The level of dynamic risk is greater on a tramway than in a heavy rail setting. Trams operate in both segregated and mixed traffic environments (for example, city centres) and drivers find their trams regularly surrounded by pedestrians, cars, buses and bicycles. Each driver must pass a rigorous selection, training, and assessment process before being allowed to drive a tram. As a result, safety is paramount.

Tram Operations Ltd knew they needed to upgrade their existing processes to evaluate driver performance and strengthen their risk controls, and have adopted ACMS as their solution.

Tram Operations Ltd now have a better understanding of the level of competence across the whole organisation, which has highlighted the requirement to enhance assessor knowledge around the developmental approach to competence management.  It has ultimately given the business a consistent approach to competence management, as individuals are tracked against an assessment plan with any support and development needs managed against their action plan, with support provided to candidates as required.

Andy Wallace

Head of Safety – Tram Operations Ltd.

It’s critical that our drivers are able to make safe decisions consistently, so we decided to take a risk-based approach that allows our drivers to develop their competence while demonstrating compliance with standards. We aimed to enhance efficiency and visibility in our competence management arrangements to ensure the processes were smoother for both candidates and assessors. This would ultimately result in a much more cost-effective and (by eliminating the need for large paper-based files) environmentally responsible solution.