Characteristics of Human Behaviour in Safety-Critical Systems by the Example Of European Railway Control Centres

This paper attempts to explain behavioural patterns of signallers, emergency controllers, and other users in railway control centres by analysing observational record. By applying inductive reasoning it describes work patterns that have emerged in railway control centres in order to deal with high volumes of traffic and critical situations. Factors that affect human performance when interacting with software systems have been given special attention. This study was carried out with operators at railway control centres in Austria, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. This work will be of interest for managers in railway organisations, as well as for companies supplying technical equipment for train control centres. Furthermore, human factors researchers and practitioners will find insights for the implementation of the findings in user-centred design in the field of safety-critical applications. Due to the research focus on railway operations the results may not be transferrable to all areas, in which safety-critical operations take place.