Safety documentation

Safety documentation is the safety record of a tunnel throughout its whole lifetime, containing a survey of all safety-relevant information; it should therefore be compiled for each tunnel beginning with the design stage. The demands for this information are different depending on which stage the tunnel is at in its life-cycle: design, commissioning, or operation.

At the design stage, the safety documentation focuses on the description of tunnel infrastructure and traffic forecasts, whereas at the operation stage the operational aspects, such as emergency response plans and measures for transportation of dangerous goods, gain importance. The degree of detail in the information increases as the project develops.

The safety documentation should comprise 'living' documents which are continuously developed and updated. It should include details of changes to tunnel infrastructure, traffic data, etc, as well as important findings from operational experience (i.e. analysis of significant incidents, safety exercises, etc.). More information is available on Chapter 2 "Road Tunnel Safety Documentation" of report 2009R08.