Automation as the holistic or partial takeover of the control of tasks and regulation of processes has great potential in our everyday lives: It can increase productivity and safety, and improve health and wellbeing in many ways, as well as help tackle many issues in our lives and society. However, automation, per se, by itself, does not necessarily achieve any of those benefits. To fulfil the potential benefits of automation it must take into account the human element. Too often automation is developed and deployed in a vacuum, without properly considering it in light of human and organisational factors (HOF). In such cases automation may not only not improve things but can actually have a negative and detrimental impact.
But there are also barriers to innovation and automation. The social challenges on the one hand, around society’s acceptance of change and new technologies. These challenges may be reduced with the evolution of society towards the acceptability of autonomous technologies. And on the other hand economic challenges. Another difficulty lies in the cohabitation and interoperability between new and old technologies.
Relevance to rail
Railways are experiencing an automation revolution potentially leading to the following opportunities:
Optimisation of normal operations – highly reliable automation can optimise the operation so that capacity and performance are improved under routine operations, whilst also ensuring consistency and improving safety.
Global optimisation – automation can consider a broader range of variables than a human operator and so provide for optimisation over a larger area.
Standardisation of rules – automation can drive the standardisation of rules and provide a business case for investment to remove unnecessary variation in the railway.
Redistribution of work – reliable automation can reduce operator workload.
The possible and probable evolutions of the sector inevitably raise the question of skills development for the workforce. Examples include: the reduction in the need for traditional skills; acquisition of skills related to new technologies; transition and cohabitation between traditional and new skills; staff loss of control over parts of the system due to automation.
It is a myth however to think that automation will eliminate humans from the socio-technical system in railways. The human contribution is not removed, but rather transformed to a greater or lesser degree depending on the level of automation employed. In all but autonomous systems, humans will still be involved in monitoring during normal operations and operating during degraded modes. There is also human input throughout the system lifecycle, from design and certification through maintenance and regulation. The integration of Human and Organisational Factors (HOF) will still be necessary.
If human input to the system is not considered there is a threat to the safe and efficient operation of the railway.
Approaches and models
Definition
“if there is significant uncertainty or unplanned variability about either the domain the product or system is expected to perform in, or the way functions are to be performed, but the system is capable of dealing with those uncertainties with little or no reliance on a human, then the system is considered as having ‘automated’ those functions. It not only has the ability, but it is given the authority to behave autonomously in performing one or more of the core functions without relying on human input”[1]
[1] Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors “Human Factors in Highly Automated Systems”, White Paper, 25 April 2022
Automation Models
Automation can be applied to four broad classes of functions: 1) information acquisition; 2) information analysis; 3) decision and action selection; and 4) action implementation.[2]
[2] Parasuraman, R., Sheridan, T. B., & Wickens, C. D. (2000). A model for types and levels of human interaction with automation. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cyberenetics—Part A: Systems and Humans, 30(3), 286–297.
Fig. 1: a) Levels of automation relating to human information processing (Sheridan& Verplank, 1978; Parasuraman et al., 2000) and b) grades of automation (GoA) relating to train operation (Braband, 2021, UITP, 2018).
Flemisch et al[3] proposed a classification of human–machine systems, ability, authority, control and responsibility between humans and machines :
Ability: having the means and resources to execute control.
Authority: what the actor (people or technology) is or is not allowed to do. Both the authority to exert control, as well as the authority to change the control authority;
Control: acting on the situation so it develops in a preferred way;
Responsibility: being accountable for the consequences of control. Responsibility is assigned before control is exerted and evaluated afterwards
[3]Flemisch et al, Towards a dynamic balance between humans and automation: authority, ability, responsibility and control in shared and cooperative control situations, Cogn Tech Work (2012) 14:3–18
Fig. 2: Mühl, K. (2021). Automated Railway – Operation as Usual: Best Practice to Achieve Situational Awareness. Automation myth busting series.
Questions to ask suppliers to help integrate Human and Organisational factors into the design and operation of automated systems.
The railways are increasingly adopting automation which has the potential to maximise human strengths and mitigate human limitations, optimising human performance and decision making.
To achieve this there is a need to integrate Human and Organisational factors in the design, build and operation of these automated systems. This can, if appropriate to the system, include decommissioning.
Supplier questions
To help rail organisations a set of questions to ask suppliers has been developed and are set out in the table below – grouped by specific HOF topic areas.
They can be used to inform the procurement of a new automated systems, as items in risk assessments of new automated systems and/or can be used by senior stakeholders within an organisation who want to implement automation. Ultimately, they help to start conversations between rail organisations and suppliers to facilitate the effective integration of Human and Organisational factors and maximise the benefits of automated systems.
Topic 1: HOF maturity of the system
Topic 2: End users experience and needs
Topic 3: Role and responsibilities of end users
Topic 4: Human Machine Interface (HMI)
Topic 5: Preparation of end-users to take over the system
Topic 6: Decision making support
Topic 7: Training and education support
Topic 8: Human performance
Topic 9: Skills
Topic 10: Organisational changes
What HOF specialist input did you have in system development?
