RISSB Policy Manual V8 121003

8/11/2019 RISSB Policy Manual V8 121003

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RISSB Management System Policy Manual

RISSB Policy Manual V8 121003.doc October 2012 Page 2 of 23

Table of Contents1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 5

1.1 POLICY MANUAL .......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 RISSB - OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 MANAGEMENT S YSTEM ............................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 D ISTRIBUTION AND MAINTENANCE ........................................................................................................... 6 1.5 DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1.6 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 6

2 THE ORGANISATION ................................................................................................................................ 6

2.1 THE RISSB ................................................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 RISSB S S TRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................. 7 2.3 NEUTRALITY AND INDEPENDENCE .............................................................................................................. 9 2.4 S TAKEHOLDERS ........................................................................................................................................... 9 2.5 AUDITS ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 2.6 INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION ................................................................................................................ 9 2.7 EXISTING RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS .................................................................................................... 10 2.8 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ......................................................................................................................... 10 2.9 COOPERATION WITH THE S TANDARDS AUSTRALIA AND ABSDO ......................................................... 10

3 RISSB QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ..................................................................................... 10

3.1 RISSB QUALITY POLICY .......................................................................................................................... 11 3.2 RISSB OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................. 11 3.3 BUSINESS PLANNING ................................................................................................................................ 11 3.4 MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATIVE .............................................................................................................. 11 3.5 RISSB MANAGEMENT S YSTEM MODEL ................................................................................................... 12

4 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................... 13 4.1 PROVISION OF RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................... 13 4.2 HUMAN RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................. 13

4.2.1 Core Competencies and Capacity ............................................................................................. 13 4.2.2 Training, Qualification and Awareness .................................................................................... 13

4.3 FINANCIAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................ 13 4.4 INFORMATION RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................... 13

5 DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................... 14

5.1 POLICY MANUAL SEE PARAGRAPH1.1 ....................................................................................................... 14 5.2 PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................................................. 14 5.3 PROCESS RECORDS .................................................................................................................................. 14 5.4 CONTROL OF DOCUMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 14

5.4.1 Documentation Control and Issue ............................................................................................ 14 5.4.2 Documentation Changes/Modifications ................................................................................... 15 5.4.3 Retention of Superseded Documentation .............................................................................. 15

5.5 CONTROL OF RECORDS ............................................................................................................................. 15

6 DOCUMENTED PROCESSES ................................................................................................................. 16

6.1 GENERAL .................................................................................................................................................... 16 6.2 S TANDARDS DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................................................... 16 6.3 PRODUCT MAINTENANCE .......................................................................................................................... 16

7 CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT ............................................................................................................... 17


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7.1 IMPROVEMENT ACTION .............................................................................................................................. 18 7.2 MEASUREMENT ANALYSIS AND I MPROVEMENT PROCESSES .................................................................. 19

7.2.1 Monitoring and measurement .................................................................................................... 19

7.2.2 Corrective and preventive action .............................................................................................. 19 7.2.3 Internal Audit .................................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.4 Management Review ...................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.5 Stakeholder Feedback ................................................................................................................... 20 7.2.6 Complaints Process ........................................................................................................................ 21

ATTACHMENT 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 RISSB DEVELOPMENT PROCESS .......................................................................................................................... 22


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Document History

Version Descrip tion Author Date

0.1 Initial Release for review CEJ 05/02/2009

0.2 Re-organise to clearly meet ABSDORequirements CEJ 25/02/09

0.3 Minor amendments after review with VivGoudman CEJ 23/05/09

0.4 Final Draft CEJ 30/06/09

1.0 Released Version 1.0 after final review CEJ 10/07/09

2.0 Comments after ABSDO Audit, MS Model V3 CEJ 17/07/09

3.0 Insert Improvement Process Model CEJ 18/07/09

4.0 Amendments arising from Review VG 03/08/2009

5.0 Approved by CEO RISSB KT 03/08/2009

6.0 Insert Development process (Attachment 1) VG 13/10/2009

7.0 Review and update entire document VG 03/05/2010

7.5 Update document incorporating Auditrecommendations VG 30/06/2011

8 Update document including title changes,audit recommendations and Org structure VG 03/10/2012


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1 Introduction

1.1 Policy ManualThis Policy Manual: documents the top level Management System framework, including individual

responsibilities, within which all RISSB business processes will be developed andoperate;

provides the standard against which performance will be measured for internaland external review and audit, and for assessment and periodic re-assessmentby the Accreditation Board for Standards Development Organisations (ABSDO);and

specifies requirements to prevent non-conformity in Rail Industry Safety and

Standards Board (RISSB) processes, products and services.The Policy Manual is applicable to all activities performed by RISSB staff and willaddress all activities undertaken within RISSB.

