Partnership sees RIDDOR incorporated in light rail reporting system

The Light Rail Safety and Standards Board has been working closely with the regulator to incorporate RIDDOR (Reporting Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) into its evolving, sector-wide reporting system.

Since its launch in 2023, the upgraded Tram Accident and Incident Reporting system (TAIR) has delivered a major boost for sector safety, standardising the way hazardous incidents are recorded while providing invaluable data about the risks faced by operators.

Now the LRSSB is ready to take TAIR to another level by enabling it to generate RIDDOR reports and submit them directly to the ORR.

Carl Williams, LRSSB Chief Executive, commented: “As well as reflecting our close partnership with the ORR, this landmark project also demonstrates how the LRSSB continues to embrace innovation and technology to deliver clear benefits for operators and other key stakeholders while ultimately enhancing safety across the sector.

“Now tram operators are able to utilise a bespoke system for seamlessly submitting RIDDOR documents that’s fully integrated with a sector-wide reporting process.”

Currently, all RIDDOR reports need to be submitted by using the ORR’s online webform, and for tram operators, this has meant the duplication of similar reports across two different systems.

However, the recent upgrade to the TAIR system enables users to flag incidents as RIDDOR-reportable, and to provide additional information required under current legislation.

Mark Ashmore, LRSSB Head of Safety and Assurance, explained: “Over the past few months, this new process has been trialled by tram operators from across the UK who have used both TAIR and the ORR’s webform to submit reports.

“This period of intense testing has enabled the cross-referencing of entries from both systems to ensure all incidents are captured correctly and include the required information.”

The upgrades to TAIR first went live at the beginning of May, although a dual reporting arrangement will remain in place until the regulator is satisfied that all incidents are reported as they should.

Dominic Long, Principal Inspector of Railways for the Trams and Light Rail Team at the ORR, added: “This is an excellent step forward for tram operators and the Office of Rail and Road. Integrating TAIR with our existing data repository allows us to remove some of the regulatory reporting burden on operators and enables us to view safety incident reports in a more timely manner.”