A memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at improving professionalism within the railway engineering and railway inspector fields was signed between the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) and the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) last month at ECSA’s offices in Bruma, Johannesburg.
The MoU serves to ensure that railway inspectors and engineers have the necessary educational training, including that attained through continuing professional development (CPD), to perform engineering work in the railway industry.
Present at the signing ceremony were ECSA CEO Sipho Madonsela and RSR CEO Nkululeko Poya, as well as several executives and specialists from both organisations.
Poya noted that the MoU was an agreement of “good things”, particularly in enhancing the quality of railway operations and engineering, thereby improving railway safety. “This will unlock extraordinary opportunities for collaboration and benchmarking of best practice between the two entities.”
The MoU sets out six key areas for cooperation between the RSR and ECSA, including cooperation to limit the duplication of processes and facilitate the process of professional registration with ECSA. The sharing of information is also encouraged to benchmark best practice.
It further aims to promote recognition of qualifications that railway inspectors complete through the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations or higher education institutions. CPD courses offered by RSR will also be accredited accordingly.
The MoU aims to establish specified categories for inspectors as the need arises, and promote collaboration on matters of public safety in the railway industry.
The MoU has been in effect since September 15 and will span two years.