The requirements of this manual may be tailored to meet the specific needs of aproject. If tailoring is required, the details are to be recorded in a Project Plan andapproved by the RISSBs Chief Executive Officer.

1.2 RISSB - OverviewThe RISSB is wholly owned by the ARA and is responsible for development andmanagement of the rail industry standards, rules, and codes of practice and otherdocuments (which are non-binding) such as guidelines and handbooks, all of whichhave national application.

The RISSB is accredited by Accreditation Board for Standards DevelopmentOrganisations (ABSDO) as a Standards Development Organisation (SDO) and all newstandards produced by the RISSB are published for sale as Australian Standards on theSAI Global website through a third party agreement.

In July 2007 the RISSB Board agreed that the standards development process wouldalso be used for the development of all new codes of practice and rules. The Boardalso agreed that, due to the expense associated with developing product in accordancewith RISSBs accredited process, RISSBs non-binding products (such as guidelines andhandbooks) would follow a modified development process. As a consequence RISSBsnon-binding products would not be: independently validated for process or content. Rather validation would be

undertaken by one of RISSBs standing committees; and given broad public exposure; only the rail Industry would be consulted.

1.3 Management SystemThis manual applies to the development of rail industry standards, rules, Codes ofPractice and guidelines/handbooks. However, from this point forward, the termProduct will be used to refer to each of these documents as a whole unless otherwisestipulated.


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This manual identifies the essential elements of the RISSB Quality Management System(QMS) and is based on content of ISO9001:2008 (including the Australian BusinessExcellence Framework) and ABSDO requirements as modified to suit the unique needsof RISSB.This manual contains the policies necessary to establish, document, implement,maintain and improve the (QMS). The manual is supported by detailed processes,procedures and instructions.

1.4 Distribution and MaintenanceThe QMS Manual is maintained through a regular cycle of reviews, the document iscontrolled in accordance with the document control policies defined in this manual.The current released version is held on the RISSB network and published to the RISSBWeb Site. http://www.rissb.com.au/linkdev/site/admin_procedures.php

1.5 DefinitionsAll terms and abbreviations are defined in the RISSB Glossary of Terms, Abbreviationsand Definitions .

1.6 ReferencesThe publications associated with the establishment and maintenance of RISSBsManagement System are listed below. ABSDO Requirements - Requirements for Accreditation of Standards

Development Organisations ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management System Requirements AS/NZS 31000: 2009 Risk Management ISO 19011:2011 Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management

systems auditing

2 The Organisation

2.1 The RISSBThe RISSB is a not for profit organisation. The RISSB is overseen by a Board of seniorrail personnel from both minor and major rail organisations from across Australia.The RISSB is jointly funded by the Rail Industry and Federal and State Governments

on a 50/50 basis under a three year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The RailIndustry also provides significant in kind contributions to the development of theRISSB Product.

The RISSBs strategic plan provides an overview of its corporate structure andarticulates RISSBs goals and objectives as well as the outcomes that are to beachieved. RISSBs strategic plan can be located on the following link:http://www.rissb.com.au/linkdev/UserFiles/file/RISSB%20Strategic%20PLan%20%20Dec09%20V4.pdf


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2.2 RISSBs Struc ture

The RISSBs structure is as follows; RISSB Board. The RISSB Board oversees and approves RISSBs activities as well

as its governance arrangements (including policies)http://www.rissb.com.au/linkdev/site/Governance.php . The Board is the finalapproval authority for RISSBs product after advice from the DevelopmentAdvisory Board and the appropriate RISSB Standing Committee.

