| Summary |
In order to promote Safety Management System (SMS) and further improve railway safety in Taiwan, this study, based on the studies in 2019 (A Study in Railway Safety Management System – the Development of Strategies for Building the Mechanism) and 2020 (A Study on Promoting Railway Operating Safety Assurance Mechanism), continues to develop practical operation guidelines and training materials of remaining 7 key elements in Railway SMS in 2021, which can be applied to Taiwanese railway operators; furthermore, this study integrates the study results in 2020 to demonstrate complete 12 key elements in Railway SMS.
This study reviews related guidelines or handbooks for civil aviation SMS, domestic or international railway SMS, and other management systems or safety mechanisms. Then, based on previous studies (SMS third-level implementing guides and safety assurance fourth-level operation guidelines), this study develops fourth-level operation guidelines, including 12 key elements, 60 implementing steps and tens of operation mechanisms in Railway SMS. This study could assist railway operators in developing suitable procedures or checking the completeness of existing procedures.
Moreover, this study collects practical cases from operators, drafting training materials to illustrate the applications of operational guidelines. This study also applies operation guidelines to Taiwan Railway Administrations (TRA) to assist in checking and improving their SMS, and further proposes several suggestions for promotion.
In summary, this study suggests that railway operators should collaborate with the supervision agency to establish a regular management examination mechanism, develop SMS evaluation manuals, develop guidelines for safety indicators, develop guidelines for human-caused risk management, explore safety culture evaluation mechanisms, establish continuous safety training courses, and establish an information-based suitability management system, to comprehensively improve railway safety. |
