Human Factors Approach to Railway Safety.

Ugajin, Hiroshi

doi:10.2219/rtriqr.40.5

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…There were 98 rail investigation reports found in the SPARK database, 23 of which identified fatigue as one of the contributory causes of the train incident or accident. Two Japanese reviews (Kogi and Ohta, 1975 ; Ugajin, 1999 ) state that the human error in railway accidents was associated with drowsiness, motivation, and time of day, which might also be related to fatigue. In Buck and Lamonde's ( 1993 ) review, evidence supported such relationships between critical railway accidents and train crew fatigue, as well as such factors as time of day, shift-work, and work-sleep-rest cycles.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Preliminary Review of Fatigue Among Rail Staff

Fan

Smith

2018

Front. Psychol.

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Background: Fatigue is a severe problem in the rail industry, which may jeopardize train crew's health and safety. Nonetheless, a preliminary review of all empirical evidence for train crew fatigue is still lacking. The aim of the present paper is, therefore, to provide a preliminary description of occupational fatigue in the rail industry. This paper reviews the literature with the research question examining the risk factors associated with train crew fatigue, covering both papers published in refereed journals and reports from trade organizations and regulators. It assesses the progress of research on railway fatigue, including research on the main risk factors for railway fatigue, the association between fatigue and railway incidents, and how to better manage fatigue in the railway industry.Methods: Systematic searches were performed in both science and industry databases. The searches considered studies published before August 2017. The main exclusion criterion was fatigue not being directly measured through subjective or objective methods.Results: A total of 31 studies were included in the main review. The causes of fatigue included long working hours, heavy workload, early morning or night shifts, and insufficient sleep. Poor working environment, particular job roles, and individual differences also contributed to fatigue.Conclusion: Fatigue in the rail industry includes most of the features of occupational fatigue, and it is also subject to industry-specific factors. The effect of fatigue on well-being and the fatigued population in the railway industry are still not clear. Future studies can consider associations between occupational risk factors and perceived fatigue by examining the prevalence of fatigue and identifying the potential risk factors in staff within the railway industry.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Preliminary Review of Fatigue Among Rail Staff

Fan

Smith

2018

Front. Psychol.

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“…Fatigue and its impact on safety-critical performance increased the risk of human error and was suggested as a key issue in the rail industry [13]. In train accident and incident reports, staff fatigue is considered to be a causal factor [14,15,16,17,18]. By reviewing 98 rail investigation reports found in the SPARK, an organised library of researches and reports within the international rail community, Fan and Smith [3] found 23 of the reports identified fatigue as one of the contributory causes of the train incident or accident.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of Rail Staff Fatigue: Results of Qualitative Analysis and a Diary Study

Fan

Smith

2020

Communications in Computer and Information Science

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of fatigue among rail staff by analysing qualitative data and conducting an online diary study. It had a closer look at the experience of fatigue among rail staff and brought a more detailed blueprint picture of fatigue and its causes in the rail staff's real-life. Study 1 analysed 133 responses of qualitative data from rail staff, and Study 2 was a diary study examining fatigue and its related risk factors before and after work, on the first and the last day of a working week in 19 rail staff. The findings from the two studies, using different methodologies, showed similar results that fatigue was a result of heavy workload, long working hours, shift-work, and insufficient rest and sleep. Fatigue before work mainly resulted from sleep quality, length of sleep, and the time spent on commute, while fatigue after work resulted from the workload and shift type. Evidence has demonstrated that overtime work, specific shift patterns, insufficient rest days between opposed shifts, and poor timing of breaks during work were also associated with fatigue.

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“…While there is no denying the importance of technical enhancements as a means of eliminating hazards for safety management, nearly two-centuries worth of experience in the railway industry suggests that such systems tend to be complex and unpredictable under emergencies (Rasmussen and Duncan 1987). As the industry increasingly began to acknowledge the importance of human-technology interfaces or the ergonomics of safety management, human factors became a central element of safety management, bringing about the second age of safety (Bainbridge 1983;Hale 2000;UGAJIN 1999).…”

Section: Paradigm Shifts In Railway Safety Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%