| Title | Supporting Railroad Roadway Work Communications with a Wireless Handheld Computer: Volume 2: Impact on Dispatcher Performance |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 33692 |
| Personal Name Creator |
Masquelier, T.; Sheridan, T.; Multer, J |
| Source | Human Factors in Railroad Operations; 87p. in various pagings |
| Corporate Creator | John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.); United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration |
| Publisher | United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration |
| Publication Date | 20041000 |
| Language | English |
| Abstract | This report is the second in a series documenting the development and evaluation of a software application to facilitate communications for railroad roadway workers. The roadway worker can perform two types of communication related tasks with the application: request information about train status and territory without assistance from the dispatcher and request track authority. Using a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, the application can also show the location of the device. The study’s goal was to understand the safety implications of digital wireless communications and positioning technologies on roadway worker safety and performance. The current prototype operated on a cell phone integrated with a personal digital assistant (PDA). It was connected to a GPS receiver and exchanged messages with the dispatcher using wireless Internet access. Roadway workers and dispatchers participated in focus groups to acquire information about the tasks they perform and to identify usability concerns. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the current prototype’s impact on the dispatcher. Overall, interactions between dispatchers and roadway workers using digital communications were slower but more accurate than the same interactions over the radio. Dispatcher valued the tracking display based on GPS information, although it increased workload. |
| Rosap ID | dot:37950 |
| Rosap URL | https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/37950 |
| TRT Terms | Accuracy; Cellular telephones; Communications; Digital communication systems; Dispatchers; Focus groups; Global Positioning System; Handheld computers; Internet; Location; Performance; Personal digital assistants; Safety; Software; Wireless communication systems; Workload |
| General Subjects | Cognitive task analysis; Data link communications; Decision-making; Intelligent railroad systems; Railroad dispatcher; Roadway worker; Track allocation; Train routing; Usability; Railroad roadway workers; Tracking display |
| Classification | NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - SAFETY AND SECURITY; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Human Factors |
| Geographical Coverage |
United States |
| OCLC | 694571610 |
| TRIS Online Accession No |
1006529 |
| Contract Number | R2103/RR204 |
| Report Number | DOT-VNTSC-FRA-04-03; DOT/FRA/ORD-04/13.II |
| Availability | Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center |
| Resource type | Tech Report |
| URL | https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/33000/33600/33692/33692.pdf |
| Format | |
| Database | NTL Digital Repository |