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THE SAFETY OFFICERS TASKS AND FUNCTIONS

Ir. E.W. Worm Safety Officer State owned Road Tunnels. The Netherlands

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STARTING POINT:

DIRECTIVE 2004/54/EC

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• Administrative authority• Tunnel manager• Inspection entity• Emergency services• Safety officer

Key players:

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• Ensuring all safety aspects• Ensuring compliance • Commissioning the tunnel• Suspending or restricting operation

Administrative authority

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• Ensuring• Testing and inspecting• Developing emergency plans• Closing procedures• Risk reducing measures• Commissioning after major change• Inspections• Notifying not compliance

Administrative authority

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• Responsible for tunnel management• Reporting significant incidents• Planning compliance• Safety documentation

Tunnel manager

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• Consulting the SO before:• Starting construction work• Commissioning a new tunnel• Recommissioning existing one• Any other change

• Organising exercises with the emergency services

Tunnel manager

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• Taking care of inspections, evaluations and tests

Inspection entity

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• Cooperate in joint periodic exercises• Cooperate in evaluating them• Take care of the emergency response

plan

Emergency services:

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• Coordination of all preventive and safeguards measures

• Ensuring coordination with emergency services

• Taking part in preparation of operational schemes

Safety officer:

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• Taking part in planning, implementation and evaluation of emergency operations

• Taking part in safety schemes, specifications of structure, equipment and operation

Safety officer:

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• Verifying operational staff and emergency services are trained

• Taking part in the organisation of exercises

• Taking part in their evaluation

Safety officer:

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• Advice on commissioning of structure, equipment and operation

• Verifying structure and equipment being maintained and repaired

• Taking part in the evaluation of significant incidents

Safety officer:

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Organisational matters

• Each tunnel: one SO• Nominated by the tunnel manager• Approval of adm. Authority• Tunnel staff or emergency services• Independent• One or more tunnels

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• SO nominated by tunnel manager• Coordination role on all safety aspects• Advisory role (designing,

commissioning and operating stage)• Monitoring role (maintenace,

repairing, training, exercising)

Safety officer – tunnel manager:

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• Approval of the SO• Advices of the SO

Safety officer – adm. authority:

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• Ordering extra measures by the administrative authorithy based on inspection reports

Safety officer – inspection entity:

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• Coordinating in operational schemes• Verifying emergency services are

trained• Cooperation in exercising• Cooperation in evaluation of exercises

Safety officer – emergency services:

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• Positioning the SO: • where in what organisation and how many

tunnels?

• What selection criteria• What skills, knowledge and expertise• How to guarantee independancy

Questions. Regarding the SO him/herself:

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• Risk analysis• Civil engineering• Organisational matters

• tunnel manager organisation• Tuning the emergency services organisation

Questions. Regarding the SO knowledge:

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• Electro mechanical installations• Their operating and control• Traffic engineering

If not:• buying external knowledge?

Questions. Regarding the SO knowledge:

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• Ensuring implementation safety issues • Limited finance• Conflicting interests• How independent is independent?

Questions. Regarding the SO functioning:

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Serious safety issues

• Escalation level?• Notify the Adm. Authority?• Probability of being accused of

negligible conduct?

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Serious safety issues

• Escalation level?• Notify the Adm. Authority?• Probability of being accused of

negligible conduct?

• Allowed to return next Monday?

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Serious safety issues

• Coordination of all preventive and safeguards measures

• Taking part in the specification of the structure, equipment and operation

• taking part in the definition of safety schemes

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SO properties

• The sheep with five legs

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SO properties

• The sheep with five legs

A sheep with five legs

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SO properties

• The sheep with five legs

A jack of all trades

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Crucial advice moments

• Design stage (Annex II art. 1.2)• Commissioning stage (Annex II art. 3)• Recommissioning stage (Annex II art. 4)

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Crucial advice moments

• What is assessed?• What criteria are used?• What methodical approach? • How extensive?

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Crucial advice moments

• Existing standards in use?• Standards in development?• International collaboration?• “major” modifications?

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Common and unclear expressions

• “verifying that operational staff and emergency services are trained”

• “verifying that the tunnel structure and equipment are maintained”

• “taking part in the evaluation of significant incidents”

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Common and unclear expressions

• What do those tasks exactly mean?• How are they assessed?• What methodical approaches?• What criteria• Selfdoing or outsourcing?

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Relation SO-emergency services

• Coordinating operational schemes• Verifying emergency services are trained• Cooperating in exercises• Evaluating the exercises

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Relation SO-emergency services

• Methodologies in use?• In development?• Need?• The same for evaluation of exercises

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Some more questions

• Risk analysis by SO himself?• Essence of the 10 seconds rule• Systems engineering

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Some more questions

• Recognisable?• How handled in member states?• What is most appealing?• Further elaboration?• How to organise?

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Questions (7)

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Questions (7)

Yes; enough I guess

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Thank you for your attention