Railsafe

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	11.11.2009 Railsafe 2 European Seminar. Read More... 16.03.2009 Workshops to determine industry requirement. Read More... 17-18.10.2008 Railsafe2 Kick-Off Meeting at TWI, Cambridge, UK. Read More...

	Final versions of the RAILSAFE documents...

Railsafe System

RAILSAFE2 - a project for the development of a system for the education, training, qualification and certification of arc welders for joining, repairing and refurbishing rails on a common European basis

Description:

The first RAILSAFE project covered the joining of rails by the aluminothermic welding process. The
second phase, the subject of this proposal, will cover the use of arc welding for joining, repairing
and refurbishing rails which requires a completely different approach because there is no technical
commonality between the two processes. Aluminothermic welding is essentially a casting process
requiring the correct setting of parameters and following prescriptive procedures. Arc welding is a
fusion process with requiring, in addition, a much higher level of manipulative skill. However, the
rationale of, and background to, the second phase are much the same as the first project.
The project addresses the need for well-qualified railway track welders who have the capability and
approval to weld railway tracks in different countries throughout Europe. There is a need for
welders who are trained to work in a quality system: certified welders, who work under approved
procedures. The national railway authorities and constructing companies need to have a European
harmonised system for education, training, qualification and certification that they can rely on and
draw from. The railway authorities who own the tracks and the constructing companies who build
and maintain them have identified the need.

Objectives:

The specific objectives of the project are:

To transfer the innovative features of the first RAILSAFE project, particularly the European harmonisation aspects, to the current project.
To have trained and certified railway track welders available for railway companies to assurethe quality and reliability of the railway tracks whilst ensuring healthy and safe working conditions, thus reducing accidents and downtime caused by welding problems.
To harmonise education, qualification and certification to make exchange of welders for national railway authorities and companies in the European Union possible.
To ensure that the qualification system is aligned with existing official national VET systems in Europe.
To assure the quality of and access to continuing vocational education and certification for lifelong competences and better employability of railway welders, across national borders.
To achieve harmonised implementation of the developed system throughout the whole of Europe through the European Welding Federation.
To provide free movement of labour within the rail sector in Europe and to provide a mechanism for skilled welders in other sectors to transfer into the rail sector thereby taking advantage of new job opportunities.

These aims are to be achieved by continuing education, training, qualification and certification of welders, according to newly developed harmonised European guidelines. The certification includes the periodic re-testing of the welders’ skills and knowledge.
The envisaged accreditation scheme is like the system EWF already has in operation: the welders are educated and trained in approved schools, the welders are then qualified and certified by Authorised National Bodies (ANBs), which are in turn authorised by EWF. It is common practice that the ANBs are also accredited by their national accreditation authorities.
Building on the experience gained by developing the system for aluminothermic welders in the first RAILSAFE project, the same approach will now be used for arc welders for joining, repairing and refurbishing rails.:

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