Tom Lee

Said the following about Gary Portsmouth:

“Gary is the Professional Head of Rail Operations at RSSB, and is a leading figure in railway safety including his role as chair of the influential Traffic Operations and Management Standards Committee.

In particular, he's made a significant contribution to railway safety by being the driving force behind the new Rule Book app, designed to enhance safety by providing rich content from the Rule Book on user's mobile devices. The app makes rules easier to access, use and understand and includes the ability for users to annotate content. The app is being developed by RSSB and draws on the same source material as used to provide the printed Rule Book.

It's Gary's vision, determination and motivation that have brought this to life; from the initial vision, he's developed and sponsored a project to deliver the app.

He's undertaken market analysis, including researching how people use mobile devices, to develop the business case for RSSB so that the app is sustainable for the long term and he's made sure that the app delivers economic benefits for organisations that use it. It's cheaper than buying printed Rule Books and providing full functionality to manage changes automatically. This enhances safety by eliminating the risk of users using out-of-date information.

The app is under test at the moment for Apple and Android devices, being piloted initially by (former) SouthWest Trains frontline staff, and is being made publicly available at the end of 2017.“