Transportation_Technology_Practice_File

Exercise 2. Write a summary of the passage in English. Use the appropriate clichés.

WebProject

Work in groups. Research these topics and report your findings to the rest of the group.

1)Railway signalling in the United Kingdom.

2)Railroad signalling in the United States of America.

The following free sites may help: http://www.railway-technical.com/sigtxt1.shtml http://www.railway-technical.com/US-sig.shtml

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UNIT 11. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS IN MAINTENANCE DOCUMENTATION

Reading and translation

Exercise 1. The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the UK National Body providing the organisation, facilities and structure for the preparation of UK National Standards. Look at the following list and say what situations these documents regulate.

BS 3492 - 1987	(Current)		Specification for road and rail tanker hoses and hose
			assemblies for petroleum products, including aviation fuels
BS 5306-0 - 1986	(Current)		Fire extinguishing installations and equipment on
			premises. Guide for the selection of installed systems and
			other fire equipment
BS 5415-1 - 1985	(Current)		Safety of electrical motor-operated industrial and
			commercial cleaning appliances. Specification for general
			requirements
BS 5501-8: - 1988	(Current)		Electrical apparatus for potentially explosive atmospheres.
BS 6651 - 1999	(Current,		Code of Practice for protection of structures against
	work	in	lighting
	hand)
BS 7445 - 1: 2003	(Current)		Description and measurement of environmental noise.
			Guide to quantities and procedures
BS EN 894 - 1:	(Current)		Safety of machinery. Ergonomics requirements for the
1997			design of displays and control actuators. General principles
			for human interactions with displays and control actuators
BS EN 1755: 2000	(Current)		Safety of industrial trucks. Operation in potentially
			explosive atmospheres. Use in flammable gas, vapour,
			mist and dust

Exercise 2. What do you think an accident or hazard in an enterprise may follow? Discuss with a partner. Then read the passage below and check your predictions.

TECHNICAL MEASURES DOCUMENTS

Essential safety measures are central to ensuring a safe and healthy environment in an enterprise and proper equipment operation and maintenance is vital for life, safety and health of its staff. There are a number of technical measures documents refer to the maintenance procedures that are necessary to mitigate a major accident or hazard. The following aspects should be considered with respect to maintenance procedures: human factors; poorly skilled work force; unconscious and conscious incompetence; good maintainability principles; knowledge of failure rate and maintainability; clear criteria for recognition of faults and marginal performance.

The following issues may contribute towards a major accident or hazard:

—failure of safety critical equipment due to lack of maintenance;

—human error during maintenance;

—static or spark discharge during maintenance in an intrinsically safe zone;

—incompetence of maintenance staff;

—poor communication between maintenance and production staff.

Major hazards could arise from the following:

—the lack of control of spares such that incorrect materials or items outside specification (e.g. non-flameproof equipment) are used in replacement of plant items leading to increased risk of loss of containment, fire or explosion;

—failure to drain and/or isolate plant prior to dismantling causing release of flammable or toxic substances;

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—maintenance being performed incompetently (particularly alarm/action set points on instruments incorrectly set, alignment of couplings on pumps and agitators causing overheating, motors running in wrong direction, safety features left disconnected/dismantled, gaskets left out, bolts torqued incorrectly or bolts missing, non-return valves orientation incorrect, pipework/flexibles incorrectly connected/installed, pipeline spades/orifice plates left in/removed, relief valve springs overtightened, bursting discs orientation incorrect/left out);

—scheduled maintenance not being undertaken as required or breakdown maintenance inadequate, leading to unrevealed failures of safety critical items;

—lack of knowledge by maintenance staff of the working environment where maintenance is being carried out (i.e. lack of risk assessments, warning signs, method statements, emergency procedures), leading to ignition of flammable substances (e.g. heat sources such as cigarettes or welding, static and electrical discharge, use of non spark-resistant tools) or injury/fatality from incorrect personal protective equipment (e.g. respirators) being worn;

—unauthorised staff performing maintenance functions;

—failure to re-commission plant correctly after maintenance to ensure that operations are not adversely affected in terms of safety considerations (e.g. contamination, flow rate changes, heat transfer rate changes, mass transfer rate changes).

