ORR developed the model – also known as RM3 - as a tool in 2019 to help assist organisations to manage health and safety risks, help identify areas for improvement and provide a benchmark for year-on-year comparison. ORR’s new e-learning platform, which goes live today (29 June), has two modules to allow users to gain a full end-to-end understanding of how RM3 works and how to apply it to an organisation.
The first module focuses on RM3 and how it works with an organisation’s Safety Management System. The second module will support professionals in understanding how to use RM3, obtain the necessary evidence and conduct assessments to help them assess the maturity level of their organisation against the 26 RM3 criteria.
Throughout the modules, videos have been produced to provide examples of how RM3 is being used within the rail industry and how to conduct assessments correctly.
Designed by Premier IT, ORR created the e-learning in collaboration with industry professionals across the railway including Network Rail, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB), East Midlands Railway, which represented train operating companies and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
ORR’s HM Chief Inspector of Railways Ian Prosser CBE said:
“We developed RM3 as a tool to help the rail industry’s ability to manage health and safety risks and to identify areas for continuous improvement to help keep Britain’s railway as one of the safest in Europe.
“Based on feedback from industry, we’ve created a new e-learning tool which will take RM3 a step further and help professionals understand how RM3 can continue to contribute to excellence in health and safety risk management.”
Carl Williams, LRSSB Chief Executive, said:
“RM3 provides the ideal framework for organisations to effectively assess their ability to successfully manage health and safety risks.
“By working closely with the ORR and our other stakeholders, the LRSSB has helped to ensure this latest evolution of the model meets the needs of light rail and we look forward to driving its adoption across the sector.”
Ed Hodson, Chair of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s Railway Group, said:
“We’ve been pleased to have been able to support the continued development of RM3. The Office of Rail and Road has made RM3 widely accessible across the rail industry, through the introductory training module. “We look forward to supporting the industry further in the drive for excellence in safety management systems on our rail network.”
Tavid Dobson, Lead SMS Specialist at RSSB said:
“Having worked on the refresh of RM3 in 2019, it’s fantastic to see this training course launched which will help to embed RM3 across the rail industry.
“RSSB is committed to helping our members improve how they measure the impact of their work on health and safety. While our tools and systems help identify and manage safety risks, they are now being further developed to provide robust evidence for RM3 analysis, helping demonstrate the maturity of how an organisation manages health and safety.”
Rupert Lown, Network Rail’s Chief Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer, said:
“Running a safe mainline railway is crucially important. RM3 is the methodology we use for assessing health and safety performance and helping to identify areas for improvement.
“We have been pleased to help support the development of this e-learning which will help further upskill our staff, and ultimately identify improvements for our health and safety performance.”
Simon Monkman, Group Managing Director of Premier IT, said:
"Our instructional designers and e-learning developers welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with industry subject matter experts on this project, to help them to shape their learning programme, and to build interactive, media-rich e-Learning content.
“We are delighted that the RM3 e-learning course will help ORR to achieve their learning outcome of improving excellence in health and safety risk management through the use of the RM3 tool.”
Notes to Editors:
1. Our new online learning platform helps health and safety professionals gain a full end-to-end understanding of how RM3 works and how to apply it to an organisation.
2. New e-learning solution for Risk Management Maturity Model (RM3)
3. Video blog introducing our new RM3 e-learning system for health and safety professionals