Railway Workers Research Articles

Safety culture: from student to professional

Traffic safety culture, recently this definition is very often heard at conference calls of heads of services. What does this concept imply, how is it interconnected with safety management and why do these areas of work relate to the main tasks of the Russian Railways holding in the field of traffic safety and operation of railway transport? The article discusses the causes of traffic safety violations, which are associated with the influence of the human factor, violation of labor discipline, and improper performance of official duties. The main objective of the study is to find approaches to raising the level of safety culture among railway workers. Most often, when solving a certain task, it is necessary to go beyond it and consider issues that at fi rst glance do not relate to the essence of the problem, but the more you delve into the study, you come to conclusions that show the connection between themselves sometimes in the most unexpected and unpredictable way. How to improve the traffic safety culture among the company’s employees? Is it possible to correct employees whose professional experience has been assessed not for one year, but for decades? Is it possible to change the thinking of an employee whose professional experience has been assessed not for one year, but for decades? In my opinion, an employee who has been violating for many years will no longer be able to perform his job duties properly. This is a “professional” defect that cannot be corrected, because most often it was taught this way during an internship in production. Most cases could have been avoided because minor violations combined with certain factors are fatal.

Obesity-associated diseases among railway workers

Obesity-associated diseases among railway workers

Regeneración. Cinema, trade union and anti-alcoholic propaganda among railway workers in Argentina in the late 1920s.

Regeneración. Cinema, trade union and anti-alcoholic propaganda among railway workers in Argentina in the late 1920s.

Memory, Identity and Cross-Cultural Communication: The Evolution of the Image of Chinese Railway Workers in Canada and the Reconstruction of Multiculturalism

International migrants confront many new challenges from the impact of global populism and geopolitics, but we also see the growth of a new identity culture. The Chinese community in Canada constructs its identity through the collective memory of the image of Chinese railway workers, and realizes the cross-cultural communication of a new identity culture in the course of the interaction of symbolic cultural practices. Since the 1980s, the image of Chinese railway workers has changed from “the indispensable evil” to “pioneers in nation-building” and “a tragic group subjected to injustice.” This is a product of the collective memory of the Chinese ethnic group’s pursuit of identity in Canada’s multicultural reconstruction. The Chinese ethnic group has reshaped an image of Chinese railway workers that has been widely disseminated through cross-cultural means. They have aimed at gaining social acceptance and fundamental recognition of a Chinese-Canadian identity with the help of their “native cultural heritage and historical resources” in Canada. The construction of this identity culture through collective memory has consolidated the foundations of multiculturalism.

‘Evaluation of occupational and nonoccupational interstitial lung disease in railway workers’

Introduction Occupational lung diseases include a wide variety of respiratory diseases with clinical manifestations and diagnostic test results that have features similar to nonoccupational diseases. Aim To determine the prevalence of occupational Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) among confirmed ILD patients admitted to the chest department of Egyptian Railway Medical Centre and the assessment of the outcome. Patients and methods A total of 155 patients with confirmed ILD, were subdivided into two groups: group (A) 79 patients with occupational exposure and group (B) 76 patients with nonoccupational exposure. Both groups were subjected to a detailed history, radiological assessment, arterial blood gases, and Spirometry. Data of days of hospital stay were also recorded. Results The prevalence of confirmed cases of ILD among occupational exposure was 1.49% versus 1.1% in the nonoccupational. Range of age in occupational group was between (31and 68 years). Chest X ray (CXR) findings were positive in 58.2% and 30.2% of occupational and nonoccupational group, respectively. Among group (A), 47.1% of the patients stayed between 11 and 15 days), 15.76% admitted to ICU, and 5.2% were mechanically ventilated. While 48% of hospitalized nonoccupational patients stayed between 6 and 10 days, 8% were admitted to ICU and 4% were mechanically ventilated, Conclusion The prevalence of interstitial lung diseases with occupational exposure was 1.49%, higher than non-occupational interstitial lung diseases. They were younger in age, had history of domiciliary oxygen therapy, frequent exacerbations, and previous hospital admissions. They had prolonged length of hospital stay, particularly those not using protective measures.

