WASHINGTON — A Federal Railroad Administration-sponsored study on the use of locomotive cab automation systems found human errors occurred in three of 10 sessions in a locomotive simulator, and recommends further training on the systems for engineers, conductors and dispatchers.
The study, “Human Error Analyses Associated with Locomotive Cab Automation,” also calls for further study on a number of questions, including the benefits of conductors noticing and warning engineers about potential errors.
The study covered the use of Trip Optimizer, the cruise-control-like system for locomotives, and positive train control. The 10 sessions at the FRA’s Cab Technology Integration Laboratory included one in which operators overlooked a Trip Optimizer request for track information and failed to notice when the system switched to manual mode; a failure to stop before a grade crossing; and speed restriction violations, one of which could be classified as major.
Along with additional training, the research team recommends strategies including additional methods to check that data has been properly entered in the systems, adding technology that can detect on-track maintenance personnel or equipment; allowing conductors to make programming changes; encouraging engineers and conductors to review information prior to starting a trip; and duplicating PTC and Trip Optimizer displays at the conductor’s workstation.
Among items the report recommends for further study are the lack of a noticeable overspeed indication when Trip Optimizer is in manual mode, and PTC switching off without the engineer or conductor being aware.
Wait! All these recommendations to help prevent issues with automation mentioning the conductor BEING IN THE CAB? According to the carriers and many on this site, we no longer need conductors in the cab as technology replaces them and even performs better, right? We have PTC and TO and Leader and while we’re at it, we don’t even need the engineer either. They run fully automated trains in Australia and that works perfectly and there’s no reason we can’t full implement that right here!
Railroads would benefit from airline Crew Resource Management. It provides an environment were mistakes are investigated as to the cause of the mistake, not the blame.
Here in the US we went ten years without a passenger fatality in the airline industry. Could not the railroads strive to do the same?
Amen to that. Lack of situational awareness can happen to the best railroader, under specific circumstances. The mindset is to fix the system to ensure those circumstances do not happen anymore, not to fire the employee.
It’s interesting that most of these issues have been complained about by train crews for years. While you’re adding in conductor controls… Add in simultaneous dual release of Authority, so a single human error cannot be cause for unintentional Authority release.
Many airline pilots will tellyou that automation causes missed problems/ 2 in the cockpit has prevented many incidents from happenings. For pilots it is high % of incidents is not understanting ATC instructions.
It’s one size fits all. And if one fails and the engineer doesn’t catch it in time YOUR the problem. Not the technology. Some railroads, instead of working with the engineers and finding solutions to the problems, prefer to put them on the street.
All this so-called modern technology, may be foolproof, but it’s not damn-fool proof!
And groups are calling for driverless trucks and driverless locomotives???????