Question 1

DO YOU PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES IN LOCATION ON THE CLIENT SITE?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Our consulting service is based on a combination of on-site work (e.g. collaborating with client specialists or holding face-to-face meetings with assessors) and remote working. Depending on the project phase, alternative working locations may be agreed on a temporary basis.

Question 2

DOES YOUR CONSULTING SERVICE IS INSURED AS ENGINEERING SERVICE?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Our consultancy services are covered by the insurance policy for freelancers and self-employed, specifically the insurance for business and recruitment consultancies, provided by HISCOX S.A. insurance company.

Question 3

DO YOU PARTICIPATE ON CLIENT’S MEETINGS WITH ASSESSMENT BODIES AND AUTHORITIES?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We can participate on demand in direct meetings with assessment bodies and railway authorities, supporting our clients and providing recommendations on the processing of identified open items to maintain realistic timelines.

Question 4

DO YOU FOLLOW THE REQUIREMENTS FROM CENELEC STANDARDS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The CENELEC standards are the basis of our decades of professional experience, and we also track the latest updates to these standards. The CENELEC standards are mandatory for application in European projects. For projects around the world, this is subject to agreement with project stakeholders, particularly the responsible National Approval Authority and Assessment Bodies.

Question 5

DO YOU ALSO PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES OUTSIDE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We also support our clients outside the EU, for the railway projects around the world.

Question 6

DO YOU COMBINE FUNCTIONAL SAFETY WITH THE SCOPE OF CSM?

Accepted Answer

Yes. According to the European regulations from ERA (European Union Agency for Railways), this is in line with the current regulations and within the scope of our expertise. The client benefits from ordering one assessment from the responsible assessment body rather than to order two separate assessments.

Question 7

DO YOU CREATE NEW DOCUMENTATION THAT IS INTENDED FOR ASSESSMENT BODIES?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In alignment with clients we can create a complete document package for product safety and vehicle authorization.

Question 8

DO YOU SUPPORT CLIENTS FOR CORRECT TRANSLATION AND FORMATTING OF DOCUMENTATION?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Some translation agencies may produce final documentation containing incorrect technical terms that are atypical in the railway industry, particularly with regard to product safety and approval. Incorrect formatting or numerous typos may negatively impact the perception of technical documentation by authorities and assessment bodies.

Question 9

DO YOU OFFER PROFESSIONAL TRAINING?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The individual training programme, volume and level of detail are the subjects for alignment with our clients. The training workshops can take place either on-site at the client's location or via online platforms.

Question 10

DO YOU REVIEW OPERATIONAL MANUALS FOR ROLLING STOCK WITH REGARD TO SAFETY?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Current safety regulations require that any limitations and conditions relevant to safety be included in the operational and maintenance manual and accepted by the future operator.

Question 11

DO YOU OFFER VARIOUS TYPES OF CONTRACTS FOR CONSULTING SERVICES?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Depending on the scope of the project and the type of vehicle, we offer ‘time-based’, ‘package-based’ and ‘framework agreement’ contract types.

Question 12

ARE THE FEES STRUCTURED IN A TRANSPARENT WAY TO PROVIDE A CLEARER OVERVIEW OF COSTS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We provide and calculate our consulting services with a clear fee structure that typically contains the services from principle experts, professional junior consultants and students of engineering sciences.

Question 13

DO YOU HAVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR YOUR PRINCIPAL CONSULTING SERVICES?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We rely on our comprehensive professional expertise, efficiency, fairness, transparency, high quality and high value for money of our clients.

Question 14

DO YOU CREATE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE FAULT TREE ANALYSIS (FTA)?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We can create and develop both types of FTAs from scratch or review the client's drafts, optimise the FTAs and produce the complete FTA reports.

Question 15

DO YOU PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SMS) IN ACCORDANCE WITH EUROPEAN REGULATIONS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We support the manufacturers of Rail Vehicles and Rail Signaling Systems as well the Railway Operators to built-up, implement, evaluate the performance and improve the Safety Management Systems (SMS) in accordance with European regulations, e.g. (EU) 2018/762 and (EU) 2016/798.

Question 16

IS APPLICATION OF THE SIRF METHODOLOGY MANDATORY FOR AUTHORIZATION APPROVAL IN THE EU?

Accepted Answer

According to the current regulations from ERA (European Union Agency for Railways) the application of SIRF methodology in the EU is not mandatory.

However, for German projects and cross-border projects with partly operation on the German railway network,  application of the SIRF methodology is highly recommended, if the German authority EBA (Eisenbahn-Bundesamt) is responsible for granting the vehicle authorisation for placing in service.

We are well-versed in SIRF applications and can provide powerful support for your project with our long-term experience of SIRF/TeSiP in numerous European projects.

Question 17

WHAT TYPES OF AUTHORIZATIONS FOR RAIL VEHICLES ARE CURRENTLY DEFINED BY THE EUROPEAN RAILWAY AGENCY (ERA)?

Accepted Answer

The following types of rail vehicle authorization are currently defined by the ERA:
No authorization is required
First authorization
Renewed vehicle type authorization
Authorization for extended area of use
Authorization in conformity to type
New authorization

Question 18

WHAT TAKES A CREATED HAZARD LOG INTO ACCOUNT FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS?

Accepted Answer

The hazard logs created under our responsibility take into account the following aspects:

Hazards on the vehicle level
Hazards from the  relevant subsystems onboard
Hazards from the interfaces vehicle / infrastructure
Hazards related to a special vehicle type
Hazards from the climatic and geographic impacts

Question 19

THE EUROPEAN TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM ETCS IS NOW ALSO IN USE ON OTHER CONTINENTS. DO YOU SUPPORT PROJECTS OF THIS KIND?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We are pleased to share our expertise in ETCS and anticipate supporting projects of this kind outside Europe.

FAQ: YOUR QUESTIONS. OUR ANSWERS.