IRSE Sept 08.indd

Institution of Railway Signal Engineers
Wing Award, 2008
Introduction
The "Wing Award for Safety" was introduced in 1994 to
commemorate the life and work of the late Peter Wing, a Fellow of
the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers and an employee of
British Rail, who during his 31-year career made a major
contribution to the cause of line side safety. Peter spent much of
his working life dedicated to the safety his colleagues. It was his
care and concern that became the driving force behind the
national campaign in 1992/3 that was entitled “Dead Serious
About Safety” and which had such a major impact in reducing the
numbers of line side fatalities in subsequent years and was the
first campaign in the railway to make use of hard-hitting and
realistic safety videos. The IRSE administers the award scheme on
behalf of Members of the Railway Group, the Railway Supply
Industry and the HMRI, who amongst others supported the
formation of the Award.
The award takes the form of a certificate and an amount of
£500 to be devoted to personal development and is made to an
individual who has made an outstanding personal contribution to
railway line-side track safety by, for example, coming forward with
a novel idea for improving safety at the line-side, is a long term
champion of improving track safety standards or has made a
significant contribution to the awareness of track safety in his
business.
Citation
The winner this year was nominated by Network Rail and the
award was made to Steve Cassidy who runs a team of over
240 staff and his Bletchley depot is the only Delivery Unit in
Network Rail that has not had a RIDDOR Reportable Accident since
the internal Network Rail Safety 365 Challenge commenced in
April 2005. His team sits in the top 10 of the Maintenance
Department Safety League Table. The team he put together has
been at the forefront of the introduction of the Lookout Operated
Warning System (LOWS) into Network Rail and their efforts have
helped ensure that Network Rail are able to patrol high speed lines
safely in a Red Zone.
From left to right: Colin Porter, Steve Cassidy, Ian Coucher
Steve was selected because of the example he sets and for his
encouragement in the field of workforce on-track safety.
He was presented with his award by the Chief Executive of
Network Rail, Ian Coucher, on the 27 June 2008 at the Modern
Railways 4 th Friday Club lunch and lecture at the New Connaught
Rooms in London.
Previous Winners
Photo: Tony Miles, Modern Railways
Previous winners of the Wing Award have been;
1995 R Dickinson BR
1996 W Hill Amec
1997 I Keys LUL
1998 R Hickman Centrac
1999 A Ross LUL
2000 A Franklin GTRM
2001 P Graham Railtrack
2002 A Swann Safety Consultant
2003 A Nelson Railway Safety
2004 B West Amey Rail
2005 P Broad Network Rail
2006 C Wheeler Railstaff
2007 C Bickerstaffe 4x3
Colin Porter
WANTED !
In view of the greater interest being shown by non-UK members in joining the IRSE, we would like to re-instate our world-wide list of
contacts for prospective members. If you are willing to act as an initial contact for someone in your country who wants to find out
more about IRSE membership and activities, please forward your name to Colin Porter, Chief Executive at hq@irse.org.
The membership department will be able to provide specific advice but having someone locally who understands the IRSE can
be a big help to prospective members.
22
Issue 137 September 2008
IRSE
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