Human Factor Train Safety Essay

On Thanksgiving day, November 26, 2015 in Baltimore, MD a Carman Welder from the Curtis Bay car shop lined a switch just like he did every day. But this day a remote control zone had been applied to this area and a unmanned remote locomotive was working on the track. One hour later this Locomotive ran through the switch and continued on down the tracks. This train made it out safely but the next train to cross the switch derailed and went in two different directions. This caused 3 cars to derail. While no one was injured it was a very costly mistake and this Carman was punished with 10 days off with no pay. This could have been easily avoided by taking more time and better communication. If employees are urged to always stay aware and safe it will cut down on accidents on all fronts.
Incidents like this happen many times a year at rail yards across the country. It normally doesn’t make the news because it happens so often. Human factor train accidents are a major problem for railroads. A human factor train accident or HFTA is any accident caused by human error or misjudgment. This could be lining switch wrong, running through a signal, or ignoring any number of other safety rules. Avoiding these accidents is simple and easily done but

Many of the employees involved have been working long hours, or have other distractions. At CSX a big push is to watch for the big four complacency, distraction, fixation, and ambiguity. These are four major factors of HFTAs. Complacency comes into play many times with senior employees who are so sure of their abilities that they are unaware of the danger around them. Distraction and Fixation many times come into the scenario together as people get fixated on the things that distract them whether it is a problem at home or some other issue. Ambiguity is uncertainty and is very dangerous, but easily avoided through planning and