012 will employ the CSM for all changes deemed significant.The CSM and the Yellow Book are in general agreement on how to make compliance based safety argument.

London Underground has confirmed that, until further notice, they will not be applying the CSM regulations for their Engineering Safety Management and that the Yellow Book will be continued to be used as guidance.

Our consultants are experts in risk evaluation and assessment and have wide experience of applying both the Yellow Book and the Common Safety Method for railway projects.

Assurance Planning  is an important step in any project as it provides all project stakeholders, including the approval authorities, with comprehensive details of the safety activities to be carried out, the deliverables to be provided and clarifies the safety roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in the project. This is key to controlling costs and reducing delivery risk.

Stockton associates produced the overall project assurance plan for the Jubilee and Northern lines Upgrade Project. This set out the assurance requirements and activities for the whole of this 7-year project. Stockton continues to work with the project providing subsidiary project plans and also monitoring deliverables against the plan.

Stockton associates have experience in the preparation of feasibility studies, such as the study for the introduction of a new signalling track circuit system, the introduction of a new type of axle counting system and the introduction of an ‘Electric In Bearer Clamplock Point Mechanism’ for use on London Underground.

Systems Engineering encompasses requirements management, as well as reviewing industry and national standards.

Stockton associates have extensive experience in systems engineering activities. For example, production of the new suite of London Underground signalling and signalling control category 1 standards, setting the requirements for a new type of level crossing for Network Rail and establishing the safety requirements for the new signalling system on the Jubilee and Northern lines Upgrade Project for Tube Lines. System product and process requirements are captured using tools such as DOORS.

Legislation requires that the risk to which people are exposed is reduced to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable. Hazard Management, Risk Assessment and Safety Analysis are used to provide the evidence necessary to demonstrate this has been done.

We have considerable experience in the management of hazards, including different techniques for hazard identification, such as hazard and operability studies (HAZOP) and other structured techniques. The hazard identification stage is seen as crucial to any good safety analysis and our consultants have been praised for their care and thoroughness in hazard identification, whilst driving the work forward at a good pace. We have considerable experience of databases used for hazard logs such as DOORS (Dynamic Object-Oriented Database System) and Access. Stockton associates have extensive experience in hazard management for major projects, including the Jubilee and Northern lines Upgrade Project and Network Rail’s West Coast Route Modernisation project.

Risk assessment is the process of evaluating the likelihood and consequences (or severity) of injury that may result from a hazard. A risk assessment will incorporate identification of the hazard, what the level of risk is and what can be done to control the hazard.

Our consultants are experienced in quantified risk assessment (QRA) and are fluent in the use of FaultTree+ software. Fault trees and event trees to analyse the system and predict the risk associated with its application to the railway. Stockton associates have extensive experience of the use of quantitative and qualitative risk assessment techniques for entire railways or lower-level assessments for railway systems. At present we are working on a QRA for the application of a moving-block signalling system to an urban railway.

Safety analysis encompasses the identification of failure mechanisms and their effects.

Stockton associates have been responsible for providing safety analysis for major projects, including the Jubilee Line Extension and Jubilee and Northern Line Upgrade projects and for several specific signalling products. Stockton associates have also reviewed numerous supplier safety analyses in support of technology acceptance with systems including signalling interockings, ATP & ATO systems, moving block signalling, train operator displays and train detection sub-systems.

Reliability and cost effective maintenance in operation are key objectives for any railway project.

We have extensive experience in the assessment of reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM). Our consultants have been closely involved in RAM analysis and assessment for major railway projects including the development of the initial reliability models for the Jubilee Line Extension and the Jubilee and Northern Line Upgrade projects.

Cross acceptance has the potential to reduce both costs and risks on a project by re-using design and analysis work that has already been applied in a similar context.

Stockton associates have managed many product cross-acceptance activities.  For example, gaining approval of an axle counting system new to London Underground based on its previous use on Deutsche Bahn.

Stockton associates have produced many system and product safety cases and have performed acceptance reviews of suppliers’ safety cases for major signalling upgrade projects.

We have also produced operational safety case papers to support staged introduction and final revenue service of new signalling systems. Our consultants have extensive experience of preparation and acceptance of both engineering safety cases (EN50129 ,Yellow Book) and railway safety cases. They have played key roles in management and production of these type of safety cases for major railway projects where the safety cases have been used to gain safety acceptance.

Stockton associates have experience of project engineering for Legacy signalling systems on London Underground and have also worked extensively with Contractors involved in the Installation and Testing and Commissioning of the SELTRAC S40 CBTC System used on the Jubilee & Northern Lines on London Underground.

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession, or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review can be used to maintain standards, improve performance, and provide credibility. Stockton associates have supported this process for major rail projects.

Stockton associates have performed safety audits of signalling system and software development against the requirements of the CENELEC standards.

Stockton associates have extensive experience in gaining approval of safety documentation ranging from assurance plans, safety plans and systems engineering management plans through to complete product and/or system safety cases.

Stockton associates have produced a wide variety of documents, systems safety and technical documents. We have produced plans, standards, proposals, specifications, technical presentations, professional papers, operational notices, maintenance bulletins, safety reports and safety cases for major rail projects.

Stockton associates have excellent experience of review of Installation, Testing and Commissioning procedures and processes to ensure that they are clear comprehensive and workable. This is achieved through our experience in this environment from both a Client and Contractor perspective. We are able to audit the quality of new installations against defined standards and best practice and undertake condition assessments of older installations for equipment installed wayside and in secure equipment rooms.

Stockton Associates have supported various clients with Signalling Estimating / Works Costing expertise for both Minor and Major Works on London Underground and Network Rail Infrastructure.