UK rail workers' perceptions of accident risk factors: An exploratory study

Morgan, James I.; Abbott, Rachel; Furness, Penny; Ramsay, Judith

doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2016.08.003

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…These views were supported by an exploratory study of UK rail workers' perceptions of accident risk factors (Morgan et al, 2016 ). This study demonstrated the impact of shift-work, commuting time, work-life balance, and time pressure on perceived stress and fatigue at work.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

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: 92%

A Preliminary Review of Fatigue Among Rail Staff

Fan

Smith

2018

Front. Psychol.

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“…In the railway industry, the interaction between human and organizational factors plays a crucial role in maintaining safe work operations (Morgan et al, 2016). Although major accidents are often attributed to human error alone, it has been argued that organisations are ultimately responsible because they shape the safety climate within which railway workers operate (Itoh, Andersen, & Seki, 2004;Reason, 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multilevel safety climate in the UK rail industry: A cross validation of the Zohar and Luria MSC scale

et al. 2018

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“…For the most part, accident investigations across a range of industries already use human factors to explain sociocultural/technical influences on error. The rail industry is no exception and contributory human factors are viewed through the lens of various frameworks, tools and approaches, with many originally developed in other industries and adapted for the rail environment (Morgan et al 2016). Thus, in conjunction with determining the extent to which authority gradients in rail have been investigated, it is important to examine how various techniques seek to understand how communication errors transpire, whether these methods are effective for identifying power distribution in teams, and the impact this may have.…”

Section: Understanding Communication Error In the Rail Environment Bementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communication error is a human factor in similar, high-risk domains like healthcare and aviation, where frameworks have also been developed to identify contributing factors and develop methods for accident prevention (Morgan et al 2016). On determination of a paucity of literature relating to the influence of authority gradients or power distance and/ or power imbalances within teams in rail, substantive literature from analogous systems mentioned earlier in the paper (e.g., aviation, healthcare) were explored using the same search terms (excluding the term "rail").…”

Section: Review Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Authority gradients between team workers in the rail environment: a critical research gap

Luva

Naweed

2021

Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science

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Communication errors feature prevalently as causal and contributory factors in accident analysis within rail. While matters of phraseology and protocol in communication have been used to categorise communication error, formal inquiries into major rail accidents point to an underlying "authority gradient" as an influencing factor. The aim of this paper was to understand how the influence of authority gradients on communication error has been explored by communities of research and practice in rail. To achieve a holistic understanding and identification of key research gaps, this paper also reviewed prevalent tools and frameworks applied in rail human factors, as well as other sectors impacted by power disparities between teams. The review found that while evidence from industry reports is suggestive of an authority gradient in rail, no research has been conducted to support or refute this conclusion. Moreover, an absence of authority gradients in applied research draws attention to current methodological capabilities vs research foci. The relationship between the authority/power and status/ value of core rail operational functions is conceptualised, and application of Hofstede's theory of power distance to rail is considered. A number of research gaps are identified which indicate future research opportunities. Relevance statement Industry reports and Inquiries into major rail accidents draw attention to an underlying "authority gradient" as an influencing factor in communication error, resulting in near misses and fatalities. A number of human factors tools, methodologies and frameworks have been applied in the context of communication error in rail, but there is little to indicate that the influence of authority gradients has been uncovered or has been the focus of research activity to date. Consequently, power disparities between team workers are being addressed using individual-level training approaches, which means the nature of communication error is not being accurately represented. The prevailing theory for authority gradients, Hofstede's power distance dimension of cultural relativity theory, has not been applied to rail previously and is considered in relation to research gaps for understanding

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UK rail workers' perceptions of accident risk factors: An exploratory study

Cited by 15 publications

References 59 publications

A Preliminary Review of Fatigue Among Rail Staff

A Preliminary Review of Fatigue Among Rail Staff

Multilevel safety climate in the UK rail industry: A cross validation of the Zohar and Luria MSC scale

Authority gradients between team workers in the rail environment: a critical research gap

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