Determining the role of technology in South African railway occurrences

Railway technologies have played an important role in railway industries and assisting operators to ensure railway safety. The greatest advancements in railway technologies have occurred in the last 60 years with the onset of... [ view full abstract ]

Railway technologies have played an important role in railway industries and assisting operators to ensure railway safety. The greatest advancements in railway technologies have occurred in the last 60 years with the onset of the digital revolution. The technological developments in South Africa have been slightly behind those in developed countries, but South African railway operators have realized the need to improve the technology and therefore; new technologies have been introduced in South Africa in the last 20 years. While the technological advancements have been exciting, some challenges have ensued, some of which were not previously considered and mitigated thereby requiring further investigation at this stage.

The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) conducts independent investigations into railway occurrences in South Africa. Several findings are made, which include Human Factors and other related issues. These investigations also determine the causes of incidents as immediate, contributory or root causes and provide recommendations so that operators can improve on the gaps identified in the investigations. Through the findings and recommendations, it is clear that technology has played a role in South African railway occurrences but the impact of technology on safety has not been determined. Operators are also not aware of what the recurring technology issues and as a result, the issues are not mitigated, leading to similar occurrences. Therefore, this study will analyze occurrences investigated by the RSR over several years in order to determine how technology was involved in the incident and any deficiencies identified with the technology.

The implementation of some technologies in South African railways has been quite sudden and without careful consideration or assessment of the challenges that may arise. Some of these issues were not previously identified or adequately resolved before implementation. Therefore; the first objective of the paper is to identify incidents where technology played a role, i.e. where technology contributed to the incident as immediate, contributory or root causes. This is crucial to quantifying the role that technology has played and to understand how many incidents were due to technological issues. The second objective is to determine where deficiencies in the man-machine interface existed, with the intention of understanding the contribution of technology was due to ergonomics issues, the functionality of the technology or the complexity of the systems. The training provided for the users and maintainers of the new technologies has not always been found to be comprehensive or effective. Therefore, the third objective of the paper is to determine if there were inadequacies identified in the training provided to the individuals interacting with the technology.

This paper can provide a greater understanding of the role technology has played in previous incidents in South Africa in order to provide recommendations for South African operators to utilize when implementing technologies or attempting to resolve similar issues identified in existing technologies. This analysis will aid operators in understanding the impact of technology on safety and can assist in preventing occurrences of a similar nature.