Promoted by UNIFE and supported by operators, system integrators and equipment manufacturers, IRIS (International Railway Industry Standard) complements the internationally recognized ISO 9001 quality standard introducing rail specific requirements.

IRIS is modelled on similar quality standards already in place in the aerospace, and automotive industries and it aims at the avoidance of multiple business management system auditing and therefore increased cost efficiency.

Objectivity and transparency are guaranteed by only using approved and independent certification bodies, known and recognized in the industry.

The IRIS certificate will replace individual management system evaluations by at least the four founders of this initiative (Alstom Transport, AnsaldoBreda, Siemens Transportation Systems and Bombardier Transportation).

Background

For the railway sector, 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 has set the standard for these global rail business requests. Its main objective is to improve the quality in the rail sector by reduction of efforts and costs.

IRIS BENEFITS

The successful implementation of IRIS creates a win-win situation for all stakeholders, be they equipment manufacturers, system integrators, operators or business partners. The goals of an integrated system work for all.

Equipment Manufacturers

The equipment manufacturers are able to improve their quality level and therefore promote a higher quality image. This contributes to secure a competitive future: they become more valued and visible on the market.

Through the IRIS web database they are able to enter and update their data.

After certification, this information may be made available to system integrators and prospective clients, on approval of the audited company.

Equipment manufacturers are able to save time by only having to apply once for the certification, for both ISO 9001 and IRIS at the same time.

System Integrators

Transparent requirements, acceptable and applicable to all parties, become an integral part of the management systems in the participating companies.
This results in improved quality among the various production sites of the system integrators.
A uniform quality standard considerably simplifies the process of evaluating and approving suppliers, removing the need for system integrators‘ own approval audits.
They are able to access accurate and reliable data from the common IRIS web database.

Operators

Operators benefit from the improvements across the entire supply chain, with enhanced equipment, rolling stock and signalling. They are able to rely on a demanding, internationally recognized standard for the whole industry. As a result, quality, safety and reliability increase as well as business management processes of the industry. Operators have also actively
contributed to Revision 02 by highlighting necessary implementations.

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, RAMS, LCC 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 5 levels to measure maturity

IRIS Rev. 02, what’s new

After three years from the official launch of the first IRIS Standard and after a huge and intensive improvement work, on 18th of June 2009 the new IRIS Rev. 02 was officially launched.

MAIN CHANGES

• Standard in line with ISO 9001:2008 requirements
• Integration of ISO 9004:2009 guidelines 
• Requirements improved and now in line with the needs from Rail Operators who contributed to the development of the Standard
• Remote Functions rules improved
• IRIS auditor time chart improved
• Rules how to score the questionnaire have been clarified
• Required and recommended processes, procedures, KPI’s and records are now summarized in one single table.
• Reduction scheme available for Companies upgrading from other standards, having single IRIS activity and benefit from compensative and rewarding approach
• Availability of a simple tool to calculate the audit time depending on company characteristics
• Readiness review improved and now fully supported through the new  Audit-Tool V3

IMPACT OF CHANGES

The IRIS Rev. 02 booklet is available on the IRIS Portal in 4 languages
(English, German, French and Italian).

Certification audits against IRIS Rev. 01 can be performed until the end of 2009.

From January, 1st 2010 only Rev. 02 certification audits will be allowed.

Existing Rev. 01 certificates can be kept until their natural validity date.

IRIS Progress as of 1st June 2009

• 244 Companies have already achieved their IRIS Certificate and dozens more are going to be audited in the next months,
• More then 500 companies are registered in the IRIS Portal as the first step in the IRIS Certification process,
• 14 Certification Bodies have been contracted to perform IRIS Certification audits,
• More then 280 auditors have been trained by the IRIS Management Centre and passed the IRIS written and oral examinations,
• The IRIS Rev. 02 booklet is printed in English, German, French and Italian language and can be bought via the IRIS Portal,
• Additional languages are available through National Associations, like, Czech and Spanish.