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Peter Burns MBA BAppSci CPEng MIEAust MIRSE

PYB Consulting Pty Ltd

RAMS analysis and the setting of RAMS requirements (often expressed as single indices) are becoming common features of rail signalling projects.

But attempts to outsource RAMS objectives by attaching them as simple deliverables in project contracts often fail. This paper explores some of the reasons why this is so.

The paper takes a qualitative look at examples and processes of requirements analysis and requirements setting, particularly at key interfaces important to RAMS. These include:

• Interfaces with the rail environment and the world at large;
• Interfaces between signalling systems;
• Maintenance Policies and strategies;

It will be seen that the achievement of RAMS outcomes inherently involves alignment between many parties. Products do not stand alone; they are part of human centred systems. Success depends on openness by organisations and access to good engineering knowledge – these being the oxygen on which RAMS depend.