There are normative publications that can be used as guidance material relating to maintenance procedures in different countries.

COMAH Competent Authority Assessment and Inspection Procedure.

Free version 1/April 2010

Exercise 3. Explain the following statements.

1)Safe handling is vital for life, safety and health of enterprises’ staff.

2)Human factor (stress, fatigue, shift work, attitude) is crucial to safe environment of a plant.

3)Sufficient precautions are taken prior to maintenance of hazardous plant and equipment (isolation, draining, flushing, environmental monitoring, risk assessments, permits to work, communication, time allotted for the work).

Exercise 4. Find English equivalents to the following Russian phrases in the passage.

1)#-% , + ' #

2), ' 0 , + ' / +" ( / , # %

3)* &5 #& ' " # ! %( ' / (

4)0 # # ' ( " / ( * # '( " #&

5)' .5 ./ ( % ' # ( (* # 0 #, + ( ! +(.

6), ( . '( # + , .- " ! , ' 0 ! , + ' #

7)'( + " # . !

8)(* # ! # ( # (

Exercise 5. Make a summary of the passage in Russian. Work with a dictionary.

Exercise 6. Translate the first paragraph of the passage into Russian. Work with a dictionary.

Listening

Exercise 1. Before you watch a video about railway safety, try to predict the answers to these questions.

1)Who are tracks’ passers?

2)How many accidents involving tracks’ passers do usually happen on railway property across Canada?

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Exercise 2. Watch the video. Clap your hands when listen the following words. railway property, accident, tracks’ passers

Exercise 3. Watch again. In the following script differentiate (|) the logical segments and put punctuation marks.

Somepeoplemaythinktheycannotbebeatenbyoncomingtrainbutalocomotivethat seemsfarawaydownthetrackswillbeapartnerwithinsecondsTrainscannotstopquickly andcannotswervetoavoidpeopleonthetracksandrailwaycarsthatseemtobesitting quietlycansuddenlystarttomovewithoutwarningTrainscancomefromanydirectionandanytrackanda nytimeTracks’passersarepouringtheirlivesonaline.

Exercise 4. Check what you have remembered. Put the statements below into the correct order.

1)Two years ago we have 92 accidents involving tracks’ passers on railway property across Canada.

2)Susan Petrol often comes across children and teenagers playing on or around freight cars.

3)Last year the number rose to one hundred. Over 90% of these accidents were resulted in serious injuries or fatality.

4)For those people the Chief has a strong message of Zero-tolerance.

5)It’s a place where hundreds of tons of fast moving steel can kill in a split second. Serge Meloche has seen too much of these.

6)Trains cannot stop quickly and cannot swerve to avoid people on the tracks, and railway cars that seem to be sitting quietly can suddenly start to move without warning.

7)Some people may think they cannot be beaten by oncoming train, but a locomotive that seems faraway down the tracks will be a partner within seconds.

8)Trains can come from any direction and any track and any time.

Language spot

Past tenses review and Imperative

Exercise 1. When we describe an accident, we use past tenses. Look at the piece of Railroad Accident Report about fatal collision between a Super Voyager train and a car at Copmanthorpe. Find all past tense verbs.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copmanthorpe_train_accident

Exercise 2. Write a list of recommendations for car drivers crossing the railway lines. Use Imperative forms of the verbs.

Writing

Exercise 1. Read the text below about railway safety and write answers to the following questions.

1)Why does the Safety Directive focus on only four major aspects of railway safety in European Union Member States? What are they?

2)Is it possible for the new national rues to be in line with European Community legislation and facilitate migration towards a common approach to railway safety? How?

3)Why different national safety certificates are an obstacle to the development of the European railway system?

4)Is it necessary for each Member State to establish an independent safety authority? Why or why not?

5)What problems with serious train accidents are described in the article?

RAILWAY SAFETY

There are currently different national approaches to railway safety, different targets and different methods applied. Technical standards, the rolling stock and the certification of staff and railway undertakings differ from one Member State to another and have not been adapted to the needs of an integrated European rail system.

In this connection, the Directive focuses on four major aspects:

1)the setting up, in each Member State, of an authority responsible for supervising safety;

2)the mutual recognition of safety certificates delivered in the Member States;

3)the establishment of common safety indicators (CSIs) in order to assess that the system complies with the common safety targets (CSTs) and facilitate the monitoring of railway safety performance;

4)the definition of common rules for safety investigations.

