Role Of Human Factors In Rail Accidents

Role of human factors in rail accidents: hearing before the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, March 16, 2007 (San Antonio, TX).

Role of human factors in rail accidents : hearing before the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, March 16, 2007 (San Antonio, TX).

The rail human factors/ergonomics community has grown quickly and extensively, and there is much increased recognition of the vital importance of ergonomics/human factors by rail infrastructure owners, rail operating companies, system developers, regulators and national and trans-national government. This book, the fourth on rail human factors, is

Following on from 2005's Rail Human Factors: Supporting the Integrated Railway, this book brings together an even broader range of academics and practitioners from around the world to share their expertise and experience on rail human factors. The content is both comprehensive and cutting-edge, featuring more than 55 chapters addressing the following topics: ¢ Passengers and public ¢ Driver performance and workload ¢ Driving and cognition ¢ Train cab and interfaces: simulation and design ¢ Routes, signage, signals and drivability ¢ Signalling and control of the railway ¢ Planning for the railway ¢ Engineering work and maintenance ¢ Level crossings ¢ Accidents and safety ¢ Human error and human reliability ¢ SPADs: signals passed at danger ¢ Human factors integration and standards ¢ Impairments to performance ¢ Staff competencies and training. People and Rail Systems: Human Factors at the Heart of the Railway will be invaluable for all those concerned with making railways safer, more reliable, of higher quality and more efficient. It will be essential reading for policy-makers, researchers and industry around the world.

Human error is implicated in nearly all aviation accidents, yet most investigation and prevention programs are not designed around any theoretical framework of human error. Appropriate for all levels of expertise, the book provides the knowledge and tools required to conduct a human error analysis of accidents, regardless of operational setting (i.e. military, commercial, or general aviation). The book contains a complete description of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), which incorporates James Reason's model of latent and active failures as a foundation. Widely disseminated among military and civilian organizations, HFACS encompasses all aspects of human error, including the conditions of operators and elements of supervisory and organizational failure. It attracts a very broad readership. Specifically, the book serves as the main textbook for a course in aviation accident investigation taught by one of the authors at the University of Illinois. This book will also be used in courses designed for military safety officers and flight surgeons in the U.S. Navy, Army and the Canadian Defense Force, who currently utilize the HFACS system during aviation accident investigations. Additionally, the book has been incorporated into the popular workshop on accident analysis and prevention provided by the authors at several professional conferences world-wide. The book is also targeted for students attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which has satellite campuses throughout the world and offers a course in human factors accident investigation for many of its majors. In addition, the book will be incorporated into courses offered by Transportation Safety International and the Southern California Safety Institute. Finally, this book serves as an excellent reference guide for many safety professionals and investigators already in the field.

In recent years, for reasons connected to the organization of the industry, technical developments, and major safety concerns, rail human factors has grown in importance at an international level. Despite its importance, however, supporting literature has been largely restricted to specialist journal publications and technical reports. Rail Human Factors addresses this imbalance by providing the first fully comprehensive overview of the area. The volume includes contributions from leading ergonomists, psychologists, sociologists, management scientists and engineers whose common theme is to investigate, understand and design for people on the railways, including staff, passengers and the general public. Every area of ergonomics/human factors is covered: physical design of work and equipment in maintenance; cognitive ergonomics in driving, signalling and control; organizational and social ergonomics in the way teams are formed, plans are made and organizations are structured and run. Topics covered include: Systems views of rail human factors Driver models and performance Train and cab design Network and train control systems, including ERTMS Signals and signal SPADS Signalling and control center design Signaller performance Control center interfaces Workload, situation awareness, team working Human error and reliability Timetabling and planning Maintenance planning and work Safety climate and safety culture Passenger comfort and behaviour Station design Public information systems Level crossings Trespass and vandalism Ergonomics standards and guidelines Human Factors integration The book is the definitive guide for all those concerned with making railways safer, more