© Understanding How Train Dispatchers U. S. Department Manage and Control Trains of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration Results of a Cognitive Task Analysis Office of Researc U.S. Department of Transportation and Development Research and Special Programs Administration Washington, DC 20590 John A. Voipe National Transportation Systems Center Cambridge, MA 02142-1093 Human Factors in Railroad Operations DOT/FRA/ORD-01/02 Final Report This document Is available to the May 2001 public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA22161 This document is also available on the FRA web site at www.fra.dot.gov NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. NOTICE The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burdon lor this collection ofinformation Is estimated tooverage 1hour per response, including the tlmo for roviowing instructions, searchmg existing data sourcos, gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the eolloction ofinformation. Send commonts regarding this burden estcmato or any aspocis ol this colleciion of informalcon , including suggestions lor reducing this burdon toWashington Headquanors Service, Oirectorale for information Oporotions and Reports. 1215 Jolforson Oavis Highway. Suito 1204. Arlington. VA. 222202-4302. and totheOlfico of Management ond Budget. Paperwork Reduction Project IO7O4-018B). Washington, DC 20503. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED 1. AGENCY USE ONLY {LEAVEBLANK) 2. REPORT DATE May 2001 Final Report April 1998 - December 1998 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Understanding How Train Dispatchers Manage and Control Trains: Results of aCognitive R9032/RR993 Task Analysis R0103/RR004 6. AUTHOR(S) Emilie M. Roth, Nicolas Malsch, and Jordan Multer 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S, AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION U.S. Department ofTransportation DOT-VNTSC-FRA-98-3 Research and Special Programs Administration John A. Voipe National Transportation SystemsCenter Cambridge, MA 02142-1093 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S, AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER U.S. Department ofTransportation DOT/FRA/ORD-01/02 Federal Railroad Administration Office ofResearch andDevelopment, Mail Stop 20 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington. DC 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document isavailable tothepublic through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. This document isalso available on the FRA web site at www.fra.dot.gov. 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This report documents the results ofaCognitive Task Analysis that examined how experienced railroad dispatchers manage and schedule trains in today's environment. The objective was to understand the cognitive demands placed on railroad dispatchers and the strategies that experienced dispatchers have developed in response to those demands, as an input to guide development and design of digital communication systems and advanced information displays. Ahybrid methodology was used that combined field observations at two railroad dispatch centers (one that primarily handles passenger trains and one that primarily handles freight trains) with structured interviews of experienced railroad dispatchers. The results reveal that dispatching is acognitively demanding task. Dispatchers have developed avariety ofstrategies that smooth the way for trains to pass through territories safely and efficiently and satisfy the multiple demands placed on track use. These include techniques to off-load memory requirements, extract information about train movement and track activity to support anticipation and planning, take advantage of windows of opportunity to satisfy the multiple demands placed on track use. and level workload. Many ofthese strategies depend heavily on communication and coordination among individuals distributed across time and space. