A Preliminary Examination of Railroad Dispatcher Workload, Stress, and Fatigue

009259822001PDFResearch PaperDOT/FRA/ORD-01/08RailroadsDispatchersWorkloadStress (Psychology)Fatigue (Physiological condition)Field studiesSleepData collectionRailroad dispatcherRailroadsSafety and Human FactorsUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Railroad AdministrationPopkin, S.Gertler, J.Reinach, S.Foster-Miller AssociatesUnited States. Federal Railroad AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThis report presents the methods, findings and recommendations from a field study that examined the sources and levels of railroad dispatcher workload, stress, and fatigue. The study was initiated in response to concerns raised by two Federal Railroad Administration safety audits of dispatching operations in the U.S. The work was performed in three phases. The first phase identified suitable data collection instruments for measuring the three factors; Phase 2 involved a pilot field test of the instruments and field study procedures; and Phase 3 involved field data collection. Data collected in the field at two sites included physiological measures as well as self-report data, third party observation and paper records. Based on self-report health data, study participants aged 25 to 44 experienced several disorders at a significantly higher rate than found among the U.S. population. Information from the participant background survey was used in conjunction with physiological measures, activity count data and subjective ratings of workload, stress and fatigue. Subjective workload ratings were moderately associated with reported number of trains dispatched, regardless of shift or location while subjective fatigue ratings had the lowest association with this measure of workload. (146 p.)75