REGISTER

Zdenka Wright

Grad Dip. Railway Signalling Engineering & Telecommunications, AMIRSE

Metro Trains Melbourne

In an age of ever increasing capacity demands and increased operational time pressures, so too we see an increased risk of Category ‘A’ SPADs associated with traditional lineside signalling systems such as in the Melbourne metropolitan network.

This paper describes the development of an engineering based SPAD risk assessment tool for the identification of signals with a high SPAD risk profile.

This will enable prioritisation of mitigation investment and allow SPAD risks to be engineered out or mitigated as far as is reasonably practicable at the design stage.

This paper identifies the interfaces between a Driver and their equipment and the external operating environment that can be mitigated by engineering solutions, and looks at the role human factors plays in SPAD causation in the context of those interfaces.

It highlights the importance of the warning signal in SPAD prevention, introduces the concept of the critical task performance area called the ‘SPAD Zone’, and sets out the human and physical factors within the SPAD Zone identified as contributing to the likelihood and consequences of a Category ‘A’ SPAD.

This paper aims to briefly describe how the tool works, its key inputs and outputs, and the methodology used in its development.