MMRA

We have experience in the assurance procedures applicable to different types of guided transportation system and offer advice and guidance on how to compile safety management systems to meet the requirements of the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations.

Railway services:

• Approved Body (ApBo)
• Designated Body (DeBo)
• CSM-RA Assessment Body (AsBo)
• Independent Safety Assessor (ISA)
• Independent Competent Person (ICP)

MMRA, a member of the Mott MacDonald Group, was established to provide independent assurance, inspection and certification services.

One of MMRA's activities is to assess, audit and certify FRMS to the BS 9997:2019 standard, developed by BSI. MMRA is the first Certification Body to be formally Accredited by UKAS as a Third Party Certification Body. MMRA can offer assessment and certification of a fire risk management system to the BS 9997:2019 standard.

What is BS:9997?

The introduction of the British Standards Institution (BSI) BS 9997:2019 – Fire risk management systems standard presents requirements for an organisational fire risk management system (FRMS), providing the basis to build a resilient and robust management system.

Who needs BS:9997?

• Organisations that operate on multiple sites.
• Separate management divisions within an organisation.
• Individual premises within a single entity.

It is applicable to any organisation, regardless of its type or size, or the products and services it provides

For any enquiries please contact us at frms@mmra-cert.com.

Fire Risk Management System certification flyer (PDF).

Certification

Download our certification process.

Impartiality

MMRA Limited is a Mott MacDonald Group company which undertakes certification assessments. It is entirely separate from Mott MacDonald Ltd, the organisation which carries out consultancy works. MMRA is managed by the Head of MMRA.

MMRA has an established Impartiality procedure.

This scope of the procedure is to ensure that:

• certificates are issued after an impartial and independent assessment has successfully been carried out;

• staff used by MMRA have no conflict of interest;

The procedure also ensures that each member of MMRA staff, including contracted personnel and consultants shall:

• have had no involvement with any activities carried out by others that may create a conflict of interest;

• have signed confidentiality agreements;

MMRA staff sign a confidentiality agreement confirming that they will:

• treat as confidential all information, including customer information, which comes to their notice in the course of, or in connection with, their role within the Company. The observance of strict confidentiality in relation to the Company’s business is a constant condition of a person’s role and continued employment within the Company.

Where a client requires that MMRA staff sign a specific confidentiality agreement, a copy shall be retained in the project files and be available for review on request.

Railway interoperability

MMRA is appointed by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) as an Approved Body (formerly Notified Body/ NoBo) under the Railway (Interoperability) Regulations and is authorised to carry out statutory conformity verification of railway subsystems and constituents. Because of this, MMRA has developed significant capability in technical surveillance and certification on both conventional and high speed railway networks.

UK legislation requires project entities to comply with all relevant Regulations when seeking authorisation for bringing infrastructure, apparatus and rolling stock into service. Railways have to conform to 'Essential Requirements', and conform to the appropriate published National Technical Specification Notices (NTSN's).

An Approved Body (ApBo)

Approved Bodies are independent organisations responsible for assessing the conformity of products and railway subsystems with regard to the requirements of the UK Railways (Interoperability) Regulations and associated technical specifications and NTSN's.

MMRA has the capability to support projects in areas of compliance against NTSN's across all subsystems including:

• Infrastructure
• Energy
• Control-Command and Signalling (Trackside and Onboard)
• Rolling Stock
• Rolling Stock – Noise
• Safety in Railway Tunnels
• Persons with Reduced Mobility
• Operations

MMRA is also appointed by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) as a Designated Body under the UK Railways (Interoperability) Regulations and is authorised to carry out statutory conformity verification of railway subsystems and constituents according to the requirements of the UK National Technical Rules (NTRs).

Designated Body (DeBo) – In the UK, a DeBo is responsible for verifying project compliance with UK National Technical Rules. The appointment of each UK DeBo is made by the Department for Transport based on recommendations from UKAS.

Common Safety Method - Risk Evaluation & Assessment (CSM-RA)

Independent Assessment Body (AsBo) – A body undertaking the independent assessment of the application of the risk management process and suitability of a system to fulfill its safety requirements in accordance with the CSM-RA 402/2013.

From January 2021, the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (as amended) (ROGS) requires an Assessment Body to meet the requirements for accreditation or recognition as detailed in Annex II of the CSM-RA.

All main line infrastructure managers, entities in charge of maintenance and railway undertakings in the UK are required to have established arrangements (set out in their authorised safety management systems) by which they carry out assessments of changes to their undertaking. This includes changes to vehicles or infrastructure, as well as organisational changes impinging on the safe operation of their undertaking, in accordance with the CSM-RA.

The Assessment Body role is related to the assessment of the processes used to manage the risks that could arise from changes being carried out to vehicles, infrastructure or organisations on the main line railway under the provisions of the CSM-RA.

MMRA also carries out Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) and safety audits on railway systems, sub-systems, equipment and associated safety cases in order to provide confidence that the necessary level of safety has been achieved.

These Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) reviews cover the safety aspects of rolling stock, signalling, electrification and telecommunications, and all associated infrastructure and system interfaces.

In addition, we review total system safety cases for completeness and robustness of safety arguments. Railway operators are required to demonstrate that the risks associated with a transport system are both tolerable in comparison with national risk acceptance criteria – in the UK this is a reduction of the risk 'so far as is reasonably practicable' (SFAIRP) – and common safety targets.

We recommend to clients that independent safety assessments are undertaken from project commencement to avoid costly re-design and abortive work arising from the late identification of unprotected safety issues.

Non-mainline railway

MMRA can also act as an Independent Competent Person (ICP) to provide Safety Verification (SV) sevices where applicable.

An Independent Competent Person (ICP) is an individual or an organisation who:

• has sufficient skills, knowledge, experience and resources to undertake the safety verification in relation to which they are appointed
• has not borne such responsibility in relation to any of the matters that have to be considered in undertaking the safety verification that might compromise their objectivity, and
• is sufficiently independent of a management system, or a part thereof, which has borne responsibility for any of the matters that have to be considered in undertaking the safety verification, to ensure that they will be objective in carrying out the safety verification for which they have been appointed.

MMRA has been accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to perform independent assessment against the requirements of the Canadian Method for Risk Evaluation and Assessment (CMREA, CSA R114 EXP11:20), EN 50126 and associated standards (EN 50128, EN 50129).

MMRA Ltd. | Standards Council of Canada (scc-ccn.ca)

The CMREA defines the process for identifying and managing safety risk for the operational railway and applies to changes to vehicles or infrastructure, as well as organisational changes affecting safe operation.

Under its accredited ISA role, MMRA offers independent assessment of the project safety documentation and safety cases, reporting on the effective management and mitigation of the safety risk associated with the project works, throughout the design development and entry into service stages.

Regular engagement and progressive reviews support the project submissions and assist in building confidence that the project safety management activities are performed consistently and effectively.