The Directive applies to the railway system of the Member States and covers safety requirements for the system as a whole, including infrastructure and traffic management, and the interaction between railway undertakings and infrastructure managers.

Development and management of safety

Safety rules and standards, such as operating rules, signalling rules, requirements on staff and technical requirements applicable to rolling stock have been devised mainly nationally. Under the regulations currently in force, a variety of bodies deal with safety.

These national safety rules, which are often based on national technical standards, should gradually be replaced by rules based on common standards, established by technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs). The new national rues should be in line with Community legislation and facilitate migration towards a common approach to railway safety. The Commission has the power to suspend the implementation of a national safety rule for a maximum of six months.

In this connection, the Member States will ensure that:

•railway safety is generally maintained and continuously improved, taking into consideration the development of Community legislation;

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•safety rules are laid down, applied and enforced in an open and non-discriminatory manner;

•responsibility for the safe operation of the railway system and the control of risks associated with it is borne by the infrastructure managers and railway undertakings;

•information is collected on common safety indicators through annual reports in order to

assess the achievement of the CSTs and monitor the general development of railway safety.

In order to coordinate the different rules, a distinction must be drawn between two sets of actors:

•infrastructure managers, which are bodies or companies responsible, in particular for establishing, building and maintaining infrastructure or a part of it, and safety. In some Member States, however, safety may be delegated to railway undertakings.

•Railway undertakings, which are public or private undertakings engaged in the supply of goods and/or passenger transport services by rail.

Safety certification

In order to be granted access to the railway infrastructure, a railway undertaking must hold a safety certificate. This safety certificate may cover the whole railway network of a Member State or only a defined part thereof.

The fact that national safety certificates differ is an obstacle to the development of the European railway system. The ultimate objective is to arrive at the introduction of a single Community certificate. In other words, if a railway undertaking obtains a safety certificate in a Member State, that certificate should be the subject of mutual recognition in another Member State.

The safety certificate should give evidence that the railway undertaking has established its safety management system and is able to comply with the requirements defined in the TSIs, with Community law and with the national safety rules. For international transport services it should be enough to approve the safety management system in one Member State and give the approval Community validity. Adherence to national laws on the other hands should be subject to additional certification in each Member State.

The safety certificate must be renewed upon application by the railway undertaking at intervals not exceeding five years. It must be wholly or partly updated whenever the type or extent of the operation is substantially altered.

A railway undertaking applying for authorisation to place rolling stock in service in another Member State will submit a technical file concerning the rolling stock or type of rolling stock to the relevant safety authority, indicating its intended use on the network.

In addition to the safety requirements laid down in the certificate, licensed railway undertakings must comply with national requirements, compatible with Community law and applied in a nondiscriminatory manner, relating to health, safety and social conditions, including legal provisions relating to driving time, and the rights of workers and consumers.

An essential aspect of safety is the training and certification of staff, particularly of train drivers. The training covers operating rules, the signalling system, the knowledge of routes and emergency procedures.

Maintenance of vehicles

Before it is placed in service or used on the network, each vehicle is assigned a maintenance entity (which may be, in particular, a railway undertaking or an infrastructure manager). The entity ensures the working order of vehicles by introducing a system of maintenance in accordance with the vehicle’s maintenance book and the applicable safety requirements.

National safety authority

Each Member State must establish a safety authority which is independent from railway undertakings, infrastructure managers, applicants for certificates and procurement entities. It will respond promptly to requests and applications, communicate its requests for information without delay and adopt all its decisions within four months after all requested information has been provided.

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The safety authority will carry out all inspections and investigations that are needed for the accomplishment of its tasks and be granted access to all relevant documents and to premises, installations and equipment of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings.

Each year the safety authority will publish a report concerning its activities in the preceding year and send it to the agency by 30 September at the latest.

Accident and incident investigations

Serious train accidents, such as derailments and collisions with fatal consequences, occur rarely, but when they do they attract public interest and the interest of safety professionals all over Europe.

