2005 Press Releases

Date: 08 November 2005

Objective selected by Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator, NSW for electronic document and records management

The Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR), has selected an electronic document and records management solution (EDRMS) from Objective Corporation (ASX:OCL) to enhance transparency and credibility as a regulator.

ITSRR is using Objective to provide a corporate information store and knowledge discovery solution, which is being implemented across the organisation – from the Chief Executive through to its field officers.

ITSRR is a statutory authority that was created almost 2 years ago to facilitate safe and reliable transport services in New South Wales. ITSRR has three key roles: first, administering rail safety legislation; second, for providing advice to Government on the reliability of all publicly funded rail, bus and ferry transport within NSW; and third, to coordinate safety regulation with the other two regulators of publicly funded transport: NSW Maritime (ferries) and the Ministry of Transport (buses).

Objective will complement and to some extent replace existing paper based recordkeeping systems, improving access to information and allowing all types of documents and records to be managed consistently within a single information repository.

Carolyn Walsh, Chief Executive, ITSRR said: “Objective offered ITSRR a single solution that met all of its functional requirements together with proven implementation experience and a highly experienced project team.

“ITSRR required a business tool that would instil confidence in its staff, the rail industry and the travelling public by assuring them of information integrity and credibility. As a regulator, credibility is paramount. It is essential for ITSRR to operate in a transparent and accountable manner,” said Ms Walsh.

ITSRR identified the need to improve business processes and increase the efficiency of retrieval systems - this was shared by staff and recognised by management.

The Final Report Special Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfall Accident had also recommended that ITSRR establish an electronic document control system to enable effective and reliable information to be gathered for monitoring the safety of the New South Wales rail system (Recommendation 63). ITSRR’s implementation of Objective enabled closure and verification of this Waterfall recommendation.

“As a solution, Objective required ITSRR to describe and document its business and articulate its vision. It helped ITSRR develop, stabilise and streamline its business processes - giving ITSRR confidence in its processes,” said Ms Walsh.

Objective will allow quick and easy access to information, facilitating collaboration between work teams and allowing more effective and efficient business processes to be adopted throughout the organisation.

For example, some ITSRR staff work remotely, such as field officers who need to carry out inspections and audits of rail safety around the State. They will in future have the ability to remotely access documents, such as details about operator’s safety management systems, accident investigation reports or policy documents from a central repository via handheld devices. This facility will enable ITSRR staff to provide a timely response to make quick judgements while out in the field.

Objective will also support ITSRR in meeting external review requirements and compliance with NSW State Government legislation, standards and codes of practice.

ITSRR will use Objective to:

• Review and approve ITSRR policy documents.
• Manage cases, including: accreditation; audits and inspections of rail operators; investigations into potential breaches of rail safety regulation.
• Process travel approvals, managing and actioning correspondence and expenditure reconciliations.

Ms Walsh said: “When signing-off approval for accreditation of rail operators I have to be assured they have the systems, competence and capacity to safely carry out their operations. Objective gives credibility to documents used to assess these processes through its automated document control process such as audit trail and version control.

“The introduction of Objective was one of the steps ITSRR took to improve its recordkeeping processes. Objective has simplified the way that ITSRR does its recordkeeping – by making it integral to ITSRR’s work.

“Objective has enabled ITSRR to work more efficiently. Objective gives ITSRR the ability to defend the way in which it works with transparent auditing trails of all documents.

“Objective has helped ITSRR to be more strategic in collecting and analysing information which assists in the direction of resources toward greater risk areas. This makes ITSRR more effective as an organisation in facilitating safe and reliable transport services to the community of New South Wales,” said Ms Walsh.

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About Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator

The Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) is a NSW Government Statutory Authority. ITSRR was created by the Transport Legislation Amendment (Safety and Reliability) Act 2003 and became operational on January 1, 2004.

Its principal objective is to facilitate the safe operation of transport services in the State and its functions include:

• Administering rail safety legislation
• Reporting on the reliability of publicly funded transport services
• Coordinating provision of policy advice on safety regulation across transport modes of rail, bus and ferry.

For further information on ITSRR, visit http://www.transportregulator.nsw.gov.au/