As a complement to the Fit for Freight month in November, the ATTI (Agreement on freight Train Transfer Inspection) Morning was held on 25 November online. It was chaired by Stefan Zebracki from DB Cargo, who opened the event by welcoming the audience and highlighting his delight at the interest in the topic, given that there were over 80 people in attendance.
The meeting agenda was split into two sections and started with Dirk Euler (DB Cargo) giving a presentation on the basics of the ATTI. He explained that ATTI is a means of ensuring interoperability in the rail freight sector with an agreement between more than 170 ATTI Railway Undertakings (RUs) to expedite international freight transport by helping to standardise the quality inspection process.
He then talked about:
- what to do within the ATTI Agreement if an irregularity is identified.
- the UIC Extranet, where the ATTI documents can be downloaded and where the ATTI RU points of contacts can be found.
- the functions of the ATTI QMS (Quality Management System) database, including how to access the database, locating a user guide, and the basic functions of the database. He underlined that for a high standard of ATTI quality data to be maintained, QMS deadlines must be complied with and that results of quality checks continuously exchanged between ATTI RUs.
During the second part of the meeting, Jean-Marc Blondé (SBB Cargo), gave background information on the 2022 QMS annual report and an overview of its basic principles. He explained why ATTI and specifically data entry is necessary.
He stated that it is important to have the annual report of the previous year to track RU quality as the annual report is written by RU 1 and serves as proof of quality for further RUs. He spoke about responsibilities within the ATTI and also non-conformity report communication.
Euler gave a further presentation on why data entries should be verified, emphasising that the responsible party must immediately be informed of any irregularities. His presentation detailed how to record planning data, carry-out quality checks, document results, and evaluate reports. He pointed out that the ATTI quality database is a central element of ATTI and that it is important to have precise data.
Euler and Zebracki discussed the ATTI-QMS database’s outlook and options for further implementation via potential scenarios. They then asked the audience to give suggestions on possible quality assessments by using the link: https://www.menti.com/alcrzsa666dy. The results of the collected ideas will be distributed to the ATTI Morning participants.
Zebracki concluded the event by announcing the next meeting date, which will be 24 November 2023. He also expressed interest in knowing which topics still need more clarification and that feedback from the audience could be given by filling in the following survey: https://www.menti.com/al4g8eo9fg9f.