Development Advisory Board (DAB). The DAB is an independent Board thatassures itself that due process has been followed in the development of RISSBstandards, codes of practice and rules and advises the RISSB Board accordingly.The DAB also acts as a conduit between the governments and the RISSB Boardfor funding and development issues.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The CEO manages the RISSB and reports to theRISSB Board. Standing Committees (SC). The RISSB has six standing committees. A RISSB

Standing Committee could have a number of RISSB development groupsreporting to it. The Standing Committees are also responsible for overseeingthe development of product by development groups. These committees are alsoresponsible for assuring themselves that the content of a RISSB productrepresents good practice and that it is fit for purpose. The SCs report to theRISSB Board. SCs also approve RISSBs response to public comment about aproduct.

Project Manager (PM). The PM supervises the Development Group and

facilitates the development process of RISSB products. Development Groups (DG). There is one development group for each product

being developed. DGs comprise subject matter experts who are responsible forthe technical content of a product. DGs work with a RISSB Project Manager andan author to develop the product as well as drafting responses to publiccomment for SC approval.


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Fig 1: RISSB Organisation Structure


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2.3 Neutrali ty and IndependenceTo ensure that the RISSB product is as robust as possible, neutral and independent

organisations/personnel are employed to guarantee a products content and process.These organisations/personnel are associated with validating a standard, code ofpractice or rules as well as ensuring adherence to due process (the DAB); guidelinesand handbooks are validated and process checked by RISSB Standing Committees giventhat they cannot be mandated or enforced. As a rule, authors are also independentalthough there may be occasions when is not the case because the industry has thebest people for the job.

2.4 StakeholdersRISSB will make every effort to ensure that the Development Groups for a productcomprise a balanced representation from all stakeholder interests.

No stakeholder may have disproportionate representation or exercise undue influenceon a development group.

No stakeholder with a bona fide desire to participate will be excluded from thedevelopment process.

Stakeholders will be encouraged as far as reasonably practicable to participate in thestandard development process. As a minimum, RISSB will inform these stakeholdersabout the Standards development activity. Where a major stakeholder does notparticipate, RISSB will determine whether the obstacle is due to a: lack of resources; lack of interest in the subject; or lack of confidence in the structural or procedural aspects of the process.RISSB will assist bona fide stakeholders, who do not have the resources to participatein the development of a product through the use of alternative methods such as teleor video conferencing.

2.5 Audits

At defined periods RISSB will be audited by ABSDO to ensure compliance of standardsagainst the accreditation requirements.

At defined periods RISSB will be audited by governments to ensure that it is satisfyingthe terms of the funding MOU.RISSB will fully cooperate with ABSDO and governments in the audit process and willmake available all records required to demonstrate on-going compliance for thedevelopment of standards and other products.

2.6 International Partic ipationWhen Standards Australia seeks RISSBs participation in the development ofInternational Standards it will act in accordance with the policies set out in StandardsAustralias Policy Guide on Australian Involvement in International Standardization .


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In such circumstances RISSB will ensure that all ISO and IEC communications arethrough Standards Australia, and that accredited delegates are nominated to attendrelevant meetings.

RISSB will make requests for funding assistance through Standards Australia fordelegates to attend international meetings in accordance with Standards Australiaguidelines.

2.7 Existing Rights and ObligationsRISSB will retain details of any agreements reached in relation to existing Standardswithin the relevant scope of accreditation.

Records demonstrating RISSBs development processes, or on-going negotiations toreach an agreement, will be made available to ABSDO during the audit process.

2.8 Intellectual PropertyAll intellectual property rights created by RISSB will be owned by RISSB (unlessotherwise agreed between parties).

The Product(s) developed by RISSB, will not infringe the rights of any third parties(including without limitation any intellectual property rights).

2.9 Cooperation with the Standards Australia and ABSDORISSB will co-operate and liaise with the Standards Australia (SA) and ABSDO with theintent of enhancing communication and co-ordination of development activities forstandards across industry and government.

