Prevention through engineering and design (PtED)

Prevention through Engineering and Design (PtED)

Imagine if a decision you made today either saved or injured someone in 100 years’ time

This is the challenge we face every day when we decide to make a change to the railway, or decide not to – affecting millions, including those who haven’t even been born yet!

We all know that prevention is better than cure, and that is where our thinking starts. Prevention through Engineering and Design (PtED) is the name we give to how we use engineering or design to eliminate or reduce the hazards and risks, in the areas of:

a) safety
b) health and wellbeing
c) sustainability
d) environmental protection
e) security
f) inclusion.

Our commitments

Our PtED policy sets out Network Rail’s commitments and aspirations for removing hazards and reducing risk in our railway system by being effective, consistent, measured, and adopting a systems thinking approach.

The policy acts as a key enabler for “leading health and safety in Britain’s railway”; the rail industry’s strategy for health and safety improvement.

If you want to know more about PtED, you can visit our dedicated safety portal – Safety Central or for more information on safety, engineering and systems thinking, head to the Safety and Reliability Society website.