Railway Inspectorate organization

The organization of the Railway Inspectorate has changed quite considerably since this research and consequently there has been a shift in objectives. This is reflected, for example, in their use of legal action (see below). The purpose of this chapter, however, is to concentrate on the research period. More recent developments are discussed in Chapter 11. 

I think that any organization needs to have a policing body and if you look at living in this country of ours we have policemen who police what people do—these are no different. The Railway Inspectorate, they are policing what goes on on the railway. I think if they weren t there then I would hate to think about it but I think there would be a deterioration of standards and I think over a period of time that we would obviously have to be... 

The social dimensions of knowledge and understanding were striking. Senior railway personnel had the most contact with the Railway Inspectorate but this is partly an artefact of organization. Inspecting officers and senior railway officials were both in charge of policy decisions, decisions about capital expenditure, and a much wider remit than occupational health and safety, and moreover they were few in number. Railway employment inspectors, whose remit solely centred on occupational health and safety, were only fifteen in number and had to cover the entire rail network. It is therefore not surprising that they were not... 

I have to say that over ten or twelve years that a lot depends on the personality. I find Y [railway employment inspector] absolutely excellent. He believes that he has a positive role to play, he understands. He is not from the railway I don t think, but he understands what a manager s life is like. I find him the ideal protector of the legislation. In the past I have come across people who have thought they were dictators and I think that becomes negative, builds barriers, causes distrust between the two organizations and the staff and the environment suffer because of it, so I do believe that the personality is quite valuable, (manager, interviewee 43)... 

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