Human factors: shaping the railway around our people
Our human factors team is helping global railways become safer, healthier, and more efficient.
Paul Leach, Head of Human Factors, RSSB
People are part of all aspects of the complex rail system. They’re on trains, in stations, at maintenance depots, and out on the tracks. People tend to come to work to do their best, but things do not always work out in the way they had planned. Human factors work in rail involves considering how people work within that complex system. That means thinking about how people behave and how we can ensure that technology and equipment supports safe working. Also, how positive safety culture can encourage safe and effective practice, and open reporting.
Part of our human factors work at RSSB focuses on how we can influence the system at the organisational level. That means investigating how the pressures, limits, and resources influence the way a company can support optimum and safe performance for their people.
Insights from our human factors team, paired with our position as a trusted industry body, has helped to shape industrial design, management, and standards in GB rail. Our research and guidance in this area have contributed to the operation of one of the safest railway systems in the world.
Find out human factors are shaping rail safety. Discover key learnings from our past RED safety videos.
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Our dedicated human factors team includes people with a range of knowledge and experience. We have chartered ergonomists, occupational psychologists, and people who have come to human factors through operational roles in rail and other industries, too.
When it's called for, our work is underpinned by data shared with us by companies across the industry. One way this is collected is through the Safety Management Intelligence System (SMIS).
SMIS is an online health and safety reporting software tool with a business intelligence function. Companies across the industry can share their data in a single platform. We can see that data and use it to help us make data-informed decisions across the rail system.
As an impartial, advisory body, we’re in a unique position. We have oversight over the whole industry—a bird’s eye view. Wherever possible, we will base our human factors work on robust evidence gained through research and engagement—our own, and from other groups and industries. We are trusted to collect and utilise data, analyse and distil the useful parts, and share findings that benefit the industry.
Our learning is not limited to the British rail industry. Many topics in human factors apply to international railways and other safety critical industries, too.
This is reflected in our international partnerships, where we exchange learning and deliver training courses. When we expand our view and address human factors issues at a systemic level, we can make more effective improvements in safety.
There are a huge variety of businesses in the rail industry, all with different risk profiles and safety needs. So, seven core areas have been identified, and we’ve created a toolkit of practical resources to tackle each of them. As each company, country, and continent will have its own unique needs, it’s crucial for leaders to be able to tailor tools for their own needs.
fatigue risk, workload, and health and wellbeing management
design and use of technology
passenger behaviour at stations, at level crossings, or on trains
effective competence management
competence for non-technical skills
reliability and performance
safety culture
Our human factors specialists support the industry with their research and engagement on safety critical issues, by contributing to writing standards, and by offering consultancy and training support. But how is success measured when the problems themselves can seem so intangible?
We have already shared case studies of our research on musculoskeletal disorders, standards and guidance on seat comfort, and management of fatigue risk. Our research and standards can be shared and adopted by international railway colleagues for the global benefit of the industry.
Read our our Human Factors Toolkit for a range of guidance, tools, and services to help identify and manage a wide range of issues.
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Read our case studies on seat comfort, cognitive overload, and more to see human factors work in practice.
Our mission is to encourage lasting systemic change which puts people at the centre of design and change considerations.
