IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reensy/v188y2019icp352-365.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Complexity on the rails: A systems-based approach to understanding safety management in rail transport

Author

Listed:
  • Read, G.J.M.
  • Naweed, A.
  • Salmon, P.M.

Abstract

Rail transport is a complex, safety-critical system which experiences catastrophic events. Systems theory-based approaches have been applied to understand risk and safety management in a range of safety-critical domains, however in rail, systems approaches have tended to be applied for accident analysis, rather than to describe how risk and safety is proactively managed. This study involved the development of a control structure model of rail transport in Australia using the Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) method. The control structure identifies the actors involved in managing safety, and shows the control and feedback mechanisms that comprise the adaptive feedback function to maintain safety. The control structure was refined in a participative process involving subject matter experts. Insights identified for improving safety management included: a need to improve feedback mechanisms to better understand the effectiveness of control measures; a lack of formal controls at higher levels of the system; and a focus within current feedback mechanisms on failures rather than understanding and learning from normal performance. Opportunities for applying the model in industry practice are also explored.

Suggested Citation

  • Read, G.J.M. & Naweed, A. & Salmon, P.M., 2019. "Complexity on the rails: A systems-based approach to understanding safety management in rail transport," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 352-365.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:188:y:2019:i:c:p:352-365
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ress.2019.03.038
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0951832018311773
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ress.2019.03.038?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patriarca, Riccardo & Bergström, Johan & Di Gravio, Giulio, 2017. "Defining the functional resonance analysis space: Combining Abstraction Hierarchy and FRAM," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 34-46.
    2. Rajagopal, 2014. "The Human Factors," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Architecting Enterprise, chapter 9, pages 225-249, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Raben, Ditte Caroline & Bogh, Søren Bie & Viskum, Birgit & Mikkelsen, Kim L. & Hollnagel, Erik, 2018. "Learn from what goes right: A demonstration of a new systematic method for identification of leading indicators in healthcare," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 187-198.
    4. Wróbel, Krzysztof & Montewka, Jakub & Kujala, Pentti, 2018. "Towards the development of a system-theoretic model for safety assessment of autonomous merchant vessels," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 209-224.
    5. Leveson, Nancy, 2015. "A systems approach to risk management through leading safety indicators," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 17-34.
    6. Zio, E., 2018. "The future of risk assessment," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 176-190.
    7. Kontogiannis, Tom & Malakis, Stathis, 2012. "A systemic analysis of patterns of organizational breakdowns in accidents: A case from Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operations," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 193-208.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shin, Sung-Min & Lee, Sang Hun & Shin, Seung Ki, 2022. "A novel approach for quantitative importance analysis of safety DI&C systems in the nuclear field," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    2. Song, Xueying & Qi, Lei & Liu, Shiyan & Ding, Shuiting & Li, Daqing, 2024. "Simple analysis of complex system safety based on Finite State Machine Network and phase space theory," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    3. Khastgir, Siddartha & Brewerton, Simon & Thomas, John & Jennings, Paul, 2021. "Systems Approach to Creating Test Scenarios for Automated Driving Systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    4. Antonello, Federico & Buongiorno, Jacopo & Zio, Enrico, 2022. "A methodology to perform dynamic risk assessment using system theory and modeling and simulation: Application to nuclear batteries," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    5. Chelouati, Mohammed & Boussif, Abderraouf & Beugin, Julie & El Koursi, El-Miloudi, 2023. "Graphical safety assurance case using Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) — challenges, opportunities and a framework for autonomous trains," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    6. Dindar, Serdar & Kaewunruen, Sakdirat & An, Min, 2022. "A hierarchical Bayesian-based model for hazard analysis of climate effect on failures of railway turnout components," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 218(PA).
