A Safe Pair of Hands

TPD passes rail industry’s historic engineering safety guidance iESM to ARC

ARC is pleased to announce their acquisition of iESM - the international rail industry's handbook on Engineering Safety Management.

iESM has been updated and changed over time, evolving from good practice guidance originally published in 1992 and has grown in size and significance, as has the team of expert contributors from the rail profession across the world.

For nearly a decade it has been managed under the secure guidance of Paul Cheeseman of TPD, who handed over the license to ARC in this historic deal.

John Abbott Managing Director of ARC, specifically chose the location of Hungerford Bridge between Charing Cross Station on the South Bank in London to mark the occasion because of the guidebook’s UK roots.

John said, ‘It all started here in London and so it seems apt that we meet at this spot surrounded by our industry and take time to think about what has been achieved. This is a significant moment in the history of our profession and ARC are honoured that we have been chosen to take on the care of this guide. As a Risk and Safety Consultancy ARC has applied the principles of iESM to what we do. We consider it a privilege to invest in the future of this handbook’.

iESM is a single universal set of good practice guides that can be applied to railways around the world and was devised because of a desire to maintain some consistency in the field of Engineering Safety Management principles and practice. It was always the intention that this is a shared resource, and the information kept up-to-date by a collaboration involving high profile rail organisations and professionals from across the world.

Steve Bickley Chair of the iESM working Group and Director at ARC said, ‘Nowhere else will you find this level of experience and knowledge come together in one forum. We are fortunate to have contributors in the iESM Working Group who have had immense influence in the safety of railways around the world. I am grateful to this team who give their expertise and time to make iESM what it is.”

The first edition of iESM Volumes 1 and 2 were published by TPD in 2013.

Paul Cheeseman of TPD said, “ Handing over iESM was a great responsibility, this book is bigger than a person or company - it belongs to the industry. You don’t actually own it, you only ever really look after it.”