TrackSafeSince the advent of Subway operations, the task of inspecting and repairing track, signals and related wayside infrastructure has been essential to safely moving millions of people every day. It has also been one of the most hazardous jobs in our industry.
In 2007 our industry saw numerous fatalities of track workers and Bombardier began researching the issue to see if technology could help mitigate the hazards associated with this work. Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) became a priority at Bombardier and our Technology Solutions team was given the mandate of finding a solution.
What was readily apparent from the outset was that track workers needed advance warning of an approaching train, and that train operators required advanced warning that they were approaching track workers. The workers with the greatest risk were those that conducted mobile inspections and small repairs. Mobile track workers typically worked in small groups, had no “flagger” as part of their crew, and location awareness provided to train operators was limited, at best. We learned that in the current environment, these mobile track workers were often times relying on changes in air pressure and the sound that a piece of rail made when a train approached.
Sketching the User Experience
While Bombardier has deep roots in the passenger rail industry, TrackSafe needed to address hundreds of scenarios that exist in the typical day of a mobile track worker. It also had direct implications on train operators and the Control Center staff that permit access to track level in most subway operations.
While training and work procedures are the foundation for a safe track level environment, Bombardier reviewed most of the investigation reports associated with track worker fatalities over the past decade and saw opportunities to create an improved layer of safety.
In doing so, we interviewed more than 75 track level employees, and those involved in this work. From track inspectors, to signal maintainers, and Control Center personnel to operators of revenue service trains and work trains, the information and insights that we obtained were invaluable.
When most products or services are designed, a Company will often times have an idea and then invest extensively in a prototype or a pilot of the product. The challenge with this approach is that by the time the prototype is complete, the designer stops asking questions of what the “user” actually needs – they begin trying to convince the user that they have the best product to solve the problem. (The “user” in the case of TrackSafe is the track level employee, the train operator, etc)
At Bombardier, we typically employ a “sketch” of our concept and then we ask questions. We ask questions for months. We ask everyone involved in the process. We use video to simulate what happens in the “current state” and we “sketch” what the design can do in the “future state”.
When we think of a sketch, we normally visualize a charcoal pencil and paper. In the case of TrackSafe, our sketch was mostly conducted with a model train set. We simulated hundreds of ideas and potential solutions to protect track workers. We changed the “design” in seconds as we simply moved our “props” on the train set. We sketched reverse train movements, vent room access, and a host of other events that could happen, or have happened in other track worker incidents around the globe. In every instance we reviewed these model train “sketches” with some of our industry’s leading subway operators.
While some would argue that many of these fatalities were the direct result of rules and procedures not being followed, we found many opportunities to create smarter work rules and procedures that are based on the real world environment of the track level employee. By providing an enhanced safety layer, work rules can be improved, thereby increasing the chances that they will actually be followed.
Click here to learn more about Bombardier's May 2010 TrackSafe simulation event with participating industry leaders and transit professionals.
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