Fostering shared situation awareness and on-track safety across distributed teams in railroad operations

Cognitive task analysis conducted to document cognitively challenging aspects of the current work to anticipate potential impacts of new technologies on roadway worker performance as well as provide guidance for their design and introduction. Researchers conducted interviews and observations with 26 passenger and freight railroad personnel to describe the informal strategies that roadway workers, dispatchers, and train crews develop to facilitate work and enhance on-track safety.