HOF in Change Management

To maintain and, when practicable, continuously improve a high level of safety in the Union rail system, Railway organisations also have to demonstrate a consistent approach to integrating and managing Human and Organisational Factors (HOF) within the Safety Management System (SMS).

In the case of change management, HOF integration is also recognised as a practice which reduces the cost due to a series of corrections necessary once the change is implemented. The aim of this guidance is to propose a systemic and systematic HOF approach throughout the change management process. 

This guidance can be used by the railway sector, including RUs and IMs, NSAs and manufacturers and concerning the internal audience, by the project manager in charge of the change, safety representatives, HOF specialist with tailored tasks according to the HOF topics and every stakeholder representative concerned by a change (including workers, contractors, partners and suppliers).

This guidance is not mandatory. In case the railway organisation is already applying a HOF integration methodology which ensures a consistent and systematic process for the support of human performance in change management, this can equally be used.

Developed with the support of a taskforce including representatives of actors from the railway sector, this guidance is composed of two parts. A first part explains a methodology to integrate HOF more consistently and systematically in the change management process. The second part proposes a HOF assessment tool that can be used to identify and assess the impacts of the change on HOF. To ensure the correct implementation of this methodology, a specific training needs to be followed.

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