Hello and welcome to

Connect

Hello and welcome to another issue of Connect.

An inquest jury has decided that the Potters Bar rail crash was caused by the unsafe condition of the points.

At the end of the seven-week hearing, the jury decided that failures of inspection and/or maintenance of the points in the weeks prior to the crash led to the incident on May 10 2002.

Seven people died and more than 70 people were injured when the train – which was travelling at a legal speed – crashed as it reached Potters Bar at around 1pm.

A Network Rail (NR) spokesman said: “Today we remember the lives lost eight years ago. Since then much has changed. The railways are almost unrecognisable since the days of Railtrack and the Potters Bar tragedy of 2002.

“All of the recommendations made by both the industry’s own formal inquiry and the health and safety investigation have been actioned. Today the railways are safer than they have ever been.”

In this issue of Connect, we look at the background to the DSEAR regulations and what you need to do to comply.

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) says that arson has become the single most frequent cause of fire in buildings of all kinds. Following on from our five-part series on fire risk assessments, we find out how to reduce the risk of arson in your organisation.

There’s also an opportunity to get involved with IOSH’s new Networks and International Committee, as well as the latest news from your Branch and Group.

If you’ve any comments you’d like to make about Connect, please drop me a line.

Thanks for reading.

Shaun Gibbons
e-Editor, IOSH