Oregon Public Broadcasting report on crew fatigue. One interesting item -- A crew fatigue report to BNSF got " LOST "
http://earthfix.opb.org/energy/article/crew-fatigue-remains-unsolved-problem-underestimat/
Yet RRs want to go to one crew operation. Wonder how many grade crossing incidents happen due to crew fatigue. In my 3 crew days we had a few times where only one member could stay awake at a time.
Here are some interesting comments in view of the other thread where we were discussing laying off if too tired. This is from the link posted above:
Workers feel pressure to work through fatigue
David Brewer, a former BNSF conductor in Havre, Montana, remembers a time he felt exhausted before he ever boarded his train bound for Whitefish. He warned his dispatcher and said he’d need a replacement crew at Marias Pass in the Rockies. When he approached the pass, he said, a replacement crew was not ready.
The dispatcher asked him to take the train over the mountain. But his engineer was already falling asleep, he said. They refused.
“I’m not gonna endanger my life, my engineer’s life, or anybody else’s life because the railroad wants me to go 30 miles further, or 10 miles further even,” Brewer said. “If you can’t go, you can’t go. If you’re tired, you’re tired. And they’re the ones that should know that.”
His account of the mountain pass echoes dozens of current and former workers’ sentiments about fatigue: it’s always there, and you’re expected to push through.
BNSF spokesman Zak Andersen said no employee who lays off for reasons of fatigue would be disciplined.
“The only time that would become an issue is if that was part of a pattern,” he said. He described a pattern as several times during a three-month span. “In that case, the railroad would work with that employee to find out is there an intervening factor that is preventing him from keeping with his duty and complying with the attendance policy.”
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
[Additionally:
Please see also the information posted by EUCLID Sunday July 27, at 7:44 Pm]
Sleeping train crews are the primary cause in at least eight major train crashes investigated by the NTSB since 2000, according to the agency’s reports.
The true prevalence of fatigue in train crashes is likely far higher, said Mark Rosekind, a member of the NTSB specializing in the subject. Human error is the leading cause of train incidents and accidents, and Rosekind estimates fatigue underlies anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of those.
“It’s very likely we have grossly underestimated fatigue in pretty much everything we’ve looked at for a long, long time,” Rosekind said.
The rapid rise in shipments of hazardous crude oil has raised the stakes for addressing fatigue, he said..." [snipped]
This topic seem to reoccur in this Forum at a fairly regular interval. It absolutely is a problem that is faced in all modes of Transportation , IMHO.
We have some regular posters her who are employed in the Trucking Industry as well, and also some railroad operating employees. My background is in Trucking, for over thirty years. As a driver, dispatcher and Safety management. Fatigue is a demon I am personally familiar with, at several levels.
The trucking industry pays drivers for the most part, only when the wheels are rolling; The more miles the more pay. In recent years the Regulators have changed many of the rules that were in effect before I retired (in 2003). The railroads have fought that same demon of Fatigue, I'd guess as long as there have been wheels on rails. Witness the rules to call signals in the cabs, the "dead man's peddle' and even the requirement of two crewmen in locomotive cabs. Even those measures have not prevented some accidents, caused by fatigue either in the locomotive or by dispatchers(?).
Prior to the 21st century there was a lot of study being conducted at the Regulatory level to examine how to combat job fatigue. It became apparent that the phenomenom of " Micro Nap" was an explanation for accidents laid to inattentive driving.
Back around 2000 there was a discussion that appeared on the BNSF's website of ways they could fight crew fatigue. One solution was to install a "cot" in the cab of road locomotives, so with the consent of one crew member the other would watch and listen for radio traffic while the other crew member was able to catch a nap. [ Don't think that idea ever flew into the real operational environment(?).
Due to the "norm" of irregular dispatch times and frequencies, in the Transportation industry, There is a tendency of most employees to 'make the most of their time off' ( essentially, "burning the candle at both ends"). So the rest period is degraded by the individual who wants to jam in the most in their 'personal time'
. Tru in the Railroad Industry as well as the trucking Industry. When that call comes ( unexpectedly (?) The "Rest that was to have happened" did not occur because of the prioritization of their time budget by the individual. So they go back on the job, not rested. A recipe for all sorts of error or calamity.
An answer might be a fixed schedule for critical employees.. But even in the real working world... Stuff Happens ! Human Nature is working against precision.
Both oil-by-rail and railroad crew fatigue are hot button issues. This article attempts to raise the heat of both buttons by combining them.
Euclid Both oil-by-rail and railroad crew fatigue are hot button issues. This article attempts to raise the heat of both buttons by combining them.
Agreed !
More of the Media " hunting small game with a howitzer" approach. to writing about a problem. Definite Hot Button Issues.. In railroads and in Transportation in general.
The resolution has not been found yet. Regulators seek a Band-aid approach, while not addressing what are deep problems within the Transportation Industry. Lip Service paid to Safety, while not addressing a problem caused by pay for performance, while permitting a broad wink-wink, nod-nod approach to what should be a drastic Cultural, and Operational change.. Make that institutional challenges to Management and to Labor practices.. Changes that will effect the bottom lines all around.
This came up in a discussion I had with a professional in another transportation industry, which shall remain nameless, except to say it isn't trucking or railroading.
The subject industry also has HOS rules, although I'm not familiar with them.
He said their "young bucks" are eager to get as many trips in as they can, sometimes pushing HOS limitations in the process.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 This came up in a discussion I had with a professional in another transportation industry, which shall remain nameless, except to say it isn't trucking or railroading. The subject industry also has HOS rules, although I'm not familiar with them. He said their "young bucks" are eager to get as many trips in as they can, sometimes pushing HOS limitations in the process.
(tree68):
It seems that any form of Transportation ( since that has been our topic here) We have grown up in a society that has always pushed individual initiative; where a work ethic is concerned., and the reward is an ability to effect take home pay. Railroaders work on scales that measure their productivity per dispatch, Truckers can work on similar scales of commission and miles ( plus a wide range of options) ands so it goes on the Waterways, and in our skies.
The analogy is that "...If the wheels aint turning--You ain't earning..." You can tailor that to most every industry in the air and on the ground, or water) where a person's productivity equals a reward in the pay envelope... In the work place: Youthful exuberance can be it's own reward.. Youth sometimes operates in an environment that rules are made to be(bent?) or even , broken.
The older we get the more we have made our peace with life's realities, and are less prone to ignore regulations and more likely to be aware that the 'punitives' hurt no one but ourselves and families. Not to mention as we age, hopefully our experience has help us to rise to higher wage structures, beyond those of the "Entry levels" [2c]
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.