Fruitful discussions on tunnel safety management systems in operation

Journée technique

Published on 06/10/2022 | Updated 08/01/2026

Following the organisation of a webinar in June 2021, which presented the progress made and recognised the maturity and operational nature of the DIR’s safety management systems, the CETU and the Ministry’s Road Mobility Directorate decided to invite stakeholders from the DIRs (general managers, SMS managers and local representatives) to share their feedback in the form of a workshop.

This workshop took place in person at the CETU’s premises on 20th September 2022 and aimed to discuss:

the vision of SMS shared by its various stakeholders,
the obstacles and difficulties encountered when implementing a SMS, as well as best practices and solutions,
how to sustain a SMS and integrate it into the operator’s activities.

The day began with an introduction by Philippe Perrais (Deputy Director of the Minsitry’s Road Directorate, in charge of maintenance, operation of the State-managed road network and road information) and Eric Premat (Deputy Director of the CETU). In order to give everyone a chance to speak, the participants were then divided into three parallel workshops, before meeting again in the afternoon for a joint debriefing.

After reiterating the increasingly pressing concerns surrounding ecological transition and energy efficiency requirements, Jean-Renaud Gély (Deputy Director of Road Mobility) closed the day by highlighting the progress made by the DIRs in implementing their safety management systems in a very short period of time. He also highlighted the growing concern to create systems that are useful and used on a daily basis, as well as the value of SMSs in providing a clear vision of safety that takes into account all the challenges faced by road tunnel operators.