UNIFE SIGNS MOU WITH DUTCH RAILWAYS (NS/NEDTRAIN) ON IRIS

UNIFE continues to gather support of railway operators on the International Rail Industry Standard (IRIS) with yesterday's signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on IRIS with Dutch Railways (NS/NedTrain). The signing took place at NS/NedTrain offices in Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands with Mr Luc Theuws (Director of Supply Chain Operations at NS) representing NS/NedTrain and Philippe Citroën (UNIFE Director General) representing UNIFE. This is the latest in a series of MoUs on IRIS signed between UNIFE and railway operators over the past seven months that includes Deutsche Bahn, RZD (Russian Railways), SNCB (Belgian Railways), and Swiss Federal Railways.

Yesterday’s MoU confirms the intention of the signatories to facilitate an exchange of information on quality management topics and the advancement of the IRIS standard. Specifically, the MoU stipulates an exchange on quality deficiencies typology, root cause analysis of defects, and specificity of local organisations. Nedtrain, which is the Dutch Railways’ locomotive and rolling stock maintenance and repair company, has already begun the implementation of IRIS at their maintenance sites.

UNIFE Director General, Philippe Citroën, remarked, “We are pleased to continue to see the affirmation of railway operator interest in the IRIS scheme. With the support of the operators, like NS/NedTrain, and the nearly 1300 IRIS certified manufacturers, a culture of quality will continue to be instilled in the global rail supply market, leading to a better and more competitive rail transport mode.”

NedTrain Director Supply Chain Operations, Luc Theuws, stated, “Our people breathe Quality; this means that we strive towards continuous quality improvement of all actors in the supply chain, with operators and suppliers alike. A growth model can certainly facilitate this and IRIS and its methodology fit within our goals.”

UNIFE expects to sign additional MoUs on IRIS with other major railway undertakings throughout Europe and the world throughout 2016. For further information, please contact Bernard Kaufmann, IRIS General Manager, at bernard.kaufmann@unife.org.