It’s our 25th anniversary this year. Since 1996, we have been listening confidentially to health and safety concerns that might otherwise stay hidden and sharing them with our members so they can act.

Time doesn’t stand still, and neither can we – nothing has made this more apparent than the pandemic.  We’re taking this milestone year to look again at how we can help our industry and our members improve health and safety, now and in the years ahead.  Here’s what we're doing.

Logo for CIRAS at 25 years

As a member organisation, it’s vital we understand and meet the needs of our members, so we can be useful and relevant.  We need to hold ourselves to account, arguably no more so than now, at a time of great challenge for many of our members.  We rely on your feedback to keep us right – and we’re running a survey this autumn to listen to what you have to tell us – but in the meantime here are some of the things we’re already doing this year:

  • We’re exploring ways to improve the quality of reports, by refreshing our approach to interviews, allowing us to discover and pass on more in-depth information about the concern and its impact.
  • We’re working in partnership with more members to promote a speaking up culture with their frontline staff, including developing jointly branded resources and events.
  • We’re updating our onboarding for new reps, to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to make the most out of reports and shared learning opportunities.
  • We’re reminding our rail supply chain members that they can easily extend CIRAS to their non-rail staff allowing them to offer the same benefits to many more of their people.
  • We’re updating our website with significantly more member-exclusive resources and content to help you improve health and safety for your people – REGISTER to access this!
  • We’re sharing content in celebration of our 25th anniversary – a great opportunity to reflect on where we’ve come from and – more importantly – how and why confidential reporting still has a place in the transport sector.

Whether you’re a new member or been with us for years, why not take a step back and take a second look at CIRAS?  There may be more to us than you think!

Our anniversary blog series

Visit our 25th anniversary page to read some reflections on our origins, our future, and what it’s like to work here…

  • Did you know that CIRAS started life as a university research project, looking into the role of human factors in accidents and near misses on the rail network?  RSSB’s Greg Morse looks at where CIRAS came from, alongside the evolution of safety culture in rail.
  • If safety cultures keep improving, will there come a point when we don’t need confidential reporting anymore? Is listening confidentially still relevant?  Director of CIRAS Catherine Baker considers these questions.
  • Our reporting analysts discuss concerns with those who contact us and share the details with you through our reports.  But how do they really listen to reporters to truly understand what’s going on and the impact it is having?  The first-ever blog from the team reveals all.