13 February 2025

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Business Spotlight



RPD



01268 822842
Info@rpd.co.uk
www.rpd.co.uk



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RPD Rail Professional Development














Rail Professional Development



Rail Professional Development (RPD), formed over 25 years ago and is the UK rail’s leading provider of operations, safety, competence management and learning solutions.

Feedback regularly confirms that RPD leads the industry in providing simple end-user led solutions to difficult challenges. When the industry was concerned about the risks of new inexperienced drivers, we developed a driver training programme that delivered significant results and significantly reduced risks – independently verified.

When organisations struggle to establish underlying cause, we developed and delivered a national rail accident investigation programme to over 2,000 Network Rail and TOC personnel – Annual SPAD numbers reduced significantly. When organisations are being pulled down by the time taken to administer assessment activities, we simplified the process, moved from simple compliance and refocussed assessment on assessment on what is meant to be a tool to develop staff performance. If you need to improve safety, compliance, efficiency or effectiveness, contact us.

We have demonstrated continued success over the past 25 years and pride ourselves on our customer service. We continue to look for new and simple solutions that deliver real improvement and reduce risk.

Assure Integrated Management System
A first for the rail industry, the Assure system includes learning management, training coordination, experience logging, document control and competence management into a single integrated platform, tailored specifically for the railway. Our team of in-house developers, supported by experienced rail experts, continue to develop Assure, always with the end-users in mind.

It delivers a simple audit trail of compliance with ROGS and allows trainers, assessors and managers to focus on staff development. It has grown to be a single sign-on platform, with all aspects aligned to the ORR’s Rail Safety Publication 1 (RSP1). This all being linked within a candidate’s profile.

Assure has been cited on a number of independent reports as ‘best practice for competence management’. ‘Simple and easy to use.’

Office of Rail and Road Approved training and examination centre
RPD have supported many train operators to develop driver training solutions, as well as helping them to become an ORR-Recognised training and examination centre. We further support this in our driver training ethos of active, experiential learning that has seen the quality of trained drivers improve, backed up by a significant reduction in post-qualified driver incidents. As an ORR-Recognised training and examination centre ourselves, we already work with train operators and deliver at least four Level 3 driver training apprenticeship cohorts per year, which allows operators to pick and choose when to send their trainees that fits best into their recruitment and training plans. End Point Assessment Organisation (Train Driver Level 3)

In 2021, Rail Professional Development became the second only End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) to deliver the Train Driver Level 3 End-Point Assessments (EPA) for the rail industry. Since then, we became approved by OfQUAL as an EPAO, as they became the Regulator of train driver apprenticeships in 2023. Our end point assessment process focuses on both the apprentice and the company’s needs. We offer remote and face-to-face assessments. This allows apprentices the opportunity to be assessed in an environment they prefer. We offer assessments 24 hours a day, seven days a week, reducing off-shift down time for operators. We were the first EPAO to deliver assessment in a single day, again reducing costs. We also offer an online booking system (EPA Assure), where you can see assessor availability and book directly, matching your roster requirements, allowing operators to select the most convenient time slot for all. Give us a call and find out how simple the EPA process can be.

European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)
For the past 12 years RPD Inspire have been involved in providing operational and technical support to ERTMS projects. Initially with the Cambrian, Great Western Mainline, Thameslink and most recently with the East Coast Digital Programme. We have been supporting passenger, freight, Charter and Heritage and OTM organisations to develop training programmes and operational solutions for drivers, maintenance and other staff affected by ETCS implementation. We have assisted with the specification, implementation and management of simulation as well as developing ETCS animations, eLearning and online supporting resources. Our programmes and approach make a real difference and are being adopted across the GR rail network.

Accredited training programmes and qualifications
We offer many operational training courses, City &Guilds Accredited Programmes and Qualifications that can also be customised to meet your specific needs. These include:
Practical Non-Technical Skills and Personal Protection Strategies
Investigation of Rail Accident and Incidents
Workplace Coaching, Assessing and Mentoring
Safety Critical Assessor
ETCS Trainer
Internal Quality Assurance
Major Incident Response (TOLO and SIO)
Participative and Core Trainer Skills

If you would like an informal chat to discuss how we can help you solve a challenge or deliver your training needs, please get in touch. RPD, the experienced and effective UK Operational Rail Consultancy.

Contact details

www.rpd.co.uk
Info@rpd.co.uk
01268 822842





Contact details

www.rpd.co.uk
Info@rpd.co.uk
01268 822842

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