Safety critical components (SCC): New UIP/VPI guideline provides clarity

In an amended version of the successful ECM Regulation that entered into force on June 16th, the EU authorities dedicated special attention to safety critical components (SCC) and established binding rules on the return of experience. With a model guideline for the definition of SCCs, the associations VPI and UIP are now helping European wagon keepers deal with the new requirements.

Anyone responsible for the safety of wagons as an entity in charge of maintenance (ECM) not only has to ensure flawless maintenance but also a return of experience (REX). The new ECM Regulation 2019/779 establishes new standards here. ECMs will in future be required to report every incident that could lead to an accident via the Safety Alert Information Tool (SAIT) operated by the European Railway Agency (ERA). The regulation defines a reporting obligation for incidents relating to so-called safety critical components (SCC).

ECMs are therefore faced with the challenge of clearly defining in advance all safety critical components for their various wagon types. This is no simple task since Article 4 of the regulation remains very general in its requirements. It states: “Safety critical components are components for which a single failure has a credible potential to lead directly to a serious accident ...”.

The Technical Commission of VPI, as a committee of maintenance experts of the sector, has therefore developed an informative, easily applicable blueprint that can be used by the individual ECMs for individual identification of SCCs on the various wagon types. A tank wagon was selected as a representative example. “Our model guideline on the topic of SCC offers a practical framework for dealing with the new requirements of the ECM ordinance. The fully specified example wagon offers keepers a good basis for developing requirements applicable to their own fleet,” says Jakob Kudlinski, chairperson of the Technical Commission.

The guideline is published jointly by VPI and the European umbrella association of wagon keepers, UIP. It is now available in German, English and French and can be obtained by member companies through their national associations. The authors have conscientiously applied to freight wagons the methodology specified by Working Group 48 of the standardization committee CEN/TC 256. This is also confirmed by the evaluation of the assessment body SCONRAIL.

VPI members can download the SCC guideline at: www.vpihamburg.de/downloadbereich/mitglieder/sonstiges/safety-critical-componentsscc-technischer-leitfaden

“Wagon wheelsets” free for printing with mention of “VPI/Egbert”: www.vpihamburg.de/de/downloadbereich/oeffentlich/publikationen/pressearchiv