Hi all,
I have a question on behalf of a Northern driver, who is based at a depot where DTMs incorporate an "on train brief" during practical ride assessments.
Can anyone say which other TOCs/depots do or don't have such on train briefs, they would find that useful to know.
Many thanks in advance
If its just the checklist of safety topics to discuss face to face, this has long been the case at northern and forms part of the driving assessment. Essentially it guides the conversation in the cab and helps the driver manager to pick out key points during conversation.
At my FOC we can have safety conversations at any point and these can be recorded. Whilst we don't have as much of a formal checklist as at northern, I'll always make a point of addressing key safety topics during an FDA and indeed the paperwork actually guides the assessor towards important safety topics. These are all noted accordingly in the assessors comments and countersigned by the driver.
A driving assessment covers more than just physical train driving. As you'll likely be aware there is a substantial non-technical skills framework that is also being assessed and the assessor is required to record these elements too. As is industry standard, often these elements may not be observable during a drive, so questions/professional discussions, to take place at an appropriate point during a ride out, are often the only means of recording these elements. Indeed, some of the very Non-technical skills being assessed are communication and workload management, which can often be observed during a professional conversation.
