Enable Infrastructure Adopt COMET – An Investigation, Root Cause Analysis and Prevention tool

Enable Infrastructure Adopt COMET – An Investigation, Root Cause Analysis and Prevention tool

30 March 2021

Enable Infrastructure (formerly known as BCM Construction) COMET

By truly understanding safety incident root causes we identify better preventative actions

Working across several safety critical industries, Enable Infrastructure recognised inconsistencies in collating close call data, carrying out investigations, the challenges of identifying root causes and inefficiencies in producing various company and industry reports.

Passionate about continuous improvement, Enable Infrastructure discovered COMET – an investigation, root cause analysis and prevention tool – while working in the Utilities sector. COMET represents the complete spectrum of organizational root cause;

• Communication
• Operating Environment
• Management
• Equipment
• Training

Committed to sharing industry best practice and using digital solutions to improve safety and delivery, Enable Infrastructure collaborated with STC INSISO to develop and customise COMET for the rail industry. The first cloud-based incident investigation tool, COMET Rail is a single point of data capture which:

• Records close calls
• Filters serious injury and fatality (SIF) and serious operational failure (SOF) data
• Identifies and categorises high potential close calls and who is notified based on risk scores
• Facilitates initial investigations in under 60 minutes
• Automatically produces Network Rail Level 1 investigation reports and Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) bulk uploads
  • Minimising duplication of effort and administration
• Creates accessible reports / dashboards
• Provides root cause analysis
• Supports better preventative actions

COMET Rail identifies ‘why’ as well as the ‘when’ and ‘where’, shifting the focus from quantitative incident data to qualitative root cause information to enable more informed decisions quickly and efficiently. The analysis and reporting can be filtered, reviewed and compared, identifying project / organisation root causes and systemic trends in:

• Health and Safety
• Environment
• Equipment
• Quality
• Business processes
• Security

An end-to-end investigation methodology, COMET Rail is used to manage close calls, near misses, major incidents, equipment (tools and plant) failures, quality and human factors issues that could affect safe and productive operations. Based on forensic practices, COMET Rail focuses on the discovery phase of investigations – leading to evidence-based root causes being identified, enabling more informed decisions for future preventative actions.

Trialed and developed by Enable Infrastructure in conjunction with other rail industry partners, COMET Rail delivers three key functions:

• Close call reporting
• Incident investigation
• Expert extension – providing tailored guidance and investigator prompts

COMET Rail uses a significant investigation data grid (SID) to build a timeline of events, gather evidence – including photos, statements, maps etc – allocate actions and send notifications to individuals for each incident. The information is then used to create a report identifying barrier and change evaluations – factors that could have contributed to the incident, highlighting evidence-based root causes to address.

With the functionality to vary the level of investigation depending on the potential consequence, a COMET Rail Light investigation can be carried out in just 60 minutes. The system can also produce a Network Rail Level 1 investigation report and the industry- required RSSB close call bulk upload automatically, minimising duplication and creating administration efficiencies. COMET’s Human Factor modules ensure that an in-depth Human Factors analysis is carried out with the outputs aligned to the Rail Industry’s Fair Culture model.

COMET training is provided which helps to focus the investigator, ensuring a consistent approach to investigations and credible outputs are produced.

Standardising, simplifying and automating the process, COMET Rail encompasses reporting, investigation, analysis and bulk uploads quickly and efficiently. The system uses algorithms to identify correlations between a spectrum of 62 root causes and then maps out relationships to identify corrective actions to improve:

• Safety
• Duty of care
• Performance
• Reputation
• Finance
• Regulatory requirements

The incident investigation and root cause analysis findings are used to establish corrective and preventive actions. Campaigns are then created to increase awareness of systemic trends and improve workforce safety.

Already used by several global organisations including Lloyds Register, Cummins and TAQA, the benefits of COMET Rail have been recognised and the incident investigation tool is being trailed by High Speed Two and reviewed by Network Rail Southern Region.

To view the COMET/ STC Global website which details the great work they are doing within the industry, please click here: https://www.stcglobal.net/comet