SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Rodríguez-Núñez, and García-Palomares (2014) opine that public transport forms an essential element in the development of any nation. Several means of transport are utilized in most countries, but this exposition dwells on the public railway transport. However, most of the developing countries face challenges in the transportation sector due to advanced issues such as pollution and displacement. In some developing countries such as Malaysia, issues related to public transports have been a major concern on the land use as well as pollution (Kamaruddin et al., 2012; Indati et al., 2013; Ong et al., 2012). Since it is the concern of the National Government to stir transport development as stated in the national agenda, there comes much importance in the provision of efficient public transport in the country. Among the intended developments include modern transport infrastructure such as the mass rapid transit and the modernization of the commuter rail operations such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) which is majored on this exposition. The entire development expected to be projected on the transport development dictates installment of new systems and technologies. All the stakeholders of the railway transport system particularly the travelers are typically concerned with safety and the risks involved in the train operations. Safety which is a major issue of concern in this research paper is defined by Mooren et al. (2014) as the relative freedom from the risks, danger, personal injury or property loss which may all be deliberate or by accident. Risk management is the pointing out, assessment and the consideration of the risks which is after that followed by coordinated approaches which are aimed at monitoring and minimizing possible unfortunate events. The main reasons for undertaking this research is to enhance the safety and risk management towards increasing the quality of the KTMB train operations.
Objectives
- Improving the physical security which is to be in the form of the CCTV, uniformed security persons, and the fire alarm system. Installation of fire extinguishers in both the trains and the station mitigates the risk of fire havocs (Piètre-Cambacédès & Chaudet, 2010).
- The introduction of periodic checkup on the KTMB system with the data collected being evaluated for the identification of points of lag in the company that need to be improved on regarding safety and risk management.
- Implementation of the data center where experienced technical personnel and team engineers are to maintain the data center. The intent of this is to ensure the safety of the KTMB data and mitigate the risk of external interference on the security systems of the organization.
- Advocating for a reasonable level of responsibility for all the passengers in the mitigation of insecurity levels and the overall safety in the trains (Dunckel-Graglia, 2013; Ibrahim et al., 2013). Can be made possible through encouraging people to behave in a safe manner individually.
- Redesigning of the design and layout of the railway station such that it is oriented on the safety and mitigate risk on the public. Can be made possible through increasing the number of security cameras and building of adequate passageways, escalators, and stairways.
- Since lighting gives a sense of safety and contentment, it is necessary to revisit the lighting plan in the station and ensure all the stated policies are implemented in concern to the lighting (Hagen & Bron, 2014).
- According to the ISO 9001:2015 requirements, KTMB should demonstrate its ability to provide the best services to the customers in regards to safety according to the statutory requirements.
Statement of Research
The aim of this research is to review the design for the KTMB safety plan procedures and recommend various corrections intended at improving the risk management or rather the preventive action of the train operations. Based on the outcome of the research, a corrective action plan should be implemented to the KTMB operations. Fonseca (2015) asserts that ISO 9001:2015 dictates distinct requirements aimed at quality management of an organization. Therefore, this research will similarly investigate the applicability of ISO 9001:2015 in the company. Lastly, the study purports the mitigation of the risks and more safety procedures through consideration of more appropriate risk management frameworks.
Research Questions
- What are the current safety and administration systems embraced by KTMB?
- Are the travelers contented with these safety procedures?
- Are the systems viable and feasible enough to ensure safety and minimized risks in the organization?
- What improvements can be made to rectify the areas that are incompetent in the providence of safety and risk management?
- Are KTMB operations working to the expected level of ISO 9001:2015 requirements?
Worldview
The assessment of whether the risks in train operations are reduced and whether the safety measures are implemented as expected is reasonably practicable through the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) (Ale et al., 2015).
Principle
The utilization of the CBA in concern to the safety and risk management requires the consideration and evaluation of the response from the stakeholder’s personal views based on consultation.
Key Concepts
- Evaluation of the safety and risk management current procedures in KTMB.
- Highlighting of corrective measures towards ensuring enhancing these procedures.
Hypotheses
Fonseca (2015) opines that consultation from all the KTMB stakeholders and investigation on the applicability of the ISO 9001:2015 will be of essence towards the safety and risk management progress.
Problem addressed
The core issue of concern is an evaluation of whether the requirements of the quality management systems are implemented in the objectives projected to the KTMD train operations.
Problem with the current Train Operation System
The independent variables that have been mentioned as a primary concern in not only KTMB railways but also in other several rail operations include; lighting, security issues, and the layout of the railway stations (Matsika et al., 2013).
Literature Gap
It refers to a relevant question in a particular domain that has not been fully answered. What lacks in the literature review is the satisfaction of CBA since the issue of much concern is the satisfaction of the customer needs.
Research Ethics
In reference to Damianakis and Woodford’s (2012) study, the research ethics to be considered include; evidencing social responsibility, adhering to the expected public policies, and sticking to the objectivity of the research.
Main Variables
The independent variables in this research include the design and layout of KTMB railway station, security, and passengers’ behavior. The dependent variable includes embracing and utilizing the ISO 9001:2015 requirements.
Rationale for Conducting the Research
Most of the stakeholders of the KTMB railway operations did not show fully contentment of the operations in concern with safety and risk management hence the research is necessary for recommending improvements that can effectively tackle the solution.
Target population
The KTMB railway station operators, other stakeholders and all individuals involved in the public railway transport.
Method Use
Use of intensive scholarly research on the main issue affecting safety and risk management on KTMB and investigation on the same from people acquainted with the activities of this station (Squire, 2013).
Instruments of Data Collection
Besides the interviews and questionnaires, the utilization of other previous researches was used.
Suggested Analytical Techniques
- Qualitative data analysis
- Statistical techniques
Statement of level of challenge
In essence, this research will enhance the applicability of ISO 9001:2015 through understanding its requirements in the operations of the station (Wilson & Campbell, 2016). Similarly, it will instill the necessary skills in pointing out the issues of concern in an organization operations and implementing the necessary processes.
Bibliography
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