RISSB is obligated for the development of standards to: comply with all policies and procedures of SA and ABSDO, including for the

determination and funding of appeals; notify the ABSDO of any significant changes in the organisations Standards

development processes and obtain any necessary approval of those processes; submit to the ABSDOs determination where there is a conflict in the scope of

areas of accreditation; co-operate with the SA and the ABSDO regarding hand-over of relevant

information and records where RISSBs accreditation ceases; and pay all relevant fees to the ABSDO to achieve and maintain accreditation.

3 RISSB Quality Management SystemTo implement the QMS, RISSB will: identify the processes needed to control essential system and business

activities where the absence of a documented process may cause RISSB not tomeet ABSDO requirements and industry needs and expectations;

determine and record those Performance Indicators that will demonstrate thatthe process is working effectively;


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ensure that the information and resources required to support the operationand monitoring of processes are readily available;

regularly monitor, measure and analyse all processes and their outcomes; and implement corrective and preventive action as necessary to continually

improve processes and their outcomes.

3.1 RISSB Quality PolicyRISSB has developed a quality policy based on the organisations mission, vision andvalues. The quality policy is the cornerstone of the QMS and demonstrates RISSBscommitment to the development of Australian rail industry product. The RISSBmission, vision and values are located in the RISSB Strategic Plan, to access click onthe following link:

http://www.rissb.com.au/linkdev/UserFiles/file/RISSB%20Strategic%20PLan%20%20Dec09%20V4.pdf

3.2 RISSB ObjectivesThe objectives of the QMS are to: prepare rail industry products that meet industry expectations and business

activities; develop an effective, easy to navigate, cohesive process based Management

System that will enable the RISSB to:

retain accreditation as a Standards Development Organisation, and

improve operational efficiency in the development of Rail Industryproducts. The QMS will provide the framework within which planning, development,

monitoring and analysis will occur to produce a consistent quality of RISSBdeveloped products.

3.3 Business Plannin gRISSBs CEO is responsible for the development and maintenance of the RISSB BusinessPlan. The Business Plan will contain the business goals and objectives and the plan forachieving these over a specified period.

The CEO will present the Business Plan to the RISSB Board for endorsement in Augusteach year. This endorsement will signify Board approval of the plan and provide theCEO with the authority to implement. The business plan can be located here:http://www.rissb.com.au/site/about_business_plan.php

Significant changes to the goals and objectives will require the Business Plan to beupdated and re-presented to the RISSB Board for endorsement.

3.4 Management RepresentativeThe AM is the designated RISSB Management Representative and is responsible forplanning and achieving the objectives of the QMS. The AM is responsible for:


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ensuring that the QMS is established, documented, implemented, maintainedand improved;

reporting on the performance of the QMS to the CEO RISSB; identifying the need for improvement; and ensuring the promotion of awareness of ABSDO and customer requirements

throughout the organisation.

Note : The responsibility of the AM will include liaison with external parties onmatters relating to the QMS.

3.5 RISSB Management System ModelThe QMS is made up of the quality policy contained in this Manual, and individualprocedures that will specify inputs, control mechanisms, and outputs for RISSB

business activities. The integrity of the QMS will be controlled through a regular cycleof Internal Audits and Management Reviews.

Fig 2: RISSB Management System Model


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4 Resource Management

4.1 Provision of ResourcesAll RISSB activities will consume resources in the form of: Human; Financial; and Information.

These resources will need to be managed effectively and efficiently to produce thebest outcome for RISSBs Staff and the Rail Industry.

4.2 Human ResourcesAll personnel working in areas affecting the quality of RISSB Product Development andManagement Operations shall be competent on the basis of appropriate education,training, skills and experience, or work under the close and direct supervision of acompetent supervisor.

4.2.1 Core Competencies and CapacityThe core competencies of RISSB are embodied in: the skills and experience of its staff and contractors; the organisational efficiency of its structure; and clear lines of accountability both internal and external.

The identification of competence requirements will be the responsibility of the CEO,who is to ensure that performance requirements are articulated in RISSB contractrequirements and position descriptions and that appropriate competence basedtraining, is provided if required.

4.2.2 Training, Qualification and AwarenessAll RISSB staff whose work will affect the acceptability, quality or reliability of RailIndustry Products, are to possess the knowledge and skills necessary to perform thework to the necessary level.