The interaction of occupational stress and job burnout on depressive symptoms in railway workers in Fuzhou city

BackgroundTo explore the relationship between occupational stress, burnout and depressive symptoms among railroad workers in Fuzhou, and to analyze the interaction of burnout and occupational stress on depressive symptoms.MethodsIn this study, 861 railway employees of Fuzhou railway bureau were randomly selected from January to April, 2022. Occupational stress inventory revised edition (OSI-R), China job burnout inventory (CMBI) and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) were used to investigate the occupational stress, job burnout and depressive symptoms of railway workers. Interactions associated with depressive symptoms were assessed by linear hierarchical regression analysis and SPSS macros (PROCESS).ResultsOccupational stress, job burnout and depressive symptoms accounted for 50.58%, 93.47%, and 11.19% of the study population, respectively. There were intergroup differences between age, marriage status, and length of service (P < 0.05). Occupational stress and job burnout are the main risk factors for depressive symptoms (OR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.17–3.45; 1.94, 1.69–2.23, respectively). More importantly, further analysis of the interaction between occupational stress and job burnout showed that those with high levels of job burnout had a high-risk effect on depressive symptoms at high levels of occupational stress.ConclusionOccupational stress and job burnout are risk factors for depressive symptoms among railroad workers in Fuzhou City. The interaction of job burnout and occupational stress increases the risk of depressive symptoms.

Scientific support for the design and construction of high-speed railway lines. Chronicle of the Development of Competencies for High-Speed Railway Transport in Russia

The construction of the first high-speed railway in Russia is long overdue. Such a project would be an organic continuation and a new turn in the one and a half century history of Russian railway workers’ struggle to increase train speeds on the country’s railways.

Railroad Luxemburg: Rosa Luxemburg’s Theory of Infrastructure and its Consequences for a Public Service Internet

Infrastructures of circulation, transportation, and communication play a central role in Luxemburg’s work in political economy as well as revolutionary strategy. This paper seeks to reconstruct and develop a theory of capitalist infrastructural expansion drawing from a variety of Luxemburg’s writings. In Accumulation of Capital, infrastructural expansion – namely of railroads – plays a central role at all stages of capitalist accumulation. Railroads act as a site of military and state investment for introducing the commodity economy to non-capitalist sectors and eventually for the “capitalist emancipation of the hinterland.” At the same time Luxemburg rejects the progressive character of these infrastructural endeavours, and she argues that they will not be a genuine “stamp of progress in an historical sense” until capitalism has been destroyed. It is no coincidence then that her political writings prominently feature figures such as railway and postal workers, who are strategically positioned to strike at the infrastructures of imperialism. A Luxemburgist theory of infrastructure has important relevance for contemporary debates around the expansion and ownership of Internet infrastructures. The past decade has been marked by various calls for new models of Internet ownership. These include The Public Service Internet Manifesto, the Democratic Socialists of America’s Internet for All Campaign, Tarnoff’s Internet for the People, Téwodros Workneh’s “Case for Telecommunications Commons in Ethiopia,” and netCommons Project’s vision for community networks. Such calls for a publicly owned and funded Internet risk reproducing some of the dynamics Luxemburg describes in her account of the history of railroads, canals, telegraphs etc. Namely, such calls parallel the state subsidising of an infrastructure that seeks out new sites of accumulation and extraction. This is not to say that such endeavours should be wholly abandoned, but must fit into a broader anti-capitalist political program, otherwise such infrastructural expansion can be seen as continuing the expansion of capitalist accumulation. Luxemburg deters us from looking for a technical fix. For this reason, Luxemburg’s political writings and her critique of the non-progressive nature of capitalism are also useful as she indicates how the destruction of capitalism can alter and redeem such large infrastructural projects.

Equivalent weight: Application of the assessment method on real task conducted by railway workers wearing a back support exoskeleton

Commonly used risk indexes, such as the NIOSH Lifting Index, do not capture the effect of exoskeletons. This makes it difficult for Health and Safety professionals to rigorously assess the benefit of such devices. The community requires a simple method to assess the effectiveness of back-support exoskeleton's (BSE) in possibly reducing ergonomic risk. The method introduced in this work is termed “Equivalent Weight” (EqW) and it proposes an interpretation of the effect built on the benefit delivered through reduced activation of the erector spinae (ES). This manifests itself as an apparent reduction of the lifted load perceived by the wearer. This work presents a pilot study where a practical application of the EqW method is used to assess the ergonomic risk in manual material handling (MMH) when using a back support exoskeleton (StreamEXO). The results are assessed by combining observational measurements from on-site testing with five different workers and quantitative measures of the muscle activity reduction achieved during laboratory evaluation with ten workers. These results will show that when lifting, lowering, and carrying a 19 kg load the StreamEXO can reduce risk by up to two levels (from “high” to “low”) in the target sub-tasks. The Lifting index (LI) was reduced up to 64% when examining specific sub-tasks and the worker's movement conduction.

