Process Safety Approach to Identify Opportunities for Enhancing Rail Transport Safety in Canada

Sattari, Fereshteh; Macciotta, Renato; Lefsrud, Lianne

doi:10.1177/0361198120957008

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…This train derailment again revealed that human factors affect rail accidents significantly. Human factors are identified as one of the leading causes in occurrences in rail transportation in Canada ( 50 ). Furthermore, over the years, many of railway accidents around the world have happened because of human factor-related problems in the design and operation of railway systems ( 51 – 53 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Analysis of Train Derailments in Canada through Process Safety Techniques and Insights into Enhanced Safety Management Systems

Esmaeeli

Sattari

Lefsrud

et al. 2022

Transportation Research Record

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Canada’s rail transportation network is a critical part of Canada’s integrated supply chain which connects industries, consumers, and resource sectors to ports on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. One transportation activity that is essential to most industries, especially oil and manufacturing, is the rail transport of dangerous goods (DG). Although rail transportation of DG is beneficial to Canada’s economy, not paying attention to the safe transportation of these types of goods can have irreparable effects on the economy, human lives, and the environment. Recent rail accidents, such as Lake Wabamun in 2005 and Lac-Mégantic in 2013, have shown that there is still room to increase the safety of transportation of DG by rail through improving railways’ safety management systems (SMS). As a result, investigations to increase the safety of rail transportation of DG have been started. This work is part of these initiatives focusing on enhancing railways’ SMS, particularly DG main-track train derailments. The current study applied detailed root cause analysis (RCA), the bow tie analysis (BTA), and incident databases to identify the main causes and consequences of these types of accidents (2007–2017). Then, the relationship between these factors and gaps in SMS elements were identified and the frequency of each factor was investigated. The results showed that the main gaps are related to process and equipment integrity, incident investigation, and company standards, codes, and regulations. Furthermore, some useful recommendations are presented to improve the management of each SMS element and reduce these gaps.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Analysis of Train Derailments in Canada through Process Safety Techniques and Insights into Enhanced Safety Management Systems

Esmaeeli

Sattari

Lefsrud

et al. 2022

Transportation Research Record

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“…In the UK, approximately 63% of the overall risk from passenger train derailment was related to low-frequency high-consequence events ( 6 ). Sattari et al ( 21 ) further investigated the low-frequency high-consequence rail occurrences by evaluating their societal risk. The potential for this type of occurrence shows that there is still an opportunity for optimizing resource allocation for risk control and mitigation strategies in this regard.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2020, 96.6% of fatalities and 81.6% of serious injuries in the rail industry resulted from trespassing and crossing occurrences ( 20 ). However, given the nature of these events, which are mainly related to the self-harm or reckless behavior of a third party, the estimation of the number of people exposed to such events was accompanied by difficulties and uncertainty ( 21 ) and outside the scope of this study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These groups were also separated into five main categories, including mechanical, human, signal, track, and miscellaneous causes ( 22 , 23 ). The frequency of these cause groups for main-track derailments and collisions was obtained from RODS database (Appendix B) ( 21 ). Then, the probability of a hazardous event was calculated according to the miles that the train traveled.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Risks Associated with the Canadian Railway System Using a Safety Risk Model Approach

Esmaeeli

Sattari

Lefsrud

et al. 2023

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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Canada’s national rail network plays a vital role in moving goods and people, transferring $320 billion worth of goods and over 100 million passengers annually. Severe train occurrences are rare events. But they have the potential to cause fatalities and injuries, as well as environmental and property damage. Recent severe incidents, such as Burlington in 2012 and Lac-Mégantic in 2013, have shown that there is still a need for increased awareness and enhanced risk assessment. This work focuses on risk assessment on the Canadian railway system using the Safety Risk Model (SRM). The study applied a customized Canadian SRM (C-SRM) to two groups of hazardous events: main-track derailments and collisions with fatality and injury consequences, calibrated for data between 2007 and 2017. The model used Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Event Tree Analysis (ETA) to identify the risks of hazardous events. The individual risks of the hazardous events were then evaluated for three groups of people: passengers, employees, and members of the public (MOP). Finally, the effectiveness of introducing a new control measure, Enhanced Train Control (ETC), was assessed. The results of the study showed that the collective risk of main-track derailments is higher than main-track collisions. Moreover, the risk to MOP and employees form the most significant proportion of individual risk. Finally, risk reduction analysis of the ETC revealed that developing this system reduced the risk of main-track derailments and collisions. This new control measure thus has the potential to make Canadian railways safer.

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“…Hazardous chemicals (HCs) are widely used in the production activities of chemical industries and many other manufacturing industries, which not only lay an economic foundation, but are also an indispensable part of production and life [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. China is the world’s largest producer of HCs, accounting for about 40% of the world’s chemical production capacity [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the Weaker Function Links in the Hazardous Chemicals Road Transportation System in China

Zhang

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Safety of the hazardous chemicals road transportation system (HCRTS) is an important, complex, social, and environmental sensitive problem. The complexity, dynamics, and multi-link features of HCRTS have made it necessary to think beyond traditional risk analysis methods. Based on the relevant literature, Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) is a relatively new systemic method for modeling and analyzing complex socio-technical systems. In this study, a methodology that integrates FRAM, fuzzy sets, and risk matrix is presented to quantitatively assess the risks factors representing failure function links in HCRTS. As the strength of function links can be illustrated by the RI (risk index) of risk factors identified in failure function links, 32 risk factors representing 12 failure function links were first identified by accident causes analysis and the framework of FRAM. Fuzzy sets were then utilized to calculate the weight of the likelihood and consequence of the risk factors. Finally, according to the assessment results of the identified risk factors by a two-dimensional risk matrix, the weaker function links in the whole HCRTS chain were identified. HCs road companies, regulatory authorities, relevant practitioners, and other stakeholders should pay more attention to these links.

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Process Safety Approach to Identify Opportunities for Enhancing Rail Transport Safety in Canada

Cited by 6 publications

References 16 publications

Critical Analysis of Train Derailments in Canada through Process Safety Techniques and Insights into Enhanced Safety Management Systems

Critical Analysis of Train Derailments in Canada through Process Safety Techniques and Insights into Enhanced Safety Management Systems

Assessing the Risks Associated with the Canadian Railway System Using a Safety Risk Model Approach

Identifying the Weaker Function Links in the Hazardous Chemicals Road Transportation System in China

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