4.3 Financial ResourcesA RISSB financial process ensures that funds are available through the budget process.This includes staff costs as well as capital and other recurrent costs.The CEO, will ensure that financial records are retained including all financialforecasts, and progress reports showing actual budget against the forecast.

4.4 Information ResourcesThe aim of Information Management is to: identify key knowledge for the organisation; catalogue and store this knowledge and make it available to appropriate

interested parties; and


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communicate changes to interested parties who to have a requirement toutilise the information.

5 Documentation RequirementsThe QMS documentation will consist of this Policy Manual, procedures and processrecords. These will be supported by Guidance Documents, Templates, Plans and WorkInstructions.

The QMS Cross-Reference provides detail of specific content against ABSDOrequirements.

5.1 Policy Manual see paragraph 1.1

5.2 Procedures

Procedures describe the actual mechanism for implementing the required level ofcontrol over individual business activities. RISSB procedures will be: properly approved by CEO RISSB; define the purpose, scope, inputs and outputs; state individual responsibilities in terms of who does what, when and where;

and state the process records needed to provide evidence of compliance.

5.3 Process RecordsProcess records are those documents and data that provide evidence of compliance,process effectiveness or efficiency.

5.4 Control of DocumentsDocumentation control will be applied to all QMS Content and developed standards.All such documents are to be reviewed and approved for adequacy prior to issue. Thecontrol of documents will ensure that: the correct documents are available to all staff where operations essential to

the effective functioning of RISSB are performed; electronic documentation is controlled using the network security profiles; the QMS is available in electronic media, any printed (Hard) copy is considered

uncontrolled and will not be updated; and a record is kept whenever hard copies of controlled documents are released

and provided to a third party.

Note : Documents may be in the form of any type of media, such as hard copy orelectronic media.

5.4.1 Documentation Contro l and IssueThe Accreditation Manager is responsible for:


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establishing a system for the issue, control and update of all QMSdocumentation; and

ensuring that ready access to the current QMS documentation is available to allRISSB staff.

The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that any Project specific QMSdocumentation is available for use by the RISSB Development Groups.

5.4.2 Documentation Changes/ModificationsThe document author is to ensure that draft changes to controlled documentation arefiled separately from released documents.

The document author will also be responsible for ensuring that any changes and/ormodifications are properly reviewed and approved in accordance with the appropriateDocument Control Process before release.

5.4.3 Retention of Superseded DocumentationWhere required for traceability, a hard or soft copy of a superseded document may bekept for reference purposes. Such documents will be clearly identified asSuperseded and will be filed separately from the current documents to prevent theirunintended use.

Note : Superseded document identification may be a separate storage area in the caseof electronic documents.

5.5 Control of RecordsProcess records will be maintained: where the absence of such records would reduce confidence in the quality of

the product and/or service supplied by RISSB; and to demonstrate compliance to ABSDO Requirements (for standards).

Process Records are to be legible and identifiable, clear in intention and are to be selfexplanatory or supported by documentation that provides precise descriptions of eachentry contained on the record.

Records are to be stored and maintained in such a way that they are readilyretrievable in facilities that provide a suitable environment to prevent damage ordeterioration and to prevent loss.

Retention times of Process Records are to be established and recorded. ProcessRecords will be made available for evaluation by the ABSDO Auditor and otherinterested parties.

Managers at all levels will, however, ensure that a paper copy is retained on anappropriate file of all records that require an original signature.

Note : Records may be in the form of any type of media, such as hard copy orelectronic media


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6 Documented Processes

6.1 GeneralRISSB will document processes to ensure all aspects of the organisation are controlledand managed. Processes will be documented (in procedures, work instructions andprocess flows as appropriate).

Where the absence of a documented process would mean that the objectives of RISSBwould be at risk of not being met the AM will ensure that the appropriate document isdeveloped.

6.2 Standards DevelopmentFor all development the CEO will undertake the following to ensure that there isminimal risk to the business objectives of RISSB. The CEO will: ensure that the scope of the proposed product development activity is within

the area of RISSB expertise; undertake a financial analysis of the proposed product development activity to

ensure that the project is financed to a level that promotes a successfuloutcome; and

assess the requirement for a new technical committee, identifying potentialinterested parties.

