London Underground's New Version of the ICI: What to Expect
About the ICI
London Underground requires anyone working on their infrastructure to have the necessary understanding of health, safety and environmental issues that might affect them at work. Last month, London Underground announced that over the coming weeks and months they would be contacting external training providers with details of how to switch over to its new version of the Industry Common Induction (ICI), called the Worksite Safety Induction that will proceed as the new induction training for London Underground workers.
Since the training became mandated for relevant workers in 2016, the ICI has provided staff with a health and safety induction for working in construction, rail and station maintenance. Its purpose was to give staff an initial overview of the risks that arise when working in a railway construction environment and to remove repeated briefings of the same subjects across different projects. The ICI was the entry-level competence qualification for working in the rail industry and is intended to be a foundation module, covering the general health, safety and environmental issues found in the railway construction environment. It was initially developed by Network Rail, in partnership with ISLG (Infrastructure Safety Liaison Group) and RIAG (Rail Infrastructure Assurance Group) although as of January 2020, Network Rail announced that the ICI would no longer be mandated for everyone working on Network Rail Capital Delivery sponsored sites. The London Underground endorsement operates as an extension of the basic ICI and is required of individuals working on London Underground infrastructure on behalf of TFL.
Why the change?
Since Network Rail decided last year to cease delivery of the ICI, London Underground took the decision to create its own induction course, based on the predecessor to the ICI LU, the LUCAS Card. The ICI LU is being replaced by the Worksite Safety Induction in the coming months and is currently in its initial phase of the roll out now. The Worksite Safety Induction is a revamped version of the LUCAS Card, focussing exclusively on the infrastructure relevant to working for TFL as a standalone qualification, unlike the ICI LU, which was an extension of Network Rail’s more general induction course.
What should I do now?
Until London Underground contacts its external providers about switching to the new Worksite Safety Induction, those who are delivering the ICI LU can continue to do so as long as their RTAS accreditation remains valid. Sponsors are free to book their training with London Underground Skills Development directly, or through one of the London Underground accredited training providers and in both cases, successful delegates will continue to receive the ICI competence and LU endorsement on their Sentinel profile.