PTS - Personal Track Safety COSS Roles and Responsibilities Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A COSS is setting up a Safe System of Work (SSOW) before work commences. Which of the following is a mandatory action the COSS must complete with every member of the workgroup?
- Ask each person to read the work pack individually.
- Ensure every individual has personally signed the safety briefing form to confirm their understanding. (Correct answer)
- Verbally list the potential hazards without requiring acknowledgement.
- Check that each person has their own copy of the Rule Book.
Correct answer: Ensure every individual has personally signed the safety briefing form to confirm their understanding.
The COSS is responsible for briefing the entire team on the SSOW. A critical part of this process is ensuring each individual confirms they have understood the briefing by signing the official record, typically the NR3181 or a similar form. This creates a formal record of the briefing being delivered and understood.
Question 2: A new team member arrives at a worksite midway through a shift. What is the COSS's primary responsibility towards this individual before they are allowed to proceed to the work area?
- Assign them a simple task away from the main work.
- Tell them to get a quick handover from the nearest team member.
- Provide them with a full safety briefing, including the SSOW, access points, and hazards, and ensure they understand it. (Correct answer)
- Verify their Sentinel card and send them straight to the site supervisor.
Correct answer: Provide them with a full safety briefing, including the SSOW, access points, and hazards, and ensure they understand it.
The COSS is responsible for the safety of every person in their group. Any individual joining the group, regardless of when they arrive, must receive a full and comprehensive safety briefing from the COSS before they can start any work or even enter the site of work.
Question 3: During a work task, visibility suddenly and severely deteriorates due to thick fog, making the lookout-based Safe System of Work (SSOW) potentially unsafe. What is the correct and immediate action for the COSS to take?
- Contact the signaller and request that all trains are cautioned.
- Instruct the lookouts to use audible warnings more frequently.
- Tell the team to work faster to finish the job before conditions worsen further.
- Stop all work immediately and move the group to a position of safety until the SSOW can be re-evaluated. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Stop all work immediately and move the group to a position of safety until the SSOW can be re-evaluated.
The COSS has the ultimate responsibility and authority to maintain safety. If conditions change and the current SSOW is no longer adequate (e.g., lookouts cannot see the required distance), the COSS must stop all work immediately. Work cannot resume until a safe system, appropriate for the new conditions, is established.
Question 4: Who holds the sole responsibility for implementing the Safe System of Work (SSOW) and serves as the single point of contact for safety for a workgroup on or near the line?
- The most senior person in the workgroup.
- The Person in Charge of Possession (PICOP).
- The Controller of Site Safety (COSS). (Correct answer)
- The signaller in charge of the section.
Correct answer: The Controller of Site Safety (COSS).
The Controller of Site Safety (COSS) is the designated competent person responsible for the safety of a workgroup. They implement the SSOW and are the single point of contact for all safety matters relating to that group, ensuring everyone is protected from train movements.
Question 5: A COSS must check the Sentinel card of every member of their workgroup. According to Sentinel scheme rules, when must this check be performed?
- Only on the first day the person works with the group.
- At the end of the shift when signing everyone out.
- Every time an individual reports for duty with their workgroup for a shift. (Correct answer)
- Only when instructed to do so by a Network Rail manager.
Correct answer: Every time an individual reports for duty with their workgroup for a shift.
Sentinel rules mandate that a competence and fitness-to-work check must be carried out by the COSS for every person, every time they join the workgroup for a shift. This ensures that everyone on site has the current and valid competencies required for the work.
Question 6: Which of the following documents is the primary record used by a COSS to deliver the site safety briefing and to have each team member physically sign to acknowledge their understanding of the Safe System of Work?
- The Sectional Appendix.
- The Personal Track Safety (PTS) handbook.
- A blank page in the COSS's personal diary.
- The Site Safety Briefing form (e.g., NR3181). (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The Site Safety Briefing form (e.g., NR3181).
The Site Safety Briefing form (historically forms like the RT9909, and now often incorporated into systems with forms like the NR3181 for line blockages) is the official document where the COSS records the details of the briefing and each member of the group signs to confirm they have received and understood it.
PTS - Personal Track Safety COSS Roles and Responsibilities Questions and Answers
A COSS is setting up a Safe System of Work (SSOW) before work commences.
Which of the following is a mandatory action the COSS must complete with every member of the workgroup?