Managing risk & breaking status-quo processes
Installing new technology and trialling it in an operational station is very challenging and there are many factors to take into consideration. It is not always clear how new solutions fit within in a space where there are clear processes, procedures or standards to follow. Nurturing an innovation culture is about finding your way through the existing processes, cultures and behaviours, and this needs to be done with care and understanding of the reasons behind why the current culture exists. It is about being trusted with the responsibility by others who carry accountability, so bringing them in is key.
​Governing risks is a big challenge and presents a barrier to short-term testing of third-party innovations. Be prepared to respond to identified potential safety-regulation-breaking risks to the innovations you want to trial. To overcome this barrier, it is important to understand before testing which procedures, regulations and processes the innovation may break, to avoid having to pause a trial.
As stations are considered Critical National Infrastructure, the approach to trialling is robust and safety responsive. To get a trial proposal through governance and prevent existing safeguarding systems from being at risk, it needs to demonstrate compliance to guidance and mandatory provisions.

The best teams to understand the practicalities or constraints of trials in the station are the ones that run the station, manage the assets and operate the system every day. Ensure to get their support to evaluate and advise on risk. Station staff and other technical experts may be unfamiliar with the SIZ approach (and desired impacts) and therefore reluctant to engage and go ‘outside of the process’. Having mutual trust and respect helps overcome these issues. Spend time building up a relationship where they trust you, and work towards pragmatic mitigations to risks. This will allow innovations can be trialled effectively whilst demonstrating consideration and control of the risk.
A helpful set of questions to understand and articulate why a SIZ is the right project for your station can be found on page 6 of the following Better Transport report