RISSBs Product Development processes address: the evaluation of new products (including evaluating the need and benefits of

proposed Standards); submission of new standards (not codes, rules or guidelines) to Standards

Australia; establishing a balanced Development Group; planning and management of the Product development process; public reviews (except guidance documents such as guidelines which are

reviewed by Industry), including reviews of stakeholder feedback; achieving and demonstrating consensus; and regularly reviewing and maintaining RISSBs product.

6.3 Product MaintenanceRISSB products are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are up-to-date and current.This includes revising Standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and handbooks atintervals no greater than five years in accordance with RISSBs accredited process.Rules are living documents and will be continuously reviewed. There may be occasionswhen a standard, code of practice, guideline or handbook needs to be reviewed earlierthan five years because: technology has developed to a point where the standard, code of practice,

guideline or handbook no longer satisfies requirements;


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a legal or other requirement has changed for a standard or code of practice;and

a deficiency has been detected within the technical content of a product.When a change has been identified, RISSB will assess the significance of the changeand take appropriate action to correct the change within a period of time related tothe risk. For safety related changes this period will not exceed six months.

7 Continual ImprovementContinual improvement depends on RISSB applying the principles of OrganisationalLearning and Continuous Improvement which is a key component of the AustralianBusiness Excellence Framework. The cycle of improvement uses the ISO 9001 Plan,Do, Check, Act approach to underpin the RISSB Improvement Process.


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I m p r

o v e m

e n t O

v e r T i m e

Fig 3: RISSB Improvement Process Model

7.1 Improvement actionThe Accreditation Manager will identify improvement activities, based upon: the outcomes from a number of processes [e.g. Internal Audit] identifying areas

where there is a potential for improvement in the system; and major initiatives initiated requiring the coordination of a number of resources.


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Note : Minor improvements tasks that are identified as the outcome of anotherprocess are documented and controlled using an Action Request. Major initiatives areusually of a significant size and will be undertaken as Business Improvement Projects.

7.2 Measurement Analysis and Improvement ProcessesA number of processes are defined as part of the overall Measurement Analysis andImprovement Processes. These are defined in the following paragraphs.

The interaction between the Measurement, Analysis and Improvement Processes withthe overall QMS is shown in the Continual Improvement Operation Model.

Fig 4: Continual Improvement Operation Model

7.2.1 Monitoring and measurementThe performance of the QMS will be measured and reviewed against performanceobjectives, documented in the current years Business Management Plan.

The Accreditation Manager will undertake the annual review of the actualachievements against planned activities; this review will be documented in the annualQMS Review Report.

The outcomes of this review will be used as the input for the following years QMS Plan.

7.2.2 Corrective and preventive actionCorrective actions are those applied to eliminate the cause of nonconformities in orderto prevent recurrence. The Accreditation Manager is responsible for establishing,documenting and maintaining a process for corrective action. Corrective action shallbe appropriate to the effect of the nonconformities encountered and will be initiatedas soon as possible after detection of any deficiency in a process or conduct of work.


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Preventive actions are those applied to prevent the causes of potentialnonconformities in order to prevent recurrence. The Accreditation Manager isresponsible for establishing, documenting and maintaining a process for PreventiveAction. Preventive action shall be appropriate to the effect of the potentialdeficiencies and will be initiated to deal with deficiencies only to a levelcorresponding to the risk encountered.

7.2.3 Internal Audi tTo improve the effectiveness of the implementation, operation and monitoring of theQMS, the Accreditation Manager will establish an annual program of internal audits.This audit programme is designed to: monitor the compliance to ABSDO Requirements, and monitor the effectiveness of the QMS.

The frequency of the audits may be varied at the discretion of the AccreditationManager where experience dictates that additional or less frequent audits arerequired.

Each audit will be undertaken by a suitably qualified auditor. Each audit will bereported to the Accreditation Manager and any issues or potential improvements to theQMS, identified in an audit, will be clearly documented in the Audit Report.

The Accreditation Manager will review and action all internal audit findings andoutstanding issues and report the outcome of this review at the Management Reviewsas necessary.

