Rail resource management (RRM)

RRM - Error management at the individual and team level

This type of applied human factors training has been responsible for a successful reduction in errors and their consequences in industries such as aviation.

Investigations of accidents and serious incidents in the transport industry have shown that many safety occurrences could have been prevented by people making better use of their available resources, such as team members, equipment, information and procedures. Effective “resource management” not only helps to reduce human error but enables operators to deal with those errors that have occurred so that they can be contained and their consequences mitigated.

The RRM project

ITSR and Transport Safety Victoria (TSV) have been working with industry including the Australasian Railway Association on a national project to implement a program of “Rail Resource Management training” for rail safety workers. The project, endorsed by the Rail Safety Regulators' Panel (RSRP), provides support and guidance to the rail industry, with no mandatory requirements.

The RRM project provides access to best practice of applied human factors training for rail safety workers across Australia. It includes a best practice review, comprehensive guidelines and generic training materials.

Project deliverables and resources

The Guidelines for RRM have been published in hard copy along with a CD of training materials as a resource for accredited rail operators and/or organisations who conduct rail safety work in Australia and New Zealand.

Official launches of the guidelines were held in Sydney and Melbourne in November/December 2007.

RRM pilot

In late 2008, ITSR and TSV commissioned a project, on behalf of the RSRP, to support the implementation of a pilot RRM program at V/Line, a major rail operator based in Melbourne.

The aims of the project were to assist V/Line with their goal of implementing a best practice version of RRM, to monitor and review the implementation process, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the V/Line course. Dédale Asia Pacific, who had been closely involved in developing the National RRM Guidelines, undertook this project.

An RRM pilot course implementation and evaluation report has been prepared to disseminate the lessons learned from V/Line’s pilot program to interested parties within the Australian rail industry.

Rail resource management facilitator training courses

As part of the National Rail Resource Management (RRM) Project, the Rail Safety Regulators' Panel (RSRP)  sponsored a series of RRM facilitator training courses in February 2011. The two-day courses gave participants the basic knowledge and skills required to facilitate an RRM program with rail safety workers in their own organisation. They developed facilitation skills through explanation of the principles and objectives of RRM, followed by guided facilitation practice and individual feedback.

Related documents

Guidance

• Guidelines for rail resource management

Reports

• A review of best practice - Dedale Asia Pacific

• RRM pilot course implementation and evaluation report and executive summary

Alerts and news

• Information alert - Implementing rail resource management: industry briefing - 11 August 2010
  

Presentations and papers

• Presentation - RRM post-implementation review and future directions - Jennifer Alcock (ITSR)
  
• Paper - Reaping the benefits - how railways can build on lessons learned from crew resource management
• Paper - RRM, the human touch, improves driver performance - Rob Noy

• Presentation - National rail resource management project - Barbara Klampfer (ITSR) and Elizabeth Grey (TSV)
• Presentation - Setting the context: The operational relevance of RRM - Simon Meiers (ITSR)
• Presentation - A business case for RRM - Todd Bentley (V/Line)
• Presentation - A first orientation: RRM guidelines and materials - Barbara Klampfer (ITSR)
• Presentation - How to go about implementing RRM - Andrew Lowe (Dedale Asia Pacific)
• Presentation - Lessons from the V/Line pilot - Todd Bentley (V/Line)