Anjum Naweed

Psychological factors for driver distraction and inattention in the Australian and New Zealand rail industry.

A signal passed at danger (SPAD) event occurs when a train moves past a stop signal into a section of unauthorised track. SPAD events are frequently attributed to driver distraction and inattention, but few studies have explored the failure mode from the perspective of task demand and the ability of the driver to self-regulate in response to competing activities. This study aimed to provide a more informed understanding of distraction, inattention and SPAD-risk in the passenger rail task. The research approach combined focus groups with a generative task designed to stimulate situational insight. Twenty-eight train drivers participated from 8 different rail operators in Australia and New Zealand. Data were analysed thematically and revealed several moderating factors for driver distraction. Time-keeping pressure and certain aspects of the driver-controller dynamic were considered to distort performance, and distractions from station dwelling and novel events increased SPAD-risk. The results are conceptualised in a succinct model of distraction linking multiple factors with mechanisms that induced the attentional shift. The commonalities and inter-dynamics of the factors revealed insight into driving anxiety in the passenger rail mode, and suggested that SPAD-risk was intensified when three or more factors converged. The paper discusses these issues in the context of misappropriated attention, taxonomic implications, and directions for future research.

Designing Simulator Tools for Rail Research: the Case Study of a Train Driving Microworld

The microworld simulator paradigm is well established in the areas of ship-navigation and spaceflight, but has yet to be applied to rail. This paper presents a case study aiming to address this research gap, and describes the development of a train driving microworld as a tool to overcome some common research barriers. A theoretical framework for microworld design is tested and used to explore some key methodological issues and characteristics of train driving, enhancing theory development and providing a useful guideline for the designers of other collision-avoidance systems. A detailed description is given of the ATREIDES (Adaptive Train Research Enhanced Information Display & Environment Simulator) microworld, which simulates the work environment of a train driver in a high-speed passenger train. General indications of the testable driving scenarios that may be simulated are given, and an example of an ATREIDES-based study is presented to illustrate its applied research potential. The article concludes with a review of the design process, considers some strengths and limitations, and explores some future initiatives towards enhancing the systematic study of rail research in the human factors community.

Investigating the formal countermeasures and informal strategies used to mitigate SPAD risk in train driving

Various countermeasures are used to mitigate signal passed at danger (SPAD) events on railways, yet they continue. While risk factors that destabilise cognitive processes have been identified, less has been published on the relationship between these factors and the informal strategies that drivers themselves adopt to reduce individual SPAD risk. This study aimed to address this gap and used a participative approach to collect and thematically analyse data from 28 drivers across eight rail organisations in Australia and New Zealand. The results showed not all formal countermeasures were considered effective, and identified several informal strategies. These aimed to reduce task disruption, service distortion and maintain connectedness to signals. While some evidenced redundancies in the task and cab, others did not reduce baseline risk. This paper explores the relationship between the established risks and identified strategies towards evaluating the utility of formal and informal mitigations. The research has application to the investigation of collision risk in all transport domains. Practitioner Summary: A participative approach was used to investigate SPAD mitigation techniques in train driving, and to explore risk-strategy relationship dynamics. Several informal strategies designed to reduce task disruption, service distortion and maintain signal connectedness were identified. While some evidenced redundancies in the task and cab, others did not reduce baseline risk.

Simulator integration in the rail industry: the Robocop problem

Despite the increasing trend for high-fidelity train simulator procurement in the rail industry, current research suggests that simulators are extremely underutilised, which points to ineffective integration arising from one or more disconnects in the management layers. This paper presents a study that set out to: profile the design of driver learning frameworks; investigate how simulators were being integrated; and determine key criteria for simulator acceptance. Data were collected from 61 industry end-users, mostly train drivers, in six rail organisations, and analysed thematically. The findings revealed three Rs that reflected perceptions of poor integration and comprised the dominant end-user evaluation criteria for simulator utility; these were: (i) Reality; (ii) Relevancy; and (iii) Reliability. This paper explores the problem of ineffective integration by using and applying a Robocop allegory, in order to disentangle the dynamic shared between the systemic and cultural influences of the organisation, when new technology is introduced in a highly regulated environment. The paper concludes by presenting three prime directives, triangulated from the study and current literature, to transcend the issues impeding the path of effective simulator integration in rail, and overcome the ‘Robocop problem’ as it applies to this industry.

