Abstract
Railways are complex socio-technical systems involving people, processes, and technology. The components of such systems are coupled in a largely unspecified and unpredictable manner, which makes them intractable in terms of functionality and interface. The limited human abilities to control the situation resulted in automation, which in itself led to more uncontrolled actions. Therefore, failures are inevitable, and the typical reactive safety management approach to control adverse outcomes of these complex systems can be ineffective. Particularly, human performance and the organisational operational environment are constantly variable, and it is a fact that majority of the railway accidents are attributed to degraded human behaviour. To deal with this reality of performance variability, the concept of human factor, which has been considered a hindrance to early safety principles, has become an asset for the system’s safety. The safety issue, therefore, does not mainly reside with one component in the system but develops from the interaction of all or multiple components, leading to the assessment that safety must be managed with a whole system approach.A railway organisation, therefore, in addition to meeting statutory legal safety requirements, shall also attain several other goals related to strategic planning, business sustainability, and operational viability in the face of changing social realities, fluctuating business dynamics, and evolving technologies, which may be achieved through innovation and business transformation as part of the continuous improvement process. Such needs are augmented by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a substantial impact on the global public transport industry. This transformation, although maybe an ideal approach, does pose secondary challenges. It is, therefore, critical to identify and treat potential threats associated with human behaviour, safety culture, information management, clear roles and responsibilities, and change management while implementing a safety management system.
To facilitate this transformation, the study developed a modified Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis, FMECA Plus, using quantitative risk analysis to assess risk related to Human and Organisational Factors (HoFs). This FMECA Plus is then employed along with Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) in a new Safety Management System model supported by the Enterprise Architecture (EA) platform. The approach establishes a shift from regulatory driven compliance-based thinking to a risk-informed performance-based whole system SMS strategy.
The SEA model is validated with a bottom-up implementation of some actual railway maintenance processes to produce practical guidance on how the enterprise's high-level requirements can be satisfied in the management of the actual maintenance programme at the lower levels. The developed SEA model with risk informed analysis can result in improved productivity and long-term sustainability, therefore, it will provide a significant balance between satisfying safety regulatory requirements and business objectives. It may also support the regulators in simplifying the certification of new railway systems
| Date of Award | 14 Aug 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Gareth Tucker (Main Supervisor) & Hassna Louadah (Co-Supervisor) |