Criteria governing the independence of the investigating body are strictly defined so that this body has no link with the various actors of the sector. This body decides whether or not an investigation of such an accident or incident should be undertaken, and determines the extent of investigations and the procedure to be followed. The investigations should be carried out with as much openness as possible, so that all parties can be heard and can share the results. The relevant infrastructure manager and railway undertakings, the safety authority, victims and their relatives, owners of damaged property, manufacturers, the emergency services involved and representatives of staff and users should be regularly informed of the investigation and its progress.

Each investigation of an accident or incident will be the subject of reports in a form appropriate to the type and seriousness of the accident or incident and the importance of the investigation findings.

Each Member State must ensure that investigations of accidents and incidents are conducted by a permanent body, which comprises at least one investigator able to perform the function of investigator–in–charge in the event of an accident or incident.

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/transport/rail_transport/l24201a_en.htm

WebProject

Case studies illustrate the importance of maintenance procedures. Find information about one of them and report your findings to the rest of the class.

The following site may help: http://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/sragtech/techmeasmaintena.htm

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UNIT 12. CARRIAGE OF DANGEROUS GOODS

Reading and translation

Exercise 1. Look at the following table and explain the relation between dangerous goods’ classes and transport categories.

Dangerous Goods	Transport category
Infectious substances in risk group 4	0
Packing Group I goods	1
Toxic gases
Organic peroxides type b or c
Self-reactive substances type b or c
Temperature controlled substances
Infectious substances in risk group 3
Packing Group II goods, other than those specified elsewhere	2
Flammable gases
Infectious substances in risk group 2
Packing Group III goods, other than those specified elsewhere	3
Non-flammable, non-toxic gases
UN 2990, UN 3072
Any other dangerous goods not listed elsewhere
Empty, uncleaned packaging (except those containing infectious	4
substances in risk group 4 and toxic gases)

Exercise 2. What modes of transport are used to carry dangerous goods? What do we do to carry them safely? Now read the passage and check your answers.

Carriage of dangerous goods

§1. When transported dangerous goods need to be packaged correctly as laid out in the various international and national regulations for each mode of transport to ensure that they are carried safely to minimise the risk of an incident. There are four different modes of transport which dangerous goods are carried: road, rail, sea and air.

However, transporting goods by road or rail involves the risk of traffic accidents. If the goods carried are dangerous, eg. petrol or chemicals, there is also the risk of an incident, such as spillage of the goods, causing hazards such as fire, explosion, chemical burn or environmental damage. For this reason there are regulations which deal with the transport of dangerous goods. Their aim is to minimise the risk of spillage etc. but, if spillages do occur, to make it easier for the emergency services to deal with them. The regulations place a duty upon those involved in the carriage of dangerous goods to ensure that they know about the measures needed to minimise such risks. Table 1 shows some abbreviations for various regulations applying to the transport of dangerous goods.

Most goods are not considered sufficiently dangerous to need special precautions during transport. However, some goods have properties which mean they could present a danger while being carried, such as explosive, toxic, corrosive or flammable substances. If you wish to carry such goods, you need to identify the hazards first. This process is called classification.

§2. Dangerous goods should be packaged so that they do not escape during handling and carriage. The packages used should be suitable and adequate.

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Table 1- Abbreviations for regulations applying to the transport of dangerous goods

Abbreviation	Regulation
ACL	Approved Carriage List: Information approved for the carriage of dangerous
	goods by road and rail other than explosives and radioactive material.
ARCRR	Approved Requirements for the packaging, labelling and carriage of
	radioactive material by rail.
ARTM	Approved Requirements and test methods for the classification and packaging
	of dangerous goods for carriage.
ATR	Approved Tank Requirements: The provisions for bottom loading and vapour
	recovery systems of mobile containers carrying petrol.
CDGCPL2	Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) and
	Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles Regulations.
CDGRail2	Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail Regulations.
CER ACOP	Suitability of vehicles and containers and limits on quantities for the carriage
	of explosives.
CLER	Classification and Labelling of Explosives Regulations.
PEC	Packaging of Explosives for Carriage Regulations.
RAMRail	Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail
	Regulations.
TDGSA	Transport of Dangerous Goods (Safety Advisers) Regulations.

This means that they must be able to withstand the normal conditions of transport (such as vibration, humidity, pressure or heavy braking), or the normal stresses of handling during loading and unloading, so that the risk of leakage is minimised.

