PTS PTS - Personal Track Safety COSS Roles and Responsibilities 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a COSS is managing a work group on or near the line, what is their primary duty regarding safe system of work documents?
- File them with the site office before starting work
- Carry them personally and make them available for inspection at all times (Correct answer)
- Email copies to the possession manager at the start of each shift
- Display them on a notice board at the nearest station
Correct answer: Carry them personally and make them available for inspection at all times
The COSS must carry safe system of work documents personally and be able to produce them for inspection at any time during the work.
Question 2: A COSS notices a worker in the group has not signed the site-specific risk assessment. What must the COSS do?
- Allow the worker to proceed if they verbally confirm understanding
- Ensure the worker reads and signs the risk assessment before commencing work (Correct answer)
- Note the omission in the site diary and continue
- Contact the contractor's office to arrange a later signature
Correct answer: Ensure the worker reads and signs the risk assessment before commencing work
All workers must read and sign the risk assessment before work begins; the COSS is responsible for ensuring this happens.
Question 3: Under what circumstance may a COSS hand over responsibility to another COSS mid-task?
- At any time provided a verbal briefing is given
- Never — COSS responsibility cannot be transferred once a task starts
- Only when documented in writing and the incoming COSS has been fully briefed (Correct answer)
- When the possession engineer gives verbal approval
Correct answer: Only when documented in writing and the incoming COSS has been fully briefed
A formal written handover and full briefing of the incoming COSS are required before responsibility can be transferred.
Question 4: What action must a COSS take if a Safe Work Leader (SWL) reports that a worker has become unfit for track work during the shift?
- Record the incident and allow the worker to rest on site
- Remove the unfit worker from the track area immediately and report to the PICOP (Correct answer)
- Continue the task and report at the post-work debrief
- Reduce the worker's duties until they recover
Correct answer: Remove the unfit worker from the track area immediately and report to the PICOP
An unfit worker must be removed from the track environment immediately and the Person in Charge of Possession (PICOP) notified.
Question 5: Which statement best describes the COSS's responsibility regarding track clearance times?
- The COSS may extend the clearance time if work is unfinished, with signaller approval
- The COSS must ensure all workers and equipment are clear of the line before the agreed clearance time (Correct answer)
- Clearance times are managed solely by the possession engineer, not the COSS
- The COSS can negotiate a later clearance time directly with the driver
Correct answer: The COSS must ensure all workers and equipment are clear of the line before the agreed clearance time
The COSS is responsible for ensuring the line is clear of all personnel and equipment by the agreed clearance time, without exception.
Question 6: A COSS is responsible for a group working in a non-possession area protected by lookout. What must the COSS confirm before work starts?
- That all lookouts are carrying working communication devices and know the warning signal (Correct answer)
- That the signaller has been notified of their exact work location only
- That at least one worker per sub-group holds a PTS card
- That the infrastructure manager has approved the lookout arrangement
Correct answer: That all lookouts are carrying working communication devices and know the warning signal
The COSS must verify that all lookouts have working communications and that the agreed warning and acknowledgment signals are understood before any work begins.
Question 7: Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the COSS during a track safety briefing?
- Describing escape routes and places of safety
- Explaining the protection arrangements in place
- Issuing formal possession documents to each worker (Correct answer)
- Confirming workers' fitness and understanding of the briefing
Correct answer: Issuing formal possession documents to each worker
Formal possession documents are held and managed by the PICOP, not distributed by the COSS during a safety briefing.
PTS PTS - Personal Track Safety COSS Roles and Responsibilities 3
When a COSS is managing a work group on or near the line, what is their primary duty regarding safe system of work documents?