The Unfinished Revolution?

The future reconstruction of Ukrainian cities from wartime devastation will require an extensive discussion on strategies and concepts of preservation of cultural heritage – including the heritage of the Modern Movement. It should involve not only the technical aspects but political and historical issues as well. The history of the Palace of Culture of the Railway Workers in Kharkiv (architect Alexander I. Dmitirev, 1927-1932) provokes a number of questions on the essence of Ukrainian pre-war Modernism and Constructivism, the idea of the Sovietisation of the theater against the Great Theatre Reform movement or the role of Workers’ Clubs and Palaces as social condensers. Thus, its analysis cannot by limited to the form and content of the edifice itself, but should be perceived in the broader context of similar projects (for example the Kharkiv Opera House) and views on architecture in the 1920s and 1930s.The Palace of Culture in Kharkiv can be considered as an example of “architecture in transition” where evolving trends in art as well as a dynamic socio-political situation left their marks and created a multi-layered palimpsest. Dmitriev’s design included the Constructivist spirit as well as conservative monumentality. It seems to become a legacy of a revolution (in architecture, theater and society) which has never been really completed.

Prospective Randomized Comparison of Minimally Invasive Tlif versus Open Tlif: Clinical Effectiveness and Restoration of Working Capacity in Railway Workers.

Randomized Clinical Trial. To compare the clinical efficacy and restoration of working capacity after MI (minimally invasive)-TLIF and O (open)-TLIF in railway workers with lumbar degenerative disease. 83 patients, who were indicated for two-level lumbar decompression and fusion were randomly assigned to one of two groups: group 1 (n = 44) had MI-TLIF procedure and group 2 (n = 39) had O-TLIF procedure. The functional status was assessed using SF-36, ODI and VAS for back and leg pain, preoperatively, at discharge, and at 3, 6, and 12months postoperatively. MRI and CT were obtained 1-year follow-up. The percentage of patients who returned to work at 1-year, work intensity and the time to return to work post-operatively were analyzed. At 1-year follow-up, the MI-TLIF group had significantly better ODI, VAS and SF-36 scores compared to the O-TLIF group. The postoperative MRIs revealed a statistically significantly less multifidus muscle atrophy in the MI group compared to the Open group. At 1-year follow-up, a comparable fusion ratio between MI group and Open group was recorded. After MI-TLIF procedure, depending on the workload, patients had a statistically significantly earlier return to work (P < .05) and statistically significantly higher return to work rate compared with the O-TLIF group (P < .05). The use of two-level MI-TLIF in railway workers has made it possible to significantly improve long-term clinical results, reduce the risk of surgical complications, muscle atrophy and time to return to work compared to O-TLIF.

Gene‒environment interaction effect of hypothalamic‒pituitary‒adrenal axis gene polymorphisms and job stress on the risk of sleep disturbances.

Studies have shown that chronic exposure to job stress may increase the risk of sleep disturbances and that hypothalamic‒pituitary‒adrenal (HPA) axis gene polymorphisms may play an important role in the psychopathologic mechanisms of sleep disturbances. However, the interactions among job stress, gene polymorphisms and sleep disturbances have not been examined from the perspective of the HPA axis. This study aimed to know whether job stress is a risk factor for sleep disturbances and to further explore the effect of the HPA axis gene × job stress interaction on sleep disturbances among railway workers. In this cross-sectional study, 671 participants (363 males and 308 females) from the China Railway Fuzhou Branch were included. Sleep disturbances were evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and job stress was measured with the Effort-Reward Imbalance scale (ERI). Generalized multivariate dimensionality reduction (GMDR) models were used to assess gene‒environment interactions. We found a significant positive correlation between job stress and sleep disturbances (P < 0.01). The FKBP5 rs1360780-T and rs4713916-A alleles and the CRHR1 rs110402-G allele were associated with increased sleep disturbance risk, with adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of 1.75 [1.38-2.22], 1.68 [1.30-2.18] and 1.43 [1.09-1.87], respectively. However, the FKBP5 rs9470080-T allele was a protective factor against sleep disturbances, with an OR (95% CI) of 0.65 [0.51-0.83]. GMDR analysis indicated that under job stress, individuals with the FKBP5 rs1368780-CT, rs4713916-GG, and rs9470080-CT genotypes and the CRHR1 rs110402-AA genotype had the greatest risk of sleep disturbances. Individuals carrying risk alleles who experience job stress may be at increased risk of sleep disturbances. These findings may provide new insights into stress-related sleep disturbances in occupational populations.

