Railway Supervisor Transfer Process

This Information Bulletin is being issued to provincially-regulated railways and is subject to the Railway Act, Railway Safety Act, and associated regulations.

Date of Revision: March 10, 2020

Topic

The qualified supervision of railway employees is fundamental to railway safety. Supervisors who have not been properly trained or provided with the knowledge to effectively manage railway safety are a risk to safe railway operations. When a railway brings on a new supervisor, the following list of recommended actions will help the incoming supervisor gain a familiarity with his/her supervisory responsibilities and establish an understanding of the railway’s Safety Management System (SMS).

Recommended Actions

Whenever there is a new supervisor who will be responsible for a railway’s SMS, the incoming supervisor should:

• Be made aware of the railway’s SMS;
• Become familiar with the SMS document;
• Contact Technical Safety BC as soon as possible to report the change and establish the new relationship;
• Enrol in a training program that provides him/her with an understanding of railway operations;
• Develop a clear understanding of the railway’s prior safety and compliance history; and
• Become familiar with Technical Safety BC’s Railway Occurrence Reporting Guidelines.

Compliance

With this Information Bulletin, Technical Safety BC is informing all provincial railways that failure to follow this railway supervisor transfer process may lead to the termination of a railway audit. Such a termination may result in enforcement action, or additional costs levied against the railway.

Arne Vigen
Technical Leader, Railway
Technical Safety BC

For additional information, please contact Technical Safety BC’s railway program administration at 778 396 2063 or email railway@technicalsafetybc.ca.