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Modelling factors affecting human operator failure probability in railway maintenance tasks: an ISM-based analysis

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Abstract

This paper investigates the factors affecting human operators’ probability of failure when performing railway maintenance tasks. The objective is to understand the interaction of the various factors and to identify driving and dependent factors. The factors are identified through a survey of the literature and ranked using a Likert scale. The reliability of measures is pretested by applying Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to responses to the questionnaire given to maintenance personnel. An interpretive structural model is presented, and factors are classified using matrice d’impacts croises-multiplication appliqué à un classement (MICMAC). The research may help maintenance management understand the interaction of factors affecting human failure probability in railway maintenance and help management devise policies and guidelines for railway maintenance related tasks.

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Acknowledgments

This research work was conducted in an on-going cooperation between Luleå University of Technology, Luleå and Luleå Railway Research Centre. We extend our sincere thanks to Luleå Railway Research Centre (Järnvägstekniskt centrum) for providing financial support for this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Operation and Maintenance Engineering, Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden

    Sarbjeet Singh, Rupesh Kumar & Uday Kumar

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  1. Sarbjeet Singh
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  2. Rupesh Kumar
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  3. Uday Kumar
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Correspondence to Sarbjeet Singh.

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Singh, S., Kumar, R. & Kumar, U. Modelling factors affecting human operator failure probability in railway maintenance tasks: an ISM-based analysis. Int J Syst Assur Eng Manag 6, 129–138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13198-014-0255-0

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