§ 3. Dangerous goods in packages need to be labeled according to their classification. Labels should be clearly visible so that everyone involved is aware of the potential hazards.

For rail transport, if you are an operator of a container, tank container, tank wagon or wagon, you should make sure that the operator of a train, which is to carry dangerous goods, is provided with the necessary carriage information about those goods. Train operators, in turn, need to pass the information to the infrastructure controller on whose railway the goods are to be carried.

Any vehicle, container, tank or wagon used to carry dangerous goods should be suitable for the purpose. For example, some dangerous goods (radioactive materials) are allowed to be carried in tanks. Carriage in bulk is the carriage of solid dangerous goods without packaging.

If a vehicle carrying dangerous goods is involved in any sort of accident or incident, the appropriate emergency action needs to be taken. Drivers must follow the emergency instructions provided and, if necessary, notify the emergency services by the quickest and safest method.

Exercise 3. Explain the following statements. Work in pairs.

1)Transporting goods by rail involves the risk of traffic accidents.

2)When transported dangerous goods the various international and national regulations for each mode of transport are used.

3)If you wish to carry dangerous goods, you need to identify their hazards.

Exercise 4. Find English equivalents to the following Russian phrases in the passage.

1)' . ( +.

2)* " ( " . ) & . '(

3)( % " (-#( ' (# .- '( 5 # /

4)'( " #& ' #&

5)." ( #& # " (# . ! #( ' (# ( %

6)' ( +% ( + ( +%

7)	( +( 5 # ! ' ( + #& ) # (-

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8)' ( +% ' .- ( + , + ' % %

9) #( %) ! ' " / # !* ( / .- # ) !-

10)* (% ( 4# ! # # # - %$% ) /

Exercise 5. Translate the first paragraph of the passage into Russian. Work with a dictionary.

Exercise 6. Study the table presented in the second paragraph of the passage. Do you know similar Russian regulations applying to the transport of dangerous goods?

Exercise 7. Make a short summary of the third paragraph of the passage in Russian.

Listening

Exercise 1. Before you watch a video about railway safety, discuss the answers to these questions.

1)What makes trains potential weapon of mass destruction?

2)How to protect people from terrorism on railways?

Exercise 2. Watch the video. Write the numbers you hear.

Exercise 3. Watch again. In the following script differentiate the logic parts (|) and put punctuation marks.

Everydaymorethanonemilliontonsofhazardousmaterialsaretransportedbyrailwaytankcarstravelby homesschoolshospitalstothemiddleofcitiesandalongourhighwaysOverthenextdecadedemandof radioactivewastestobecarriedbyrailwillgrowsubstantiallyAsinglerealhazmatinstanthasthe potentialtokillhundredsofthousandswithinminutesAndyetthereisglobalqualitytrainingofthosewho wouldbeaffectedmostrailworkersemergencyrespondersandcitizensinrailcommunitiesWhatmakes trainspotentialweaponofmassdestructionTonesofdeadlycargoinsidesometankers

Exercise 4. Check what you remember. Put the statements below in the correct order.

1)Since 2001 a federal government has invested 20 billion dollars for caring the airlines. Last spending was 250 million for securing the rails.

2)A single real hazmat instant has the potential to kill hundreds of thousands within minutes.

3)84 % of rail workers nationwide said they have not received any training related to terrorism prevention.

4)A government report says just one tanker of chlorine could kill a hundred thousand people in a half hours’ time.

5)Trains are loaded with hazardous materials are staying out of secure for hours any time.

6)Trains are moving millions of tons of hazardous materials each year.

Language spot

Phrase, Compound and Participle prepositions

Exercise 1. Read the following passage quickly to find Phrase prepositions. What other Phrase prepositions do you know?

The large quantities of hazardous material could cause serious problems of exposure of personnel and environment. Dangerous goods are often shipped subject to chemical regulations. In spite of their use, no amount of preparation for a worst-case accident is ever enough. In consequence of that, minimizing risk of an accident is imperative. In the event of accident, loss of containment occurs and the contents of the car or shipping container spill onto the ground. In conformity with emergency instructions, all of the groups in a rail organization are involved in

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