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 14. SUBJECT TERMS Cognitive task analysis, communications, data link, decision-making, displays, railroad dispatcher, 96 track allocation, train routing 16. PRICE CODE LIMITATION OF 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified METRIC/ENGLISH CONVERSION FACTORS LENGTH (APPROXIMATE) LENGTH (APPROXIMATE) 11nch (In) = 2.5 centimeters (cm) 1 millimeter (mm) = 0.04 inch (in) 1 foot (ft) s 30 centimeters (cm) 1 centimeter (cm) = 0.4 inch (In) 1 yard (yd) = 0.9 meter (m) 1 meter (m) = 3.3 feet (ft) 1 mile (ml) =1.6 kilometers (km) 1 meter (m) =1.1 yards (yd) 1 kilometer (km) = 0.6 mile (ml) AREA (APPROXIMATE) AREA (APPROXIMATE) 1 square inch(sq in,in2) = 6.5squarecentimeters 1squarecentimeter (cm2) = 0.16 squareinch (sqin, In2) (cm2) 1square foot (sqft, ft2) = 0.09 squaremeter (m2) 1squaremeter (m2) =1.2 squareyards (sq yd, yd2) 1square yard (sq yd, yd2) = 0.8square meter (m2) 1square kilometer (km2) = 0.4squaremlie (sq ml, ml2) 1 square mile(sq mi, ml2) = 2.6square kilometers 10,000 square meters (m2) = 1 hectare (ha)=2.5acres (km2) 1 acre = 0.4hectare (he) = 4,000 square meters (m2) MASS • WEIGHT (APPROXIMATE) MASS • WEIGHT (APPROXIMATE) 1 ounce (oz) = 28 grams (gm) 1 gram (gm) = 0.036 ounce (oz) 1 pound (lb) = 0.45 kilogram (kg) 1 kilogram (kg) = 2.2 pounds (lb) 1 short ton = 2,000 = 0.9 tonne (t) 1 tonne (t) = 1,000 kilograms (kg) pounds (lb) = 1.1 short tons VOLUME (APPROXIMATE) VOLUME (APPROXIMATE) 1 teaspoon (tap) = 5 milliliters (ml) 1 milliliter (ml) = 0.03 fluid ounce (fl oz) 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 milliliters (ml) 1 liter (I) = 2.1 pints (pt) 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 30 milliliters (ml) 1 liter (I) r 1.06 quarts (qt) 1cup(c) = 0.24 liter (I) lllter (I) = 0.26 gallon (gal) 1plnt(pt) = 0.47 liter (I) 1 quart (qt) = 0.96 liter (I) 1 gallon (gal) = 3.8 liters (I) 1cubic foot (cu ft, ft') = 0.03 cubic meter (m9) 1cubicmeter (m3) = 36cubicfeet (cuft, ft1) 1 cubic yard (cuyd, yd3) = 0.76 cubicmeter (m3) 1cubic meter (m3) =1.3 cubic yards (cu yd, yd9) TEMPERATURE (EXACT) TEMPERATURE (EXACT) [(x-32)(5/9)]*F = y»C [(9/5)y+32J,C = x"F QUICK INCH - CENTIMETER LENGTH CONVERSION 0 12 3 4 Inches Centimeters t—hi t—r i—i r QUICK FAHRENHEIT- CELSIUS TEMPERATURE CONVERSION op -40° -22° 14* 32" 50' 68* 86' 104° 122° 140" 158° 176* 194° 212" I h "I 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 "C -40° -30' -20* •10" 10° 20* 30' 40° 50* 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° For more exact and orother conversion factors, see NIST Miscellaneous Publication 286, Units of Weights and Measures. Price $2.50 SD Catalog No. C13 10286 vpt^tmm Preface This report documents the result of aCognitive Task Analysis (CTA) that was conducted to gain an understanding of the cognitive activities that are involved in railroad dispatching. The purpose of the preliminary CTA was to examine how experienced railroad dispatchers manage and schedule trains in today's environment. The objective was to gain insight into the cognitive demands placed on railroad dispatchers and the strategies they have developed in response to those demands asinput to guide the development and design ofnew computer-based systems and safety-related decision aids. One of theobjectives of theCTA was to provide input to anongoing collaborative program between Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) and the Voipe National Transportation SystemsCenter(VoipeCenter)that is investigating the application of "data link" communications systems to the railroad environment. While data link has the potential to increase safety, and improve productivity and efficiency ofrailroad operations, it is important to clearly understand how this technology can affect human performance. The work was sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Office ofResearch and Development. in Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank ClaireOrth andThomas Raslearfromthe FRA's Office of Research and Development for their support and guidance. The work was performed as part ofa collaborative effort between the VoipeCenter and MIT. The authors would like to acknowledge the technical contributions of Michael Coplen from the FRA and Nora Katz-Rhoads from the Voipe Center, who provided invaluable insights into the operations of railroad Dispatch Centers andhelped champion andshape theCTA thatwas performed. Wewould also like to thank TomSheridan of MIT forhissupport of theproject. The authors would especially like to thank Steve Jones of Amtrak and Allan Fisher of Conrail for providing permission and arranging for us to perform observations at the railroad Dispatch Centers. We would also like to thank the railroad dispatchers whom we observed and interviewed, for their patience and generosity in sharing their time and knowledge with us. We would also like to thank Glenn Underwood, Manager ofTrain Operations at Amtrak, Donald Sussman of the Voipe Center, and Steven Ditmeyer of the FRA for reviewing an earlier draft of this report and suggesting revisions to improve the accuracy and clarity of descriptions of railroad operations. Finally,we would like to thankJohn Pollard of the Voipe Center for sharinghis knowledge and enthusiasm of