50422 Late notice case not updated and lack of reporting forms

May 2012 in Train Operations

Communication and teamwork Knowledge Skills and experience Training and briefing North East

Late notice case: Drivers are not receiving important information in a timely manner because the late notice case is not being updated regularly.  This is due in part to Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) reports being posted in the wrong notice case.  SPAD reports cannot be removed once they are posted, so there is not enough space to display all the new late notices.  This has resulted in some new late notices being stored by the fax machine where they are not visible. 

 Drivers are concerned that if the notices are not properly displayed they may be missed and this could result in a safety related incident.  Although the notices are also printed in the Weekly Operating Notices (WON), Drivers feel that they do not have enough time when booking on to familiarise themselves with all the information.

As no particular Manager is responsible for making sure that the late notice case is up to date, it is felt that Drivers at Newcastle should be granted permission to update the notice case.

Reporting forms: Staff have noted that there is a lack of reporting forms at Newcastle depot - such as those used to report a incident on the line or placing an order for new uniform.  Other depots have the forms available in a folder, which staff can access whenever they need to. 

Could First TransPennine Express:

• Ensure that staff at Newcastle depot receive the late notices in a timely manner?
• Put in place and document a process whereby the late notice case is updated by an    individual two or three times a week?
• Look into the possibility of allowing staff to update the late notice case themselves?
• Provide staff with access to all the required reporting forms in clearly labelled trays?

Response from First TransPennine Express

First TransPennine Express would like to thank the reporter for raising this concern.  There is a process in place whereby notices are updated by the Driver management team during the daily or weekly depot checks. This process is also supported by Senior Driver Instructors, and there is a system whereby Drivers booking on via Control are made aware of any notices.  We are also considering more innovative ways to distribute this information, for example, by using plasma screens to display current notices.

Although the reporter states that it is felt that ten minutes when booking on is not long enough to familiarise themselves with the information, this is a recognised industry timeframe. Any change to this would need to be raised through the Joint Negotiating Forum. 

The issue of the reporting forms and the labelling of the drawers was raised at the Local Level Council (LLC) meeting on 5 October 2011. Following this meeting, a substantial supply of reporting forms and a set of labels were issued to the representatives and were to be placed in the drawers at Newcastle. 

First TransPennine Express are currently looking at more innovative ways to display notices and provide information at depots. This project will see Newcastle depot being subject to a trial which, if proves successful, will be rolled out to the other depots.