Meet the team - being an inspector
Working as an RAIB Inspector brings many challenges......and rewards
Winston Rasaiah
I joined RAIB in 2004 when it was forming. It was a difficult decision at the time - why leave a job that I enjoyed? Why take a chance on a new organisation? What would it be like starting afresh in my career, as an investigator?
As I look back, fifteen years later, I have never regretted the choice I made to join RAIB and can honestly say it has been a completely engaging, enjoyable and rewarding experience. There are many reasons why, but here are some of the important ones.
I was ready for a new challenge, to step out of my comfort zone and learn new skills. I also wanted my work to make a real difference in improving railway safety. The training RAIB provided was comprehensive and really equipped me for the role of an investigator, but there was still a steep learning curve on the job and you never stop learning how to be a better investigator. Inspectors are trained to be able to investigate any type of railway accident in our scope, even something we may not know anything about at the start of an investigation. Some aspects of the job can be daunting at first, such as taking charge of an accident site, but you soon get used to it and there is always help and advice on hand from colleagues.
I have acquired a lot of new skills and knowledge along the way about the railways and accident investigation, in particular. I have also had the chance to develop relevant skills and knowledge that I joined with, by getting involved with related investigations, participating in conferences and providing training and assistance to colleagues and assisting investigators from other countries. We have a system within RAIB which encourages Inspectors to develop relevant home skills. Keeping up to date with investigation skills and knowledge is important in the RAIB, and one day a month is devoted to organised refresher training.
As an RAIB Inspector, you get to investigate a wide variety of railway accidents and incidents, and each one is a completely new experience. You learn a lot from each investigation because of the depth you have to go into, and you get to meet many different people, from those who were directly involved or affected by an accident, to senior decision makers in industry. There are no dull moments during an investigation.
Leading an investigation from start to finish and understanding what really happened and why is often challenging, but its always very rewarding and gives me a real sense of job satisfaction. RAIB has the legal powers and independence that Inspectors need to conduct thorough and objective investigations and that really helps us to do our job. One of my main objectives when I first joined RAIB, was to be able to directly contribute to improving railway safety and this job certainly ticks that box.
Each investigation and published report is the product of your own work and contributions from many colleagues along the way. So team working in the RAIB is important, and being a small friendly organisation with no internal barriers, really helps with this. There is always help and advice at hand and each investigation is supported by an investigation manager and specialist colleagues. You never have to carry the weight of an investigation on your own shoulders.