    7. Lam, C.Y. & Tai, K., 2020. "Network topological approach to modeling accident causations and characteristics: Analysis of railway incidents in Japan," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    8. Zhao, Xian & Dong, Bingbing & Wang, Xiaoyue, 2023. "Reliability analysis of a two-dimensional voting system equipped with protective devices considering triggering failures," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    9. Shin, Sung-Min & Lee, Sang Hun & Shin, Seung Ki & Jang, Inseok & Park, Jinkyun, 2021. "STPA-Based Hazard and Importance Analysis on NPP Safety I&C Systems Focusing on Human–System Interactions," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    10. Dindar, Serdar & Kaewunruen, Sakdirat & An, Min, 2020. "Bayesian network-based human error reliability assessment of derailments," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    11. Bugalia, Nikhil & Maemura, Yu & Ozawa, Kazumasa, 2021. "Characteristics of enhanced safety coordination between high-speed rail operators and manufacturers," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    12. Ben Riemersma & Rolf Künneke & Genserik Reniers & Aad Correljé, 2020. "Upholding Safety in Future Energy Systems: The Need for Systemic Risk Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Hong, Wei-Ting & Clifton, Geoffrey & Nelson, John D., 2024. "A data-driven conceptual framework for understanding the nature of hazards in railway accidents," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 102-117.
    14. Lin, Boliang & Zhao, Yinan, 2021. "Synchronized optimization of EMU train assignment and second-level preventive maintenance scheduling," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mahdieh Delikhoon & Esmaeil Zarei & Osiris Valdez Banda & Mohammad Faridan & Ehsanollah Habibi, 2022. "Systems Thinking Accident Analysis Models: A Systematic Review for Sustainable Safety Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-28, May.
    2. Langdalen, Henrik & Abrahamsen, Eirik Bjorheim & Abrahamsen, HÃ¥kon Bjorheim, 2020. "A New Framework To Idenitfy And Assess Hidden Assumptions In The Background Knowledge Of A Risk Assessment," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    3. Khastgir, Siddartha & Brewerton, Simon & Thomas, John & Jennings, Paul, 2021. "Systems Approach to Creating Test Scenarios for Automated Driving Systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    4. Antonovsky, A. & Pollock, C. & Straker, L., 2016. "System reliability as perceived by maintenance personnel on petroleum production facilities," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 58-65.
    5. Chang, Chia-Hsun & Kontovas, Christos & Yu, Qing & Yang, Zaili, 2021. "Risk assessment of the operations of maritime autonomous surface ships," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    6. Thieme, Christoph A. & Utne, Ingrid B., 2017. "Safety performance monitoring of autonomous marine systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 264-275.
    7. Martorell, P. & Martón, I. & Sánchez, A.I. & Martorell, S. & Sanchez-Saez, F. & Saiz, M., 2018. "Evaluation of risk impact of completion time changes combining PSA and DSA model insight and human reliability analysis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 97-107.
    8. Li, Weijun & He, Min & Sun, Yibo & Cao, Qinggui, 2019. "A proactive operational risk identification and analysis framework based on the integration of ACAT and FRAM," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 101-109.
    9. Sun, Hao & Wang, Haiqing & Yang, Ming & Reniers, Genserik, 2022. "A STAMP-based approach to quantitative resilience assessment of chemical process systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    10. Faiella, Giuliana & Parand, Anam & Franklin, Bryony Dean & Chana, Prem & Cesarelli, Mario & Stanton, Neville A. & Sevdalis, Nick, 2018. "Expanding healthcare failure mode and effect analysis: A composite proactive risk analysis approach," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 117-126.
    11. Utne, Ingrid Bouwer & Rokseth, Børge & Sørensen, Asgeir J. & Vinnem, Jan Erik, 2020. "Towards supervisory risk control of autonomous ships," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    12. Rahman, Shaikh Moksadur, 2020. "Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention: Evidence from Bangladesh," Asian Business Review, Asian Business Consortium, vol. 10(2), pages 99-108.
    13. Naveena Prakasam & Louisa Huxtable-Thomas, 2021. "Reddit: Affordances as an Enabler for Shifting Loyalties," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 723-751, June.
    14. Valeriy Makarov & Albert Bakhtizin, 2014. "The Estimation Of The Regions’ Efficiency Of The Russian Federation Including The Intellectual Capital, The Characteristics Of Readiness For Innovation, Level Of Well-Being, And Quality Of Life," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(4), pages 9-30.
    15. Kristine Edgar Danielyan & Samvel Grigoriy Chailyan, 2019. "Delineation of Effectors Impact on The Human Brain Derived Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate Synthetase-1 Activity," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 24(1), pages 17918-17926, December.
    16. Chuan Wang & Yupeng Liu & Wen Hou & Chao Yu & Guorong Wang & Yuyan Zheng, 2021. "Reliability and availability modeling of Subsea Autonomous High Integrity Pressure Protection System with partial stroke test by Dynamic Bayesian," Journal of Risk and Reliability, , vol. 235(2), pages 268-281, April.
    17. Sana Sadiq & Khadija Anasse & Najib Slimani, 2022. "The impact of mobile phones on high school students: connecting the research dots," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 30(1), pages 252-270, April.
    18. Jascha-Alexander Koch & Michael Siering, 2019. "The recipe of successful crowdfunding campaigns," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(4), pages 661-679, December.
    19. Martins, José & Costa, Catarina & Oliveira, Tiago & Gonçalves, Ramiro & Branco, Frederico, 2019. "How smartphone advertising influences consumers' purchase intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 378-387.
    20. Wu, Bing & Yip, Tsz Leung & Yan, Xinping & Guedes Soares, C., 2022. "Review of techniques and challenges of human and organizational factors analysis in maritime transportation," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:188:y:2019:i:c:p:352-365. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/reliability-engineering-and-system-safety .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.