Name: RISSB: Driving knowledge and innovation in the rail industry
Uploaded: 2023-11-03T02:48:08.931Z
Duration: 587.32
Description: Join Graham Jackson and Jesse Baker on RISSB's role in shaping the future of rail. They explore the need for standards, interoperability, and knowledge transfer to adapt to technological advancements and an aging workforce.

RISSB 3.mp4

RISSB.vtt

Subtitles

{{00:00:13}}
So earlier on today, we heard from
Minister Ayres around the future of rail

{{00:00:17}}
and the exciting times that we face.

{{00:00:20}}
As industry grows and responds to the
sovereign manufacturing capability etc.

{{00:00:25}}
And here at RISSB, we've been looking
at the strategies that we need

{{00:00:28}}
to enable those things to happen.

{{00:00:30}}
So how do we create the
standards of the future?

{{00:00:34}}
How do we create the harmonization
and interoperability?

{{00:00:37}}
We're also looking at the skills hub to
make sure there's that interoperability

{{00:00:40}}
and transfer of knowledge and skills
across the industry and turning that

{{00:00:44}}
all into reality of course is Jesse.

{{00:00:47}}
That's where the RISSB
annual work plan comes in.

{{00:00:50}}
I've also been very pleased with through
the conference, how much reference

{{00:00:53}}
that has been to RISSB products.

{{00:00:55}}
It's clear that the take up of our
products is very good and they're making

{{00:01:00}}
their way, right the way through industry.

{{00:01:03}}
At this time of year, we're starting
to turn our minds to what next

{{00:01:06}}
year's work plan's gonna look like.

{{00:01:09}}
In years gone by, that's been a fairly
convoluted process of inviting proposals

{{00:01:14}}
from industry and going through,
scoring processes and engagement to

{{00:01:20}}
try and get the priority projects
to float to the top of the pile.

{{00:01:26}}
This year we're doing things a bit
differently and we're going to start

{{00:01:29}}
from a clean sheet of paper and really
focus on those priority areas for

{{00:01:34}}
industry around interoperability and
harmonisation and  ONRIC, the Office of

{{00:01:39}}
National Rail Industry Coordination and
their efforts to generate, stimulate

{{00:01:44}}
more manufacturing here in Australia.

{{00:01:47}}
So I think we're going to see a
really exciting work plan in the new

{{00:01:50}}
financial year and we'll be making
announcements about that in July.

{{00:01:54}}
So what excites me about that is
actually the opportunity to reposition

{{00:01:58}}
RISSB from the traditional risk
based standards organization that

{{00:02:01}}
we have been for the last 20 years.

{{00:02:04}}
And then our 21st year as we enter
that, we'll look to be the thought

{{00:02:09}}
leaders, the strategy leaders
for the rail safety industry.

{{00:02:20}}
Collaboration is a real key
thing for us to work within.

{{00:02:24}}
So if we look at the industry
bodies, we have people like the

{{00:02:28}}
ARA who are doing some great work
in the policy and advocacy space.

{{00:02:32}}
We have the ACRI, the National
Transport Research Organization now

{{00:02:38}}
who are doing that whole research area.

{{00:02:40}}
And we see RISSB's role as completely
complementary in that if you're

{{00:02:44}}
doing research, you're doing policy.

{{00:02:46}}
We're the guys who actually
turn it into practice, such that

{{00:02:49}}
industry can pick it up and use
it and drive that harmonization.

{{00:02:53}}
And of course, we must work together
with the National Transport Commission,

{{00:02:57}}
driving the National Rail Action Plan.

{{00:03:00}}
And we're pleased to say
we're doing all of that.

{{00:03:02}}
So it really is bringing the
industry together, harmonizing

{{00:03:05}}
it and moving in step forward.

{{00:03:14}}
Yeah interoperability is a really big
question and challenge for industry.

{{00:03:19}}
Not least of which is to
actually say, what it is.

{{00:03:22}}
So what can we practically do?

{{00:03:25}}
So are we going to change the break
of gauge across all the states

{{00:03:28}}
and territories at the minute?

{{00:03:30}}
Not really, not realistically in a few
years, but we are doing things like

{{00:03:34}}
the harmonization of the rule book.

{{00:03:37}}
So that you can actually have one
set of rules across the country.

{{00:03:41}}
You can enable the
skills that go with that.

{{00:03:44}}
A train driver in WA who's bringing
something across the Nullarbor

{{00:03:55}}
is going to expect the same rules
here in South Australia etc.

{{00:03:59}}
So thats some of the interoperability
work here that were doing.

{{00:04:02}}
We've got an aging workforce
and so there's more and more

{{00:04:05}}
people moving on and retiring.

{{00:04:07}}
But even if you ignore that for a minute,
we've got such scarce human resources

{{00:04:11}}
around the country that we're pinching
from each other, different industries.

{{00:04:15}}
Construction is stealing from rail and
vice versa and various other industries.

{{00:04:20}}
So it's really difficult to try
and retain a good body of knowledge

{{00:04:23}}
and expertise in an industry and
in a safety critical industry

{{00:04:27}}
like rail that's hugely important.

