ASSESSMENT OF RAILWAY SYSTEMS, SUBSYSTEMS, PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES -  DESIGNATED BODY

Bureau Veritas is a body designated by the Ministry of Transport pursuant to article 15 of Legislative Decree 57/2019.


SCENARIO

The transport sector is characterized by a strong focus on aspects such as safety, reliability, efficiency and quality.
These factors are strongly correlated with the technological progress achieved in the railway sector.
In this increasingly competitive and demanding scenario, the manufacturer is strongly involved in the new obligations required by the National Railways which, traditionally involved also in the design, construction, testing and operation phases, today tend to manage the infrastructures and provide services by entrusting the manufacturers with the life cycle management of railway systems, subsystems, products and processes.
It therefore becomes essential for the manufacturer to have the support of Third Parties called upon to verify the conformity of products and systems to the Safety Integrity Level (SIL) defined at a regulatory level, along the life cycle.
The involvement of a Third Party becomes a guarantee for the manufacturer that the railway system, subsystem, product or process is safe.


SOLUTION

Designated Body - DeBo
The verification allows the conformity of a railway component to be assessed with the safety-related approval requirements applicable to it and its suitability for use.
For verification purposes, the organization begins its activity in the design phase and continues throughout the construction period and until the subsystem enters service.
The Assessor's intervention throughout the entire production process (from the design to the final verification) allows us to ensure that the subsystem is compliant and safe.
Bureau Veritas is a Designated Body by the Ministry of Transport pursuant to art.15 of Legislative Decree n.57/2019.

Bureau Veritas supports operators in the railway sector as a Designated Body for Safety Verifications of railway systems, subsystems, products and processes in reference to: Regulation 402/2013 on Common Safety Methods, CENELEC Standards : EN 50126 - life-cycle Railway System , EN 50128 - software, EN 50129 - electronic railway signaling systems, EN61508: Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems, and the ANSF - National Agency for Railway Safety - decrees.

As a Designated Body, Bureau Veritas carries out inspections in the following areas:
■ Ground Signaling
■ On-board Signaling
■ Rolling Stock
■ Work Vehicles 
■ Auxiliary Vehicles
■ Diagnostic Systems
■ Skills Management System
■ Energy
■ Infrastructure
■ Maintenance
■ Operation
■ Combined Transport
■ Common Safety Methods
■ Training
■ Risk Analysis
■ Entities in Charge of Maintenance.

The Verification service is structured through the following steps:
■ Definition of the purpose
■ Drafting and sharing of the Assessment Plan
■ Documentary Analysis
■ Issuance of Technical Notes
■ Presence at laboratory tests (Test witnessing)
■ Presence at field tests (Test witnessing)
■ Safety Audit
■ Quality Audit
■ Final Report and Certificate Issuance

FAQ

What are the main advantages for the manufacturer?
The intervention of an Independent Third Party generates tangible benefits along all phases of the production process, allowing the Manufacturer to achieve:
■ Real improvement in the safety obtained
■ Reduction of re-engineering and/or modifications
■ Optimization of the integration between the design and V&V teams
■ Reduction of disputes with the end customer
■ Optimization of the life cycle
■ Improvement of overall traceability and therefore possible reuse
■ Compliance with applicable standards
■ Reduction of time and costs

In which phase of the production process does the Designated Body intervene?
The Assessment activity by the Designated Body takes place starting from the first stages of development throughout the entire production process. The involvement of the verifier from the project to the final verification facilitates the achievement of the final objective of ensuring the safety of railway systems, subsystems, products and processes.