Understanding the visual skills and strategies of train drivers in the urban rail environment

BACKGROUND Due to the growth of information in the urban rail environment, there is a need to better understand the ergonomics profile underpinning the visual behaviours in train drivers. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the tasks and activities of urban/metropolitan passenger train drivers in order to better understand the nature of the visual demands in their task activities. METHODS Data were collected from 34 passenger train drivers in four different Australian states. The research approach used a novel participative ergonomics methodology that fused interviews and observations with generative tools. Data analysis was conducted thematically. RESULTS Results suggested participants did not so much drive their trains, as manage the intensity of visually demanding work held in their environment. The density of this information and the opacity of the task, invoked an ergonomics profile more closely aligned with diagnostic and error detection than actual train regulation. CONCLUSIONS The paper discusses the relative proportion of strategies corresponding with specific tasks, the visual-perceptual load in substantive activities, and the requisite visual skills behoving navigation in the urban rail environment. These findings provide the basis for developing measures of complexity to further specify the visual demands in passenger train driving.

Mentoring in the rail context: the influence of training, style, and practice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate workplace learning in the context of the rail industry, specifically for the type of learning required to become a train driver. It examines the impact of changes to the traditional learning model, and explores the potential of mentoring in the learning/training model. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a participative research approach to examine training experiences with trainee drivers and driver trainers (n = 61) in six Australian rail organisations. The data are synthesised based on an inductive thematic analysis from focus groups, interviews and cab-rides. Findings – Current driver-learning approaches contain a number of haphazard elements that provide an unfavourable learning experience. Mentoring practices appear to be happening incidentally, despite train drivers wanting mentoring experiences. Practical implications – In the designing and planning of new driver-learning frameworks, it is important to identify the unintended conseque...

It comes with the job: work organizational, job design, and self-regulatory barriers to improving the health status of train drivers

Objective: This study aimed to examine the impacts of key barriers to improving the occupational health status of Australian train drivers. Methods: From May to June, 2015, five semi-structured qualitative focus groups were conducted with 29 train drivers from South Australian, Victorian, and New South Wales-based rail organizations in Australia. Results: Occupational health was impeded by multiple barriers regarding sleep (patterns/fatigue), diet (planning/context), mental health (occupational stress), rostering (low autonomy), sedentary time, low fitness motivation, and family/social life conflicts. Work organizational barriers included communication issues, low organizational support, and existing social norms. Job design barriers included rostering, fatigue, stimulant reliance, and family/social life imbalances. Self-regulatory barriers included dietary and exercise patterns habits and patterns. Conclusions: Occupational health interventions for Australian train drivers must address work organizational, job design, and self-regulatory barriers to healthier lifestyle behaviors.

Health initiatives to target obesity in surface transport industries: review and implications for action

Lifestyle-related chronic diseases pose a considerable burden to the individual and the wider society, with correspondingly negative effects on industry....

Do Coping Strategies Moderate the Relationship between Escapism and Negative Gaming Outcomes in World of Warcraft (MMORPG) Players

Abstract A link between escapist motivations for playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and negative outcomes associated with play has been previously established. However, not all escapists experience the same level of negative gaming outcomes, and the underlying mechanisms have yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine if individual differences in engaged and disengaged coping styles could explain differences in outcomes. Cross-sectional survey data from adult players of World of Warcraft (WoW) were collected (N = 217), using measures of negative gaming outcomes, escapism, and individual coping style. Primary analysis revealed that disengaged coping strategies were positively correlated with both escapist motivations and negative outcomes, and the engaged coping strategies of Problem Solving and Social Support were negatively correlated with negative gaming outcomes. The main analyses revealed that the relationship between escapist motivations for play and negative gaming outcomes was moderated by problem-focused coping strategies. This study offers novel insight into video game research, demonstrating that individual coping styles play a role in moderating the relationship between gaming motivation and the negative outcomes associated with video gaming.

Working around it: Rail drivers’ views on the barriers and enablers to managing workplace health

Purpose The rail driver workplace is full of challenges for effective health management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how known barriers in rail driving may be overcome by seeking enablers of positive health status and lifestyle. Design/methodology/approach Five focus groups were conducted with 29 rail drivers from four rail organisations across three Australian states. Transcribed data were analysed using directed content analysis and thematic coding to develop health enabler themes and categories. Findings Formal initiatives to manage health were piecemeal. Efforts to maintain health involved countering deteriorative, and promoting restorative, health factors. Themes systematically illustrated work environmental, adaptational, and autonomous features of health management. Participants expressed many different approaches to enabling positive health status, and how these connected to known barriers. Research limitations/implications Discussion of personal health issues within the rail industry is considered a taboo topic by some, therefore participants who took part in this study data may be more representative of health-conscious drivers. Practical implications Occupational health in rail can be enabled in multiple ways, including: improving social support, scheduling certainty, and cross-communication around health behaviours; increasing flexibility and environmental support for health behaviours; and directly promoting dietary control and physical activity engagement. Given the diversity and global representativeness of rail systems found within Australia, the findings have international application. Originality/value This study uses a strength-focussed approach to highlight multiple leverage points for organisational rail-driver health interventions across three levels of the system, helping improve health intervention efficacy despite the intractable nature of their environments.