{{00:04:30}}
So there are things we can do.

{{00:04:31}}
RISSB's just started in recent months
launched an initiative called RISSB

{{00:04:37}}
prime, where we invite some of the
career railway people who've got this

{{00:04:44}}
enormous wealth of knowledge in their
heads, to keep a finger in the pie in the

{{00:04:49}}
industry as they've moved on and retired.

{{00:04:53}}
Our whole modus operandi is to take
the knowledge and the expertise in

{{00:04:57}}
people's heads and write that down
into the documents that we publish.

{{00:05:00}}
Our standards, our codes of
practice and our guidelines.

{{00:05:04}}
So we're really working hard to try
and make sure we capture that knowledge

{{00:05:08}}
and that wisdom before it moves on.

{{00:05:11}}
But there's a lot to do and there's a
lot of people with a lot of accumulated

{{00:05:15}}
knowledge over decades and decades.

{{00:05:17}}
So I'm under no illusion that that's
an easy task and we're probably

{{00:05:21}}
just scratching the surface.

{{00:05:22}}
The more of that we can do, the
better I think we'll be for it.

{{00:05:26}}
If we have to keep relearning old
knowledge, it's gonna become inefficient.

{{00:05:31}}
We run the risk of making
mistakes along the way.

{{00:05:33}}
I think there's also an opportunity to
look at some of the other industries who

{{00:05:38}}
may be at a turning point to decline.

{{00:05:41}}
And I think in mining, for example,
if you're into the fossil fuel area,

{{00:05:46}}
there's a huge workforce out there
who've been in mining for a long time.

{{00:05:50}}
How do we retrain, re-educate so that
they become the workforce of the future?

{{00:05:55}}
There must be some transferable skills in
the engineering sort of department there.

{{00:06:00}}
It's a high risk industry, as is rail.

{{00:06:03}}
There's got to be some transferable
skills that we can leverage.

{{00:06:06}}
But it's not all doom and gloom.

{{00:06:07}}
There's a lot of new aspects to rail now.

{{00:06:09}}
A lot of new technology.

{{00:06:11}}
We've got, we've got rail companies
who have recruited drone pilots.

{{00:06:16}}
That would never have been
a thing in recent years.

{{00:06:19}}
And so there's new knowledge,
new experience required.

{{00:06:22}}
So while we are losing some,
we're also sort of adapting and

{{00:06:27}}
becoming better at embracing the
new knowledge that we need to gain.

{{00:06:36}}
So the Horizons is in its fifth year now.

{{00:06:39}}
We have actually so oversubscribed
in the program that we're having to

{{00:06:43}}
throttle that back a little bit, just
to keep the quality of the engagement.

{{00:06:47}}
But it's been an absolute delight to
touch back with the Horizons' 1 and

{{00:06:53}}
2 people to see where they're at,
how they've leveraged the knowledge

{{00:06:57}}
and the skills that they've shared
from all sorts of people like Steve

{{00:07:00}}
Samarantino, Carolyn Walsh, etc.

{{00:07:03}}
To actually springboard
their careers moving forward.

{{00:07:06}}
So it's really rewarding personally to
see how junior engineers, junior members

{{00:07:13}}
of staff have actually grown and become
the leaders of the future and we're

{{00:07:17}}
certainly seeing that in those first
Horizons cohorts that came through.

{{00:07:22}}
It's pleasing and at the
same time intimidating.

{{00:07:24}}
I've had the pleasure of presenting to
that group on a couple of occasions.

{{00:07:29}}
I consider myself a reasonably
intelligent person, but when I

{{00:07:32}}
walk into that room, I feel stupid.

{{00:07:35}}
The brain's trust in that
room is unbelievable.

{{00:07:38}}
And so I think if that's a reflection
of the caliber of the new wave of

{{00:07:42}}
railway entrants going into the
future, I think we're in good shape.

{{00:07:49}}
Well, plenty of people are going broke
trying to predict what's going to

{{00:07:55}}
happen in the next three to five years.

{{00:07:57}}
But I think the emphasis on innovation and
technology will drive things like improved

{{00:08:05}}
use of condition monitoring systems.

{{00:08:07}}
That's going to mean we're smarter
about the way we manage our assets.

{{00:08:10}}
That's going to lead to
improved levels of safety.

{{00:08:15}}
It's going to reduce unit costs for us.

{{00:08:18}}
I think technological solutions are
going to mean we're  going to be more and

{{00:08:23}}
more interoperable around the country.

{{00:08:25}}
That means it'll be a more
attractive mode for freight.

{{00:08:28}}
It will be more attractive for passengers.

{{00:08:30}}
That'll feed into our national agenda
on reducing carbon net zero by 2050.

{{00:08:36}}
You said three to five, I've gone
out to 2050 now, but I apologize.

{{00:08:40}}
So I think there's, and these
are things we know about.

{{00:08:43}}
These are things that we can see
being implemented in other railways.

{{00:08:48}}
It's gonna happen.

