Research Report: Accident Management and Risk Factors in UK Rail

This report provides a detailed analysis of accident risk factors in the UK rail industry, focusing on the perceptions of On Track Machine (OTM) operators. The research identifies key factors contributing to accidents, including pressure and fatigue, as well as decision-making errors. Through interviews with OTM workers, the study explores the impact of these factors on safety. The report also reviews relevant literature, including Network Rail statistics and research by Reason (1995), Colley and Neal (2012), and others, to contextualize the findings. The methodology involves interviews with qualified OTM workers, followed by data analysis to identify major themes and contributing factors. The discussion highlights the importance of addressing fatigue, pressure, and decision-making processes to improve safety outcomes. The conclusion emphasizes the need for worker and employer participation in decision-making, the cultivation of a strong safety culture through training and communication, and the provision of well-being support for workers. The report provides a comprehensive overview of accident management and risk factors in the UK rail sector, offering insights for improving workplace safety.

Perception of Accident Management and Risk Factors: 1
Title: Perception of Accident Management and Risk Factors.
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Introduction
This paper gives detailed research on the perception of accident risk factors basing on the UK
rail workers, where the perceived factors that contribute to accident risks are identified. The
results were obtained by interviewing On Track Machine operators. The approach created
several points of view but discussed two points in details which include, “Pressure and fatigue”
and “Decision making and errors”, thus giving proactive methods of reducing these risk factors,
which is deemed beneficial.
Literature review
According to (Network rail, 2014), entails the preceding statistics of the United Kingdom
Network Rail workforce healthy and safe. The findings show that worker injury rate has been
low but with the period of five years, more injuries have been encountered in this period.
Predicting accidents is very complex; this is attributed to increased factors contributing to them
(Reason, 1995). From the early 1990s, several reliable safe approaches have been adopted. The
approach is very helpful as it recognizes that workers are vulnerable to dangers of human
mistakes, which are caused by unstable operator mind condition, environmental factors,
unguided supervision and the influence of the organization as a whole. The safety is based on
contributing factor identification and domain-specific error. (Colley and Neal, 2012) further
discussed the importance of this approach that continued to be popular. Classification methods
were adopted with an intention to factor out system failures in operating the rail plant with an

Perception of Accident Management and Risk Factors: 2
aim of developing intervention strategies, for reduction of risks and error management.
Methodological approached that was utilized was based on the cause of problem analysis of the
accident investigative archival data. Utilizing the contributing factor framework in safe rail
operation, this shows a huge step forward and has far gifted the rail operating industry with good
guidance on system features roles. This gives the relationship between the contributing factors
and errors in non-rail accidents and accidents (Read et al, 2012).
Aim of the research
The main objective is to identify and evaluate the factors that contribute to accident risks in
operating the On Track Machine (OTM). The study tried to overcome the limitations of the
existing rail work safety by data collection on future and accident risk (instead of coding incident
data and accident after the event occurrence).
Research method
The first part entails the recruitment and participant here the study of information was sent to
the target group of employees. In that case sixteen of them were fully qualified OTM workers.
Those who were willing to participate in this study met the manager and they were sent to the
study manager who then organized for participation times and questions to be asked during
interviewing the participants. The second part of the study was the interview plans. Participants
here precisely described their work and hence the risks and health safety issues they encounter in
their daily-basis activities, giving their views on ways of promoting safety. The procedure gave a
detailed outline of the research done by two researchers directing this interview.
Data analysis
Two researchers were involved here. It entailed the intensive reading of the individual transcript,
citing all the descriptive cryptograms. The ciphers were then labeled in the relevance of the
research topic. Upon the process of proportional analysis, codes were clustered based on matches
and dissimilarities. Subsequent themes were then displayed in a pattern in the dataset. Through
individual assessment and confab, firsthand codes were then inputted to the existing data outline.
Discussion of the themes

Perception of Accident Management and Risk Factors: 3
The first superordinate leitmotif: fatigue and pressure, fatigue was termed as thrilling
weariness and related hardship in response to the change of necessities of the task. The pressure
is defined as the problem of mental strain due to high hassles, not able to be made at a particular
time. To reduce the risk due to these problems the participants mentioned about transition time,
work/life balance, roistering and shiftwork and consideration of downtime and time pressure.
The second main theme was decision making and errors, this theme designated the implication
of these issues with the ability of employees to brand good choices, act carefully and thus avoid
mishaps in work. Poor policymaking ability consequently led to incidences that were dangerous
and hence accident fatalities, this was caused by an inability to manage pressure and fatigue,
making faults and devouring accidents, breaking rules and not reporting concerns and near
misses.
Conclusion
To contain the accidents risk and losses, the workers and the employers should participate in
proper decision making to avoid mistakes. Safety culture should be groomed within the
workforce through communicational training and proper training of the employees. Well-being
and the support teams should always be present to guide and assist the workers where possible.
References

Perception of Accident Management and Risk Factors: 4
British Psychological Society, 2009. Code of Ethics and Conduct: Guidance Published by the
Ethics Committee of the British Psychological Society. BPS, London.
Colley, S.K., Neal, A., 2012. Automated text analysis to examine qualitative differences in safety
schema among upper managers, supervisors and workers, 11/2012 Saf. Sci. 50
(9), 1775e1785.
environmental factors and error types involved in rail incidents and accidents.Accid. Analysis
Prev. 48, 416e422
Guidance. Last accessed 08/04/2016 from. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg256.pdf.
Health and Safety Executive HSE, 2006. Managing Shiftwork: Health and Safety
Network Rail, 2014. Workforce Safety (Fatality and Weighted Injury Rate). Accessed on
11/07/2014 from. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/4815.aspx. Nevalainen,
M., Kuikka, L., Pitkal, K., 2014. Medical errors and uncertainty in pri- € mary
healthcare: a comparative study of coping strategies among young and
experienced GPs. Scand. J. of Prim. Health Care 32 (2), 84e89.
Read, G., Lenne, M., Moss, S., 2012. Associations between task, training and social
Reason, J., 1995. A system approach to organizational error. Ergonomics 38,1708e1721