Formation of a special interest group to represent human factors in rail was approved during the meeting of the Board in May 2008.

Rail Human Factors covers a breadth of topics. As a snapshot, below are some of the "hot topics":

• Fatigue and vigilance
• Level crossings (road and rail driver behaviours and design of crossings)
• Post-incident stress
• Rail resource management
• Organisational considerations (e.g. "just culture")
• Organisational awareness of Human Factors (and impacts thereof)
• Risk management, risk taking, etc
• Integration of Human Factors into the design of rail systems
• General human error and error management

2010 RAILsig Conference

RAILsig has, behind the scenes, been busy developing its proposal and budget and seeking support from professionals to make this event happen.  I am delighted to be able to advise that the Board has endorsed the proposal for RAILsig to host a conference specialising in human factors in Rail.  A committee, which includes people from regulation, the operators and those who consult, has been formed and is exploring options and structures for the conference.  At this stage, it is proposed to hold the conference in conjunction with the 2010 HFESA conference at the Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast during the first week of November.  If you are interested in presenting a paper or running a workshop, we’d be keen to hear from you.  We are interested in both case studies and scientific papers.   

A more formal call for papers will be made early in 2010

Nic Doncaster CPE