I am writing my remarks in very strange times. We are right in the middle of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I would like to thank the Safety and Reliability Society (SaRS) Editor in Chief Nicola Stacey and Production Editor Chris Harrison for persevering in difficult circumstances to make sure this journal is published. Also, thank you to Taylor & Francis for their help and support. For this issue my remarks will also serve as editorial to ease the burden on our editors.
Issue 39.2 of the SaRS Journal showcases the variety of papers that reflect the wide experience and interests of our Journal. Before I outline the papers, I would like to announce a milestone in the history of SaRS and what it means for our members and the wider industry.
On the 24th April 2020 SaRS was successfully granted a licence from the Engineering Council to register Chartered Engineers and Incorporated Engineers. Prior to this SaRS had an indirect route to registration for members but this now means that we have a direct route. SaRS has been a Professional Affiliate of the Engineering Council for over fifteen years but the move to Professional Engineering Institute is the culmination of a lot of hard work from volunteer members – a big thank you to everyone involved.
Thank you also to the Engineering Council for their help and advice and to other Professional Engineering Institutes for their generosity and guidance.
We are grateful to our 68 Engineering Council registered members for their patience while we completed this process, which has now allowed them to transfer directly to registration via SaRS.
What does this mean for members?
If you are a member of SaRS you can fill in an application form to become a Chartered or Incorporated Engineer and start the process. The application forms and guidance are available on our website and our team are ready to process your application.
If you are unsure if you have the correct experience or qualifications please contact us at [email protected] and we will be happy to help.
We are very pleased that several applications are already in progress and in future issues of this Journal we will be celebrating successful applications.
What does this mean for non-members?
If you are not yet a member of SaRS and wish to become registered we can help you by advising on the best level of membership for you. The top reason given by safety and reliability practitioners for not joining SaRS is that they believe that they are not from the correct background even though they are now working in safety and reliability.
I would encourage you to seek the advice of our Membership Committee if you are unsure – each case is assessed on its own merits within the rules of membership.
You can find joining details on the SaRS website or email [email protected] if you have any questions.
SaRS is for everyone
Our committees are made up of people from many different disciplines who are now working in safety and reliability. We are keen to share knowledge across industries and domains; this fulfils our charitable aims.
This Safety and Reliability Journal receives submissions from across the world and is truly cross-industry and cross-methodology. In this issue we have different oil and gas industry perspectives - Investigating the role of leadership in safety outcomes within oil and gas organisations and Definition of reliability and maintenance concepts in oil and gas – Validity aspects.
These are complemented by a paper on availability and Availability-based Predictive Maintenance Scheduling for Vibrating-grate Biomass Boilers.
In this journal alone there is a wealth of technical experience and CPD evidence provided by our authors, which in turn contribute to your professional development. We are keen to provide academic papers and, as in one of the papers in this journal, case studies. As well as journals celebrating difference, we also look at commonalities in our special issues. As ever, SaRS is seeking papers and special issues to contribute to the steady march of knowledge growth that our membership values. If you can provide either or both please do get in touch with us.
As well as looking for papers and special issues, we are keen for volunteers to review and carry out other tasks for the journal. As you can see from above, participation is an important part of CPD and counts towards your learning and experience.
As we move forward with our journal, we are eager to expand it and to provide even more CPD for our members and beyond.
If you would like to volunteer please email [email protected].
CEO and Managing Editor, Safety and Reliability
[email protected]