Fatigue in the Rail Industry

Fatigue in the Rail Industry PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Fatigue in the Rail Industry

Fatigue in the Rail Industry PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description


Fatigue in Railway Infrastructure

Fatigue in Railway Infrastructure PDF Author: Mark Robinson
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1845697022
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
Fatigue is a major issue affecting safety and quality of service in the railway industry. This book reviews key aspects of this important subject. It begins by providing an overview of the subject, discussing fatigue at the wheel-rail interface and in other aspects of infrastructure. It then considers fatigue in railway and tramway track, looking at causes of potential failure in such areas as rails and fixings as well as sleepers. It also reviews failure points in structures such as embankments and cuttings. The book analyses fatigue in railway bridges, looking in particular at masonry arch bridges as well as metal and concrete bridges. Two final chapters review safety and reliability issues affecting escalators and lifts.Fatigue in railway infrastructure is a helpful reference for those in the railway industry responsible for infrastructure maintenance as well as those researching this important subject. Provides a concise review of fatigue in the railway infrastructure Examines the causes of potential failure in rails, fixings and sleepers Analyses fatigue in railway bridges including masonry arch, metal and concrete structures

Employee Fatigue in the U. S. Railroad Industry

Employee Fatigue in the U. S. Railroad Industry PDF Author: Ryan P. Flanagan
Publisher: Gazelle Book Services, Limited
ISBN: 9781631177880
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
How fatigued are safety-critical railroad employees such as Train and Engine (T&E) workers, passenger T&E workers, signalmen, Maintenance of Way (MOW) workers and dispatchers, and how does their level of fatigue affect the safety of railroad operations? Are statutory or regulatory limitations on hours of work sufficient to prevent worker fatigue? Fatigue is largely a function of sleep and circadian rhythms. Sleep, in turn, is a function of work schedules. Work duration, the time of day (TOD) of work, and schedule variability are aspects of work schedules that determine when sleep can occur. Fatigue exposure is determined largely by work schedules, and fatigue exposure determines fatigue risk and the probability of human factor accidents. This book draws on the results of several prior studies, all conducted with similar methodology, to characterize the prevalence of employee fatigue in the U.S. railroad industry. Data from logbook surveys of signalmen, maintenance of way workers, dispatchers, and train and engine service employees were combined to examine the relationship between work schedules and sleep patterns.

Human Factors Issues in Rail Safety

Human Factors Issues in Rail Safety PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Railroads
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Freight Railroad Safety

Freight Railroad Safety PDF Author: U. s. Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781478124474
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description
GAO-11-853. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) overhauled requirements for how much time certain freight railroad workers can spend on the job (called "hours of service"). Changes included limiting the number of consecutive days on duty before rest is required, increasing minimum rest time from 8 to 10 hours, and requiring rest time to be undisturbed. RSIA also provided for pilot projects and waivers. RSIA's changes became effective for freight railroads in July 2009. GAO was asked to assess (1) the impact of these changes on covered train and engine (T&E) employees, including implications for fatigue, (2) the impact of the changes on the rail industry, and (3) actions the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has taken to oversee compliance with hours of service requirements and implement RSIA provisions for pilot projects and waivers. To perform this work, GAO analyzed covered employee work schedules and used models to assess fatigue, surveyed the railroad industry, analyzed FRA inspection and enforcement data, and interviewed federal and railroad officials as well as fatigue and sleep experts. According to GAO's analysis of covered employee work schedules, RSIA's requirements led to changed work schedules, increased rest time, and reduced risk of fatigue for covered T&E employees. RSIA's consecutive work day limits and rest requirements contributed to work schedule changes and increases in rest time. Increased rest time also led to equivalent decreases in the hours that covered employees worked. Overall, GAO found, using an FRA-validated fatigue model, that the time covered employees spent working at a high risk of fatigue-- a level associated with reduced alertness and an increased risk of errors and accidents--decreased by about 29 percent for employees of class I railroads (those with the largest revenues) and by about 36 percent for employees of selected class II railroads (those with smaller revenues). GAO's analysis also shows that there are further opportunities to reduce fatigue risk. Specifically, RSIA's changes did not result in material decreases in night work, yet scientific literature and GAO's analysis show night work represents a major factor in fatigue risk. As might be expected from changes aimed at improving safety by reducing covered employee fatigue, the railroad industry reported that RSIA's hours of service changes had operational and administrative effects on it, some of which increased some railroads' one-time or ongoing costs. GAO did not determine how RSIA's changes affected railroads' earnings; but the act took effect as the economy was starting to recover from the recession that began in late 2008. Through its industry survey and interviews, GAO found that RSIA's changes affected railroad operations, including changes to crew and train schedules and increases in staffing levels. Railroad officials GAO spoke with attributed these changes to RSIA's consecutive work day limits and rest requirements, both of which acted to reduce people's availability to work. To maintain operations while complying with the law, railroad officials told GAO they, among other things, hired new employees or brought employees back from furlough. GAO estimated that adding people--120 to 500 each by some class I railroads--increased these railroads' annual costs by $11 million to $50 million. Administrative effects reported by railroads included a need for railroads to revise their hours of service timekeeping systems.

Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health, and Highway Safety

Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health, and Highway Safety PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309392527
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
There are approximately 4,000 fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses in the United States each year. Though estimates are wide-ranging, possibly 10 to 20 percent of these crashes might have involved fatigued drivers. The stresses associated with their particular jobs (irregular schedules, etc.) and the lifestyle that many truck and bus drivers lead, puts them at substantial risk for insufficient sleep and for developing short- and long-term health problems. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety assesses the state of knowledge about the relationship of such factors as hours of driving, hours on duty, and periods of rest to the fatigue experienced by truck and bus drivers while driving and the implications for the safe operation of their vehicles. This report evaluates the relationship of these factors to drivers' health over the longer term, and identifies improvements in data and research methods that can lead to better understanding in both areas.

Freight Railroad Safety

Freight Railroad Safety PDF Author: U.s. Government Accountability Office
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781974549672
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
"The Rail Safety Improvement Act of2008 (RSIA) overhauled requirementsfor how much time certain freightrailroad workers can spend on the job(called "hours of service"). Changesincluded limiting the number ofconsecutive days on duty before rest isrequired, increasing minimum rest timefrom 8 to 10 hours, and requiring resttime to be undisturbed. RSIA alsoprovided for pilot projects and waivers.RSIA's changes became effective forfreight railroads in July 2009. GAO wasasked to assess (1) the impact of thesechanges on covered train and engine(T&E) employees, includingimplications for fatigue, (2) the impactof the changes on the rail industry, and(3) actions the Federal RailroadAdministration (FRA) has taken tooversee compliance with hours ofservice requirements and implementRSIA provisions for pilot projects andwaivers. To perform this work, GAOanalyzed covered employee workschedules and used models to assessfatigue, surveyed the railroad industry,analyzed FRA inspection andenforcement data, and interviewedfederal and railroad officials as well asfatigue and sleep experts. "

Mechanics and Fatigue in Wheel/Rail Contact

Mechanics and Fatigue in Wheel/Rail Contact PDF Author: S.L. Grassie
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0444599770
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
These proceedings demonstrate the increasing interest and importance of contact mechanics and wear to the railway industry. The 27 contributions succeed in sustaining a balance between mechanics and metallurgy, theory and practice, and will be of considerable interest to those engaged in research, as well as practising engineers.

Complex System Maintenance Handbook

Complex System Maintenance Handbook PDF Author: Khairy Ahmed Helmy Kobbacy
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1848000111
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 649

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Book Description
This utterly comprehensive work is thought to be the first to integrate the literature on the physics of the failure of complex systems such as hospitals, banks and transport networks. It has chapters on particular aspects of maintenance written by internationally-renowned researchers and practitioners. This book will interest maintenance engineers and managers in industry as well as researchers and graduate students in maintenance, industrial engineering and applied mathematics.

Railroad Safety

Railroad Safety PDF Author: Kenneth M. Mead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hours of labor
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
This is the testimony of Kenneth M. Mead, Director, Transportation Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, General Accounting Office (GAO), on GAO's recent analyses of railroad accidents and engineer work schedules. These analyses focused on whether (1) railroads were complying with the Hours of Service Act, (2) shortening the maximum number of hours per shift allowed under the act would improve safety, and (3) work schedule factors other than the maximum number of hours affect safety. Although only engineer work schedules were reviewed, both industry and Federal Railroad Administration officials agreed that these schedules reflect the same conditions found in the schedules of other train crew members.