Software helps reduce vehicle accidents by 19%

Coruson, Ideagen’s cloud-based system for enterprise safety, quality, reporting and incident management, is used by RATP Dev USA to directly manage safety, risk and operational performance across all bus, paratransit and rail services.

Mike Anderson, VP of Safety and Security for RATP Dev USA, said: “We started implementing SMS in our subsidiaries back in December 2017 and, to date, we’ve implemented SMS in eight out of around 35 - so we still have a lot of work to do.

“But our initial results are very promising – we’ve seen an overall reduction year-to-date of 19% in vehicle accidents alone.”

As part of the same framework, SmartDrive Systems, a leader in video-based safety and transportation intelligence, provide RATP Dev USA’s fleets, drivers and management with driving performance insight and analysis, helping save fuel, expenses and lives.

“drive2zero is our internally developed safety solution,” explained Patrick Manley, Director of Safety for RATP Dev USA. “We worked and partnered with Ideagen and SmartDrive to help develop some of the electronic components of the drive2zero SMS.

“Where in the past we have seen companies report positive results in nine to 12 months, we’re now seeing results in six to seven months. That’s due to an increase in hazard reports as we now have people telling us where risk is in our organisation and a comprehensive way of managing that risk.”

RATP Dev USA transports more than 78 million passengers across the United States through various transportation services such as bus, urban or intercity rail lines (streetcar), and shuttle services.

The drive2zero framework has four components – Safety Policy, Risk Management, Safety Assurance and Safety Promotion. Its aim is to continuously improve transit operations and support RATP Dev USA’s commitment to an unparalleled safety record for customers and employees.

Gordon McKeown, Head of Product at Ideagen, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the team at RATP Dev USA.

“We are absolutely delighted that our Coruson software has played such a crucial part in helping to reduce vehicle accidents across eight RATP Dev USA subsidiaries and we are confident of seeing even more success across the wider network as the project progresses.”

Meanwhile across the US, the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Final Rule requires operators of public transportation systems to develop safety plans that include processes and procedures necessary for implementing safety management systems. The PTASP rule takes effect from July 2019 and by the following year operators must certify they have a safety plan in place that meets the requirements of the rule.

Anderson added: “Any of our subsidiaries or locations that adopt drive2zero will now automatically meet the requirements of the PTASP rule that will be due in July 2020.”