A system dynamics model for railway workers' safety behaviors

Abstract

Because of the benefits for both passengers and freight, the demand to travel by rail is ever increasing. Of course, it takes it for granted that it is of utmost important for railway administrators to carry passengers and freight safely to their destinations. Undergoing safety procedures and developing safety systems require awareness of what is causing unsafe conditions. Generally speaking, railway accidents are caused by an unsafe act and/or an unsafe condition. Considering that 88% of accidents are caused by unsafe acts and 10% by unsafe condition and that unsafe acts of workers are more difficult to identity and prevent than unsafe conditions. This paper aims to develop a system dynamics (SD)-based model of railway workers' mental processes that can help analyze the feedback mechanisms and the resultant dynamics regarding the railway workers ' safety attitudes and safe behaviors. Compared with the model of Mingyu Shin's, this SD model considers the environment effect, which can more comprehensively understand and analyze a railway worker's mental processes toward safe behaviors. Based on the proposed model, the effectiveness of two safety improvement policies (i.e., emotion for safe behaviors, environment quality) are examined to provide a better understanding of how to eliminate unsafe acts.