How have you determined the needs of the end-users?
Which of the end-user's needs have not been included?
Why not?
What will be the role of humans after the automation?
How does the system detect access and how is this managed? (authorised & unauthorised)
In which critical situation humans will have to intervene?
What do the humans need to do to intervene?
How can the operator understand the decisions and actions that automated technologies will take?
How can we give people a range of training experiences that help operators better interact with the automation?
How is operator vigilance and situation awareness maintained in your system?
How we ensure the driver or other operator keep their know-how?
How much will your automation require us to change our business process or procedures?
What is the Human Readiness Level (e.g how ready the system is for human use) of your product/system?
How do we test the system/product with our own end users and make changes based on the results?
What are the operators’ responsibilities, so they operate the system correctly and safely?
How do you measure the trust of the operator in the automation system?
How can we prepare the operator to be ready to take over when the automation stops working?
How does the system support decision making?
What feedback and information is provided by the system to support decision making?
What level of training and support does the operator need? (in addition to existing knowledge and skill)
How to keep the operator aware of the situation?
What errors could an operator make when working with your system that could affect performance or safety?
How will you help manage the transition from the traditional way of working to the new way of working with the system?
How long will the transition period be?
What is the reliability and quality of the data inputs to the system? How is data verified – by a person or the same/a different system?
How have you assessed/determined that the system meets the end user needs you have identified?
How have you measured trust or startle and surprise in your system?
Which functions are allocated to human, to technology and to organisation?
How do provide an ergonomic HMI to provide clear information on who is in charge of the action between the system and the operator?
What is the role and responsibility of the operator when they are required to take over from the system?
What level of decision making does the system have vs the user (what is the system’s sufficiency)?
What training and support do you provide to develop operator knowledge to use the system?
How do you measure and take into account the cognitive underload linked to the new system, monotony, habits?
What skills are needed to operate the system?
Are there additional or specific skills that are needed to interface with this system?
How will your system be maintained and updated?
What are the HOF requirements for maintenance and eventual decommission?
What are your initial assumptions about the machine, the human and the man-machine relationship?
Has the operability of the system been tested in another railway?
How will the user know when they need to take an action or make a decision?
What is the SIL or reliability of your HMI?
What are the transitions between human control and automatic control in your product?
How critical is the decision making, and what are the consequences of a system-based decision error? What controls are in place to mitigate this?
How will operators develop and keep their skills?
How do you ensure that the reaction time of an operator is the same with the new system?
Are there skills that maybe lost from the new system?
What will be the impact on interactions & communication between humans operators working together?
How will the system be transferred to the railway organisation along with defined roles and responsibilities of the end-users?
How are the system users made aware of the mode of operation?
What are the possible transitions?
How has the decision making logic of the system been developed and tested?
How will you help the drivers be better able to spot, identify and react to larger amount of real time information?
What changes may be needed to our SMS as a result of this system?
How will the operator know that there is a failure of the system?
How are the transitions initiated? (manual discretionary, manual rule-based, automatic)
What will be the expected impact on operator workload in a) normal, b) disrupted, and c) degraded operations
How do you measure and take into account the cognitive overload linked operation of the system in degraded and emergency conditions?
Is the system safety relevant or only operationally relevant?
How is system status communicated to the operator to enable effective transition?
What happens if the operator does not take over the system?
Do you have a HOF risk register, that includes as a minimum
Automated mainline railway operation is challenging the traditional role of the operational staff ensuring safe and punctual service. Nevertheless, there are sound operational, economic, regulatory and societal reasons for valuing and maintaining central contributions of human staff to railway operation in future automated service. Instead of a linear transferal of tasks from the human to the automation technology a human-machine collaboration setting becomes apparent that enables both, automation-driven benefits in terms of capacity or energy consumption and benefits in terms of efficient human intervention in case of operational uncertainty, where human decision-making and communication skills are key to safety.
Automation paradoxically has the potential to both increase and decrease mental workload, depending on the circumstances. Furthermore, decreasing workload can actually put an operator into an underload state, which is just as bad for performance as overload. We have learned these lessons in the aviation and, more recently, automotive industries; as accident reports demonstrate, we are now starting to see their impact on the railway with the introduction of Automatic Train Operation and other automated systems. The key in helping an operator to work at their best is to find a way to optimise their mental workload – which may mean thinking differently about automation.
Due to technological advances, automation is nowadays no longer regarded only as a tool for humans but, due to the execution of complex tasks, is increasingly discussed in terms of a team member. This article describes how successful teaming can optimally be realized so that the strengths of the human operator and the automation are brought to bear. The decisive factor is a human-centred work design that focuses on the needs of human operators. An example from air traffic control is used and findings are transferred to the handling of existing interlocking technologies in the rail industry. First tendencies of teamwork between signallers and automation are already emerging today. In the future, this new form of teamwork can be further developed with the help of the introduced model on the key aspects for a successful teaming between humans and automation.
Abstract This article aims to provide insights into achieving situational awareness as a basis for safe automated railway operations. Automation in rail transport has a significant influence on employees' situational...
