1.0 INTRODUCTION
Railways have come to be recognized as the safest mode of mass transportation on account of inherent characteristics of the system. Railway managements have zealously guarded this image over the ages. Safety has thus come to be recognized as the key issue for the railways and one of its special attributes. No railway system can survive by ignoring this vital aspect as safe and timely transit is not only significant for passenger traffic but also for transportation of materials, in todays highly competitive environment. Safety ranks highest among the factors in selection of a mode of transportation - above the cost and transit time. Accidents hurt business not only in the immediate context but also in the long run and ultimately only those means of transport flourish which are perceived to be safe. It is, therefore, the key performance index which the top managements need to monitor along with productivity. The two can not be divorced from each other and are, in fact, end products of the business activity in a transport organization which it needs to pursue to excellence.
As per the guideline of Railway Board every Railway should be ISO Certified in their Disaster Management Planning. Safety Department/Head quarter/Bilaspur of South East Central Railway has been already certified of ISO 9001:2008 in September-2010. This was issued on the basis of our preparedness and Response to deal with the major train accident and any type of threatening Disaster. To get the ISO certificate we have taken training of Audit from Six Sigma Quality International, Mumbai to Audit in Assistant Relief Train and Assistant Relief Medical Van for quick rescue and restoration. We have audited at different fields to develop the quality of Men and Machines. We are being developed our life and different field in SEC Railway through quality Circle of ISO 9001:2008 and achieved to minimize the train accidents. Now the Safety Department/HQ of SEC Railway is giving Training to the front line supervisors and staff to make them trained to minimize the accident in Railway and hope ‘0’ accident.
2.0 WHAT IS SAFETY
Safety is basically the product of good practices at all levels of functioning i.e. design, manufacturing, maintenance and operations. Safety is compromised when the laid down standard practices are infringed. First symptoms of deterioration in the safety performance are evidenced by the increase in the number of failures. Overlooking these warning signals can be disastrous as each of these is an accident waiting to happen. Accidents and assets failures lead to hold ups, missing of schedules and disrepute amongst the customers, which affect the business adversely. Although no technology is fail-proof, an error rate, howsoever small, being inherent in any man-machine system, reliability of the equipment is the most important factor in the efficiency and safety of a transport system. Objective of the various research organizations is to develop equipment and systems which have near zero level of failure rate. Side by side with the induction of advanced technology, it is imperative that the same is maintained properly and replacements, renewals made as and when needed. If the accidents have to be minimized, it is imperative that the equipment in use is always kept in fine fettle. With such a massive utilisation of assets, safety is of paramount importance not only for its sake, but also for operational efficiency. Hence, the highest priority is accorded to safety and the rail mode continues to be the safest means of transportation for public.
