Standards changes
NR wants contractors, suppliers and stakeholders to propose changes to its standards, to encourage innovation.
NETWORK Rail is to encourage contractors, suppliers and stakeholders to propose changes to its standards, as part of its ‘open for business’ agenda.
The company says it has updated and changed 400 standards from an initial 1,000, to cut complexity and cost and to encourage innovation. Now it is asking suppliers and stakeholders to suggest better ways of maintaining and enhancing the railway, via its new standards challenge process. It believes the move could help introduce more third-party funding into the rail network.
It acknowledges that its standards are often seen as “overly complex and adding unnecessary cost”, and so has developed the standards challenge process in partnership with the Railway Industry Association (RIA) and key suppliers.
When a standard is felt to be incorrect, not enable the application of best practice, or drive increased costs without comparable benefit, outside parties are encouraged to submit a ‘standards challenge application’. When it is received, NR will review challenges, conduct impact assessments across areas such as safety, performance, environment and compatibility, and then make its decision.
To encourage challenges to standards, NR is to introduce incentives such as corporate recognition of successful applications, assessing contract performance in relation to standards innovation, or even sharing a proportion of any savings realised following a successful challenge on a project.
NR Chief Engineer Jon Shaw said: “We’ve recently updated our 400 most critical standards, but to ensure they always represent current best practice and constantly strive to safely reduce the cost of the railway, we need the help of our wider industry partners as well as experts from other industries and universities.
“The launch of the standards challenge process is the lever for this, providing genuine recognition and incentives to propose more efficient ways of both enhancing and maintaining our railway.”
RIA Technical Director David Clarke added: “The standards challenge was a key recommendation of the Hansford Review into contestability, and provides rail suppliers with the ability to question overly rigorous standards - thereby unlocking innovation, getting new technologies into the network and reducing costs, ultimately to the benefit of passengers and taxpayers.
“Following two workshops with the rail supply chain, Network Rail has a system by which companies can provide their suggestions and ideas. Now, it is for the industry to come forward with their creative solutions - and we encourage all to do so.”