Common Safety Methods on Safety Management System requirements

Scope

Establishes the common safety method on safety management system (SMS) requirements pursuant to Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/798, defining what the SMS of railway undertakings and infrastructure managers must contain. These requirements form the assessment basis used by national safety authorities and ERA when issuing single safety certificates and safety authorisations.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/762 establishes the common safety method on safety management system (SMS) requirements under Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/798, defining in detail the content that the safety management systems of railway undertakings and infrastructure managers must contain. It sets out requirements across leadership and organisational context, risk assessment and control, monitoring, and continuous improvement, structured so they can also be used as an assessment framework by auditors and by national safety authorities. National safety authorities and the European Union Agency for Railways apply this common safety method when evaluating an applicant's safety management system as part of issuing or renewing a single safety certificate or safety authorisation. It replaced the previous, less detailed safety management system requirements that applied before the Fourth Railway Package and aligned EU practice with ISO high-level management-system structures. The Regulation remains in force as amended, continuing to serve as the reference SMS content standard across the Single European Railway Area.