A systems analysis of rail level crossings

This chapter describes the findings from a systems analysis of the existing rail level crossing system in Victoria, Australia. The aim of the Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) was to produce an in-depth description of rail level crossing system behaviour and the factors influencing it, and to generate design insights through formative analyses of rail level crossing systems. The aim of the Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) was to produce a goal-based description of drivers' interactions with passive and active rail level crossings. Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) was applied to identify the errors that drivers could make at existing rail level crossings in Victoria, Australia. The analyses clearly demonstrate the inherent complexity within rail level crossing systems. They have multiple competing purposes, many values and priorities, various constraints on behaviour and multiple pathways to failure.