What are the key HOF issues? The Strategic Plan of Renfe contains an ambitious transformation programme based on digitalisation and safety culture. A key aspect of the programme is the development of a confidential...
Abstract This paper discusses the ways in which automation of industrial processes may expand rather than eliminate problems with the human operator. Some comments will be made on methods of alleviating these problems...
Abstract: Progress enables the creation of more automated and intelligent machines with increasing abilities that open up new roles between humans and machines. Only with a proper design for the resulting cooperative...
Automated mainline railway operation is challenging the traditional role of the operational staff ensuring safe and punctual service. Nevertheless, there are sound operational, economic, regulatory and societal reasons for valuing and maintaining central contributions of human staff to railway operation in future automated service. Instead of a linear transferal of tasks from the human to the automation technology a human-machine collaboration setting becomes apparent that enables both, automation-driven benefits in terms of capacity or energy consumption and benefits in terms of efficient human intervention in case of operational uncertainty, where human decision-making and communication skills are key to safety.
Automation paradoxically has the potential to both increase and decrease mental workload, depending on the circumstances. Furthermore, decreasing workload can actually put an operator into an underload state, which is just as bad for performance as overload. We have learned these lessons in the aviation and, more recently, automotive industries; as accident reports demonstrate, we are now starting to see their impact on the railway with the introduction of Automatic Train Operation and other automated systems. The key in helping an operator to work at their best is to find a way to optimise their mental workload – which may mean thinking differently about automation.
Due to technological advances, automation is nowadays no longer regarded only as a tool for humans but, due to the execution of complex tasks, is increasingly discussed in terms of a team member. This article describes how successful teaming can optimally be realized so that the strengths of the human operator and the automation are brought to bear. The decisive factor is a human-centred work design that focuses on the needs of human operators. An example from air traffic control is used and findings are transferred to the handling of existing interlocking technologies in the rail industry. First tendencies of teamwork between signallers and automation are already emerging today. In the future, this new form of teamwork can be further developed with the help of the introduced model on the key aspects for a successful teaming between humans and automation.
Abstract This article aims to provide insights into achieving situational awareness as a basis for safe automated railway operations. Automation in rail transport has a significant influence on employees' situational awareness (perception, understanding...
What are the key HOF issues? The Strategic Plan of Renfe contains an ambitious transformation programme based on digitalisation and safety culture. A key aspect of the programme is the development of a confidential reporting system of near misses that...
Abstract This paper discusses the ways in which automation of industrial processes may expand rather than eliminate problems with the human operator. Some comments will be made on methods of alleviating these problems within the ‘classic’ approach of...
Abstract: Progress enables the creation of more automated and intelligent machines with increasing abilities that open up new roles between humans and machines. Only with a proper design for the resulting cooperative human–machine systems, these...
Automated mainline railway operation is challenging the traditional role of the operational staff ensuring safe and punctual service. Nevertheless, there are sound operational, economic, regulatory and societal reasons for valuing and maintaining central contributions of human staff to railway operation in future automated service. Instead of a linear transferal of tasks from the human to the automation technology a human-machine collaboration setting becomes apparent that enables both, automation-driven benefits in terms of capacity or energy consumption and benefits in terms of efficient human intervention in case of operational uncertainty, where human decision-making and communication skills are key to safety.
Automation paradoxically has the potential to both increase and decrease mental workload, depending on the circumstances. Furthermore, decreasing workload can actually put an operator into an underload state, which is just as bad for performance as overload. We have learned these lessons in the aviation and, more recently, automotive industries; as accident reports demonstrate, we are now starting to see their impact on the railway with the introduction of Automatic Train Operation and other automated systems. The key in helping an operator to work at their best is to find a way to optimise their mental workload – which may mean thinking differently about automation.
Due to technological advances, automation is nowadays no longer regarded only as a tool for humans but, due to the execution of complex tasks, is increasingly discussed in terms of a team member. This article describes how successful teaming can optimally be realized so that the strengths of the human operator and the automation are brought to bear. The decisive factor is a human-centred work design that focuses on the needs of human operators. An example from air traffic control is used and findings are transferred to the handling of existing interlocking technologies in the rail industry. First tendencies of teamwork between signallers and automation are already emerging today. In the future, this new form of teamwork can be further developed with the help of the introduced model on the key aspects for a successful teaming between humans and automation.
Abstract This article aims to provide insights into achieving situational awareness as a basis for safe automated railway operations. Automation in rail transport has a significant influence on employees' situational awareness (perception, understanding...
What are the key HOF issues? The Strategic Plan of Renfe contains an ambitious transformation programme based on digitalisation and safety culture. A key aspect of the programme is the development of a confidential reporting system of near misses that...
Abstract This paper discusses the ways in which automation of industrial processes may expand rather than eliminate problems with the human operator. Some comments will be made on methods of alleviating these problems within the ‘classic’ approach of...
Abstract: Progress enables the creation of more automated and intelligent machines with increasing abilities that open up new roles between humans and machines. Only with a proper design for the resulting cooperative human–machine systems, these...
Human and Organisational Factors (HOF) in Railway Automation
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