[Printable page]

STANDARD DESCRIPTION

Black 5 Under team

Promoted by UNIFE and supported by system integrators and equipment manufacturers, IRIS (International Railway Industry Standard) intends to complement the internationally recognized ISO 9001 quality standard. IRIS is unique to the railway industry and an extension of ISO 9001.

The UNIFE initiative is modelled on similar quality standards already in place in the aerospace, automotive and food industries.

IRIS intends to develop and establish an internationally recognized standard that encompasses the actual evaluation process as well as an audit and scoring methodology.

To ensure independency, equipment manufacturers will be able to apply for the IRIS certificate from the certification body of their choice. All equipment manufacturers are thus able to seek certification based on the new standard. This certificate will replace individual evaluation by at least the four founders of this initiative (Alstom Transport, AnsaldoBreda, Siemens Transportation and Bombardier Transportation).

From the 19th of June 2008, the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) is applicable also to companies providing maintenance services in the railway business

Background

For the railway industry, the liberalization of European rail transport poses a particular challenge. Due to the increasing competitive pressure, especially in the EU's goods market, what the railways need most are "ready to run" transportation systems that meet the different requirements of the individual countries along the main intercontinental routes as well as complying with the restrictive regulatory requirements. What the railways operators expect of the railway supply industry is competitiveness, proved solution for cars, facilities and operating equipment that meet the high quality of standards required for every day use.

IRIS Benefits

The successful implementation of IRIS will create a win-win situation for system integrators as well as equipment manufacturers. Both partners will benefit from the certification in several ways:

  • Quality will increase across the entire supply chain
Transparent requirements, applicable to, and accepted by, all parties will become an integrated part of the quality management in place in the various companies. Furthermore, it will prove beneficial to certify the increasing number of industry suppliers based on rail-specific criteria and thus create a broad base for the desired quality standard across the industry.
  • Evaluation and approval of equipment manufacturers will become more efficient
Common quality standards simplify both preparation and execution of the individual evaluation process. Time that is today spent on questions of coordination, methodology research and defining the scope of an evaluation or on the future requirements can instead be invested in value-adding process.
  • Costs for manufacturers and suppliers will decrease
Once a company passes evaluation, the certificate is valid for all equipment manufacturers. Plus only one evaluation is required as the ISO 9001 standard is simply combined with rail-specific criteria.
  • Comprehensive data and its accessibility will improve
Specific and meaningful data about railway equipment manufacturers will be made accessible to target interest groups.


The Standard

Guiding principles

IRIS standard is owned and managed by UNIFE to ensure its independency.
  • Suppliers do not need to provide business sensitive information. Audit results are confidential and protected.
  • Approval of certification bodies is fair and transparent.
  • IRIS is based on the ISO 9001 Structure and adds railway specific requirements for the business management system, e.g. regarding Project Management, Design, etc.
  • IRIS contains:
    • Mandatory requirements with 'Shall' wording.
    • Optional requirements with 'Should' wording.

Evaluation methodology
 

  • Audit results are scored; it´s not a fail/pass system.
  • Some requirements are 'K.O.' criteria.
  • Use of a scale with 4 levels to measure maturity:

IRIS Rev01, what’s new

On 1st of November 2007 the new IRIS Rev01 was officially launched. This evolution is the result of an improvement exercise started in May 2006 and lasting more then one year. Big effort from all promoters of the standard (System integrators and Equipment Manufacturers) and from Certification Bodies in terms of availability of resources and expertise. 
 

  • Certification audits against IRIS Rev00 can be performed until the end of 2007, from January, 1st 2008 only Rev01 certification audits will be allowed.

    The IRIS Rev01 booklet is available from the IRIS Portal in 4 languages (English, German, French and Italian) and its price is 60 EUR + VAT.

    IRIS Rev01 main characteristics:
    • The Standard is now applicable to Rolling Stock AND Signalling
    • Companies shall have activities in manufacturing AND/OR design
    • Remote Functions rules improved
    • IRIS auditor time chart improved
    • Reduction scheme available for Companies upgrading from other standards
    • 12 K.O. questions
    • The Audit-tool Version 2 with new features, from now on it is the only source for the IRIS questionnaire
    • Audit-tool Version 2 for companies with reduced costs (250 EUR per license) and special price to buy together the Audit-tool and the booklet (300 EUR)
  • Database extension: more documents can be uploaded and managed by Certification Bodies and Members
  • New IRIS Portal structure to facilitate and improve the usability

IRIS Addendum, 19th June 2008

From the 19th of June 2008, the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) is applicable also to companies providing maintenance services in the railway business. 

The IRIS Group has released the IRIS Addendum, 19th June 2008, available in 4 languages, which contains key changes and new requirements to be fulfilled in order to be certified from now on.

The IRIS Addendum, 19th June 2008 can be downloaded for free by clicking here.

IRIS Progress as of 1 April 2008
 

  • IRIS Rev01 officially available, the scheme is now applicable to the signalling business and to design organizations;
  • 13 Certification Bodies have been contracted to perform IRIS Certification audits;
  • More then 200 auditors have been trained by the IRIS Management Centre and passed the IRIS written and oral examinations;
  • The IRIS rev01 booklet is printed in English, German, French and Italian language and can be bought via the IRIS Portal;
  • The IRIS Audit-tool V2 can manage both Rev00 and Rev01 audits and it has been improved with new features to match the new Rev01 characteristics. The questionnaire is available in 4 languages (English, German, French and Italian)
  • 65 Companies have already achieved their IRIS Certificate and dozens more are going to be audited in the next few months.

| HOME | ABOUT US | WHY IRIS | STANDARD DESCRIPTION | SITE MAP |


 
Build a website