Why should we all care about human factors in rail?

Recent updates to the Australian rail industry standard AS 7470 have sparked up fresh conversations around human factors in rail. But what exactly is ‘human factors’, and why should we all care?

Gareth Hughes of Transport for NSW, says human factors is a science that helps us to understand how and why people behave the way they do, as well as their limitations and capabilities when interacting within a system.

By integrating this knowledge into the design of rail systems, we can optimise the relationship people have with them and improve system performance.

“In the past, we effectively had a pure technological focus on improving systems – and that left us with systems that were difficult to use, often meaning that overall system benefits were not being achieved. It also gave us some significant safety concerns, when people had to intervene and recover from system failures,” he said.

Growing need for human factors integration

As technology gets more complex, so too does the relationship people have with it, Gareth said, meaning that human factors has never been more important.

He says a process called human factors integration can help ensure systems are safe, operable, and maintainable.

“Human Factors Integration is a well-established process which involves identifying who your users are, what their characteristics are, and the type of tasks the system is asking them to perform.

“You can then assess and analyse those tasks and interactions in terms of how they meet or don’t meet people’s abilities and limitations.”

Importance of mock-ups

While human factors is a science, Gareth says it is not always exact, and this should be acknowledged within the broader systems design process.

“We do have some data and models of what people can and cannot do.
However this data is not always as precise or deterministic as the calculations a civil engineer would make to decipher how strong a piece of concrete needs to be, for example.

“With human factors there are often different ways of doing things, and sometimes it’s not possible to tell from data what exactly the best way is. So, there’s a process of optimising and talking through compromises with designers.”

Mock-ups and simulations can be valuable in this situation, Gareth said, helping operators and designers amass further data on how a system might work in practice.

“It’s important to test out whether or not your overall system can do what you would like it to and whether the interactions between people and technology are designed appropriately

Human factor requirements are now broader

The new AS 7470 standard went through the RISSB development process and was published in late 2024. Gareth says it is significantly more comprehensive and accessible than its predecessor, with information that once sat in a separate guidance document now featured in the standard.

Some new topics have also been added since its initial version in 2016.

“It now covers the full assets lifecycle and some additional technical sections like platform screen doors have been added.”

The inclusion of anthropometric data is also a notable change and a “big step forward”, Gareth added.

“It’s significant in that it gives everybody the same baseline for anthropometric data. Previously we couldn’t include anthropometrics in the standard, because publicly available data was old and only available through commercial packages.

“Now, the standard includes an appendix where you can find recently-developed publicly available data that will give you a better understanding of the Australian population. Data on critical measurements like reach, height, shoulder width, sitting width etcetera are included.”

Knowing when and how to apply human factors

With a wide range of human factor applications, Gareth said organisations should consider the level of expertise required for each project.

“There are some very simple asset development projects where human factors is already taken into account. For example, in the signal sighting process, you might use a human factors checklist to determine where the signal should be placed and then validate this through the involvement of train crew.

“On the other end of the scale, you get to things like train control systems, or the design of a train cab. Then it becomes more complex, and that’s the sort of area where you need specialist advice to help you.”

Optimise the compromise

Human factors should be at the heart of all system design and decision making, but sometimes compromises might be needed, Gareth said.
“With a physical asset, there might be limitations on the size and availability of space within the cab, for example.

“So being able to optimise the compromise is a really good approach. We can’t make things perfect – we just need to do as much as we can to make them as safe as they can be.”

This philosophy is an echo from Gareth’s military past in, which compromises were a routine part of the job.

“In that environment you have to weigh up all sorts of objectives and parameters. As long as your compromises aren’t so big that they detract or reduce people’s ability to operate or maintain, then you’ll likely get the best result for everybody.”

Further insight

Sharing more of his expertise on human factors, Gareth Hughes will facilitate an interactive practitioner-led workshop at the upcoming RISSB Rail Safety Conference, hosted by Informa Connect.

The ‘Human Factors in Action’ workshop will be held on 12 May – the day before this year’s event will be held 13-14 May 2025 at the Swissotel Sydney.

Learn more and register your tickets here.

About Gareth Hughes

Gareth is a human factors professional with over 35 years’ experience in the application of human factors integration in high hazard industries.

Gareth began his career in 1987 in the UK defence industry and then moved into consulting in the nuclear, oil and gas and transport industries.

He joined RailCorp in 2005 and has remained in the NSW rail industry ever since, where he now works as a senior Manager Human Factors at TfNSW.