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Why you need a logbook
Obtaining and starting to use a logbook is
a vital first step towards gaining an IRSE licence. Even if you are not intending to start
working towards a licence immediately, you should start a logbook without
delay.
It is a requirement of the IRSE Licensing
Scheme that licence holders possess an up-to-date logbook:
- You cannot
obtain your licence in the first place without showing the assessors
that you have a logbook which is up to date.
- You are in
breach of your licence obligations if you subsequently fail to keep it
up-to-date.
By keeping all the required information in
your logbook, it will serve to demonstrate that you are continuing to work
within the scope of your licence, and to the standard required.
The essential information that you must
keep in your logbook
As a minimum, a logbook must contain:
- Details of
your IRSE licence, the categories (and where appropriate, modules) for
which you are licensed, the expiry/renewal dates, and a copy of the
Competence Assessment Checklist
- Details of
any formal complaints made against you in respect of your licensable
work activities. Formal
complaints are very rarely made, but it is a condition of continuing to
hold a licence that records of any such complaints are kept in your
logbook.
- Details of
work activities you have undertaken. These are brief descriptions of
work you have performed, who the work was done for in each case (e.g.
Network Rail), and the dates
on/between which you performed the work. The entries need to be
validated by a signature from your line manager or someone who can
verify your statement.
Where appropriate, each entry should also describe the equipment
types relevant to the work and which licence or part of the licence the
work relates to.
- It is a
requirement of the surveillance process that your logbook is up to date
with evidence that you have satisfactorily carried out the licensable
work, your log book should also be reviewed annually by your line
manager or equivalent employing representative
- Details of
training courses you have undertaken and the date of each training
session, each entry being countersigned by your manager or the training
provider.
- Details of
your education, including any academic or vocational qualifications you
hold (e.g. a degree, HNC, NVQs etc).
- Details of
your employment history - the jobs or posts you have held, with from/to
dates, the employing company name, the job title and brief job description
in each case.
Each section of the logbook listed above
should be kept separate from the others by a divider.
Click here
for more details on the minimum requirements and access to forms and
information to download
Other information you may want to keep in
your logbook
You may wish to use your logbook for
keeping other records relating to your job and career, and you are free to do
this if you wish. Examples of the
sorts of items you may wish to include are:
- Certificates
of courses attended, examinations passed etc.
- Details of
career objectives.
- Details of
membership of professional institutions such as the IRSE or IEE, and any
activities undertaken for or in connection with them (eg. presenting
papers, membership of committees, mentoring trainees etc).
- Continuing
Professional Development records (if, for instance, you work to a CPD
scheme operated by the IRSE or IEE).
- Your CV, job description,
role profile and safety responsibility statement.
- Performance
and Development Review records.
- Details of
your activities in connection with Notified Body work (this is relevant
only to a small number of people).
If you already possess a CPD file or
similar, you may find it more convenient to adapt it to include the records
required for IRSE licensing, rather than start another file.
If you are also seeking IRSE membership,
you will certainly need many of the additional records listed above in your
combined CPD/Licensing Logbook. It is
not necessary to be a member of the IRSE in order to be a licence holder.
Obtaining a logbook
It is your responsibility to obtain a
logbook and start using it, if you have not already done so. You can obtain a logbook by a number
of methods:
- By obtaining
one from your manager, either the IRSE logbook or in-house company
logbook provided it contains the minimum licence requirements
- By purchasing
one from the IRSE.
- By making
your own book using a large ring binder with dividers and download the
pages of the minimum requirements for IRSE licences by clicking here.
Starting to use your logbook
Once you have obtained a logbook, start
using it without delay, as follows:
- Enter as much
detail about training that you have received, going back several years
if possible. If you have a
CV or existing training records, then you will have access to the
details which will help you to complete this section of the
logbook. Otherwise, you will
have to rely on your memory!
When you have compiled the record, get the details countersigned
by your manager.
- Enter as much
detail as you can about work activities that you have undertaken, going
back two years if possible.
So far as you can, ask your current manager to countersign the
details. Each entry should
provide sufficient detail that someone reviewing the logbook can understand
the nature of the work and your role in it.
- Enter details
of your current and previous jobs, going back as far as you are able
(but do not include non-railway employment unless you consider it to be
particularly relevant).
Again, if you possess a CV this will help to complete this section
of the logbook.
- Enter detail
of your qualifications (HNC, degree, NVQ, membership of professional
institutions, etc).
At this stage you will not have any
details to include regarding your licence or formal complaints, but the
logbook must contain sections for these.
Having started your logbook, keep
it up to date. You will not get a licence without
doing so.
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