7.2.4 Management Review

Management Review will be undertaken at a number of levels. The purpose of thesereviews is to review and assess the: continuing suitability of the QMS; customer feedback, including:

effectiveness in meeting the needs and expectations of the RailIndustry, and

complaints received; internal Audit program outcomes; external (ABSDO) Audit outcomes;

corrective, preventive and improvement action review; effectiveness in satisfying the ABSDO requirements; and effectiveness in meeting RISSB business objectives.

7.2.5 Stakeholder FeedbackThe success of RISSB will depend on understanding and satisfying the needs andexpectations of present and potential stakeholders.

The primary measure of stakeholder satisfaction will be the extent to which thestakeholder needs and expectations have been met.


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RISSB will ensure that stakeholder feedback is recorded and where necessary recordedfor analysis.

7.2.6 Complaints ProcessAll complaints received by RISSB will be recorded and actioned in accordance with theRISSB Complaints Process.

The RISSB complaints procedure: is fair, unbiased, accessible and does not impose any undue burden on the

complainant; provides for the timely hearing of complaints, and attempts to fully address

each complaint; and is reviewed regularly to ensure its effectiveness.

A copy of the complaints procedure, all records related to the complaint and theoutcome of each complaint is available for ABSDO to audit, and for any otherinterested party.

Details of complaints and actions taken to resolve will be reviewed by the CEO andincluded in the Board Report.


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Attachment 1

RISSB Development ProcessRISSBs development process focuses on seven major stages with a series of mandatory stepsas shown below.

1. Proposing a Product

1.1 Need identified for a Product

1.2 CEO determines type of Product to be developed

1.3 RISSB Project Manager prepares a proposal

1.4 Standing committee (SC) endorse product for development

1.5 RISSB Board Approval obtained

1.6 Standards Australia advised of new product to be developed2. Developing a Product

2.1 Request for Services issued by Project Manager

2.2 Tender process and selection of author and validator

2.3 Project Manager calls for Source documentation

2.2 PM assigns Author and Validator with SC approval

2.4 Standing Committee selects Development Group

2.5 Hazard Register reviewed and revised

2.6 Author issues preliminary draft of product to Development Group2.7 Development Group work through 1 st draft of product

2.8 Standing committee review 1 st draft from development group

2.7 Standing Committee draft issued for review

3. Commenting on a Product

3.1 Draft product issued for 1 st Open Review and Comment onto the RISSB Website

3.2 Project Manager and Author review comments

3.3 Author Revises Hazard Register if necessary

3.4 Development group works through comments3.5 Comments responded to by Project Manager and Author

3.6 Author Drafts revised product

3.7 Draft Product issued for 2nd Open Review and comment phase

3.8 Project Manager and Author review comments

3.9 Author revises Hazard Register if required

3.10 Author drafts final product

3.11 Development group accepts industry draft


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RISSB guidance material is not subjected to an open review as it is providing guidance only.Accordingly only Industry comment is sought.

4. Validation

4.1 Project Manager issues Validator final draft

4.2 Validator reviews draft and supplies draft report to Project Manager

4.3 Final Validator draft report reviewed by Project Manager and DevelopmentGroup with comments supplied to author

4.4 Author creates final draft product

4.5 Author revises hazard register if necessary

4.6 Project Manager creates final draft and hazard register

5. Approval

5.1 Project Manager creates approval document

5.2 Development Group reviews final draft for consensus

5.3 Standing Committee reviews product for technical scope

5.4 Development Advisory Board approval compliance of development

5.4 RISSB Board approval product for publication

6. Publication6.1 The approved product is posted to the RISSB Website

6.2 Industry advised via RISSB communiqu and ARA NewsAlert

6.3 Standards Australia notified of new product (Standard)

6.4 SAI Global forwarded new product (Standard) for web sale once approved forpublication by Standards Australia

7. Publishing a Product

7.1 The approved product is posted to the RISSB Website

7.2 Industry advised via communiqu and Industry newsletter

7.3 Standards Australia issued copy of new product (AS Standard)

7.4 SAI Global issued copy of new product (AS Standard)