Toolkit for creating a safety culture for future railway workers

JSC ‟Russian Railways” is carrying out comprehensive work to reduce injuries to zero, including by increasing the level of professional training of employees. Safety culture as a derivative of the international movement Vision Zero, has become an important part of the occupational safety management system in Russian Railways and has radically changed the approach to the identification and prevention of injuries in railway transport. Students of transport technical schools and universities should join the Vision Zero international movement at the stage of education, that is, much earlier than the actual start of work. To do this, it is proposed to introduce a system of annual labor protection months in educational institutions, which will become the basis for the formation of a safety culture. Conducting such months gives the student the opportunity to take part in them for several years in a row, at the beginning of training to a greater extent as a listener and spectator, but at senior courses, to act as a lecturer, organizer and participate in more significant events.Constant work on the formation of a ‟correct” understanding of the importance of compliance with the safety standards and rules of future railway workers will become the basis for the eradication of injuries due to unfair compliance with the requirements of labor protection instructions.

Implementasi Metode Case Base Reasioning dan SUPR-Q Untuk Sistem Diagnosis Kerusakan Lokomotif CC 201

The rapid growth of information and communication technology has also reached the transportation sector, especially in Indonesia. Railway locomotives have experienced significant advancements by transitioning from conventional systems to the use of microcontroller-based sensors. However, to expedite repairs, swift identification of faults is necessary. Railway workers need to continuously improve the quality of human resources and develop application systems to facilitate technicians in identifying issues with CC 201 locomotives. The aim of this research is to build a system that can identify faults and facilitate technicians in diagnosing and providing repair solutions for CC 201 locomotives, using the Case-Based Reasoning method. Research results indicate that this system can be used to diagnose CC 201 locomotive issues based on observed symptoms. Usability testing for 20 respondents using the SUPR-Q method shows an excellent level of system ease and satisfaction, with a score of 90.86%.

Dynamic and Static Assistive Strategies for a Tailored Occupational Back-Support Exoskeleton: Assessment on Real Tasks Carried Out by Railway Workers.

This study on occupational back-support exoskeletons performs a laboratory evaluation of realistic tasks with expert workers from the railway sector. Workers performed both a static task and a dynamic task, each involving manual material handling (MMH) and manipulating loads of 20 kg, in three conditions: without an exoskeleton, with a commercially available passive exoskeleton (Laevo v2.56), and with the StreamEXO, an active back-support exoskeleton developed by our institute. Two control strategies were defined, one for dynamic tasks and one for static tasks, with the latter determining the upper body's gravity compensation through the Model-based Gravity Compensation (MB-Grav) approach. This work presents a comparative assessment of the performance of active back support exoskeletons versus passive exoskeletons when trialled in relevant and realistic tasks. After a lab characterization of the MB-Grav strategy, the experimental assessment compared two back-support exoskeletons, one active and one passive. The results showed that while both devices were able to reduce back muscle activation, the benefits of the active device were triple those of the passive system regarding back muscle activation (26% and 33% against 9% and 11%, respectively), while the passive exoskeleton hindered trunk mobility more than the active mechanism.

Factors Affecting Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Railway Workers in Jakarta, Indonesia

Factors Affecting Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Railway Workers in Jakarta, Indonesia

Computer training tools for students and graduates of railway universities in the development of practical skills

Teaching the basics of a profession to university students and graduates requires the use of intensive training methods to reduce time and increase the efficiency of knowledge acquisition. Railway workers have a special responsibility related to the safety of train traffic. In this regard, appropriate training, retraining, and certification should be provided. For this purpose, it is appropriate to use computer interactive teaching methods that use modern technologies for modeling and