COURSE OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN FACTORS IN RAIL

• Human factors in context
• Human factors: Past, present and future
• The human factors contribution to significant rail safety accidents
• A simple human factors model
• Case study: Off the rails
• Course activity: Towards 2040 – What will be the human factors challenges in your industry in the next 20 years?

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN ERROR IN RAIL

• Introduction to human error
• What causes error?
• Different types of errors
• The positive side of error: Human compensatory ability
• Course activity: Which error type is it?

PRACTICAL ERROR MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

• Organisational error management strategies
• Managing unintended actions (slips & lapses)
• Managing intended actions (mistakes & violations)
• Error management checklists for inspectors, investigators and auditors
• Course activity: Quiz

HUMAN PERFORMANCE LIMITATIONS

• Human information processing
• Task demands: Overload and underload
• Fitness for duty
• Managing human performance limitations in rail
• Case study: SPAD incident
• Course activity: Participants will examine a SPAD incident to identify human performance limitations and practical management strategies

SOCIAL & GROUP INFLUENCES ON PERFORMANCE

• Role, status, authority and conformance
• Strategies to improve team performance
• Case study: Rail safety incident
• Course activity: Participants will design a program to manage authority gradients

A HUMAN FACTORS ANALYSIS METHOD FOR INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

• Human factors analysis methods
• Errors and Error Producing Conditions (EPCs)
• Reactive Loss of Control Analysis (R-LOCA) model
• Case study: Revisiting off the rails
• Course activity: Quiz

MAJOR COURSE EXERCISE #1 – REACTIVE HUMAN FACTORS ANALYSIS

Participants will be provided with the raw data from a rail safety incident and be required to:

• Use the R-LOCA model to classify the errors and contributing factors, and
• Identify practical strategies to reduce the potential consequences of any errors identified