{{00:08:51}}
I think it that paints a
rosy picture for our future.

{{00:08:55}}
And I think we need to adapt
because I believe that as technology

{{00:09:00}}
comes through, we're already
seeing trials of trackless trams.

{{00:09:04}}
So think of the infrastructure you
suddenly don't need to build, but

{{00:09:09}}
you're still getting the efficiency of
a tram, albeit it's running on a road.

{{00:09:13}}
So I think that technology
disruptor is going to come through.

{{00:09:16}}
I think if you look at the mode shift
that will happen, from cars to passenger,

{{00:09:23}}
there'll be trams running around cities.

{{00:09:26}}
Rail, heavy rail of the way we feel it
and see it today will diminish, but the

{{00:09:32}}
ascendancy of longer distance regional
or intercity high speed, or higher

{{00:09:37}}
speed rail will absolutely come through.

So earlier on today, we heard from
Minister Ayres around the future of rail

As industry grows and responds to the
sovereign manufacturing capability etc.

And here at RISSB, we've been looking
at the strategies that we need

So how do we create the
standards of the future?

How do we create the harmonization
and interoperability?

We're also looking at the skills hub to
make sure there's that interoperability

and transfer of knowledge and skills
across the industry and turning that

That's where the RISSB
annual work plan comes in.

I've also been very pleased with through
the conference, how much reference

It's clear that the take up of our
products is very good and they're making

their way, right the way through industry.

At this time of year, we're starting
to turn our minds to what next

In years gone by, that's been a fairly
convoluted process of inviting proposals

from industry and going through,
scoring processes and engagement to

try and get the priority projects
to float to the top of the pile.

This year we're doing things a bit
differently and we're going to start

from a clean sheet of paper and really
focus on those priority areas for

industry around interoperability and
harmonisation and  ONRIC, the Office of

National Rail Industry Coordination and
their efforts to generate, stimulate

So I think we're going to see a
really exciting work plan in the new

financial year and we'll be making
announcements about that in July.

So what excites me about that is
actually the opportunity to reposition

RISSB from the traditional risk
based standards organization that

And then our 21st year as we enter
that, we'll look to be the thought

leaders, the strategy leaders
for the rail safety industry.

Collaboration is a real key
thing for us to work within.

So if we look at the industry
bodies, we have people like the

ARA who are doing some great work
in the policy and advocacy space.

We have the ACRI, the National
Transport Research Organization now

And we see RISSB's role as completely
complementary in that if you're

We're the guys who actually
turn it into practice, such that

industry can pick it up and use
it and drive that harmonization.

And of course, we must work together
with the National Transport Commission,

And we're pleased to say
we're doing all of that.

So it really is bringing the
industry together, harmonizing

Yeah interoperability is a really big
question and challenge for industry.

Not least of which is to
actually say, what it is.

So are we going to change the break
of gauge across all the states

Not really, not realistically in a few
years, but we are doing things like

So that you can actually have one
set of rules across the country.

You can enable the
skills that go with that.

A train driver in WA who's bringing
something across the Nullarbor

is going to expect the same rules
here in South Australia etc.

So thats some of the interoperability
work here that were doing.

We've got an aging workforce
and so there's more and more

But even if you ignore that for a minute,
we've got such scarce human resources

around the country that we're pinching
from each other, different industries.

Construction is stealing from rail and
vice versa and various other industries.

So it's really difficult to try
and retain a good body of knowledge

and expertise in an industry and
in a safety critical industry

RISSB's just started in recent months
launched an initiative called RISSB

prime, where we invite some of the
career railway people who've got this

enormous wealth of knowledge in their
heads, to keep a finger in the pie in the

industry as they've moved on and retired.

Our whole modus operandi is to take
the knowledge and the expertise in

people's heads and write that down
into the documents that we publish.

Our standards, our codes of
practice and our guidelines.

So we're really working hard to try
and make sure we capture that knowledge

But there's a lot to do and there's a
lot of people with a lot of accumulated

So I'm under no illusion that that's
an easy task and we're probably

The more of that we can do, the
better I think we'll be for it.

If we have to keep relearning old
knowledge, it's gonna become inefficient.

We run the risk of making
mistakes along the way.

I think there's also an opportunity to
look at some of the other industries who

And I think in mining, for example,
if you're into the fossil fuel area,

there's a huge workforce out there
who've been in mining for a long time.

How do we retrain, re-educate so that
they become the workforce of the future?

There must be some transferable skills in
the engineering sort of department there.

There's got to be some transferable
skills that we can leverage.

There's a lot of new aspects to rail now.

We've got, we've got rail companies
who have recruited drone pilots.

That would never have been
a thing in recent years.

And so there's new knowledge,
new experience required.

So while we are losing some,
we're also sort of adapting and

becoming better at embracing the
new knowledge that we need to gain.

So the Horizons is in its fifth year now.

Rail Safety

Expert Insight

Join Graham Jackson and Jesse Baker on RISSB's role in shaping the future of rail. They explore the need for standards, interoperability, and knowledge transfer to adapt to technological advancements and an aging workforce. 