Rail Professional Magazine (June 2026) Article: Behavioural Safety Beyond the Front Line
A new collaborative feature in Rail Professional Magazine explores how the Occupational Psychology Centre (OPC) supported the South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA) in strengthening behavioural safety, decision-making and psychological safety across a complex multi-organisation delivery environment.
The programme was developed in response to a growing recognition that modern rail risk is often shaped not only by major hazards, but also by how people recognise and respond to operational change, and by the decisions they make in response.
The alliance-wide programme brought together directors, senior leaders, designers, engineers, supervisors, frontline teams, suppliers and contingent labour to explore how behaviour, communication, operational change and psychological safety influence safe delivery.
“We wanted people to recognise that safety is not static. Plans evolve, conditions change and priorities shift. We need people at every level to feel empowered to stop, reassess, challenge and speak up if something doesn’t feel right.”
Nick Matthews, Head of Transformation at SRSA
Operational change formed one of the major themes of the workshops. One specific topic explored was “normalisation of deviance”, where small, unintentional changes can gradually become accepted as normal when no immediate negative outcome occurs. Over time, this can make it harder to recognise increasing risk.
“What made the programme particularly powerful was bringing together people from different organisations, disciplines and levels of seniority to explore the same challenges. That created opportunities for shared learning and a broader appreciation of the challenges faced across the delivery chain that can influence safety outcomes.’’
Laura Hedley, Head of Consultancy and Talent Services at the OPC
The article also shares some of the wider themes covered in the workshops including: psychological safety, creating an environment where everyone feels safe to speak up, Non-Technical Skills (NTS) and generally creating a culture that values strong and positive safety behaviours across the alliance partners and suppliers.
Feedback from the workshops was immensely positive, with more than 90% of participants agreeing the workshop would help improve their personal safety. The project has also led to a further NTS Skills programme within SRSA’s signalling division.
You can read the full article here to discover how SRSA and the OPC approached behavioural safety, operational change and decision-making across a complex delivery environment.
To find out how the OPC could support your organisation with behavioural safety, psychological safety and safer decision-making in complex operational environments, get in touch with the team.