PTC System Safety Assessment

49CFR236 Appendix F covers "Minimum Requirements of FRA Directed Independent Third-Party Assessment of PTC System Safety Verification and Validation".

HCRQ provides this service.

This should come as no surprise; afterall, in addition to being system safety and software safety experts, we were the first PTC system safety consultants.

We also provide support for 49CFR236 Appendix D "Independent Review of Verification and Validation". "This appendix provides minimum requirements for independent third-party assessment of product safety verification and validation pursuant to subpart H of this part. The goal of this assessment is to provide an independent evaluation of the product manufacturer’s utilization of safety design practices during the product’s development and testing phases, as required by the applicable railroad’s RSPP, the product PSP, the requirements of subpart H of this part, and any other previously agreed-upon controlling documents or standards."

Unlike others, perhaps, our intent is not to break your bank in the process of performing this work. Our intent is to provide you with a thorough, credible, professional assessment.

By the way, a word of warning: BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL when you contract out this activity. What by far constitutes the bulk of any PTC system? Software. Do you really want to trust this level of scrutiny to consultants with limited software safety experience? How many years of software safety experience do they have? We have 23 years. Do they know anything about software safety? We know the other knowledgable software safety consultants out there. Let's see now, how many of them have railroad system experience? Hmmm.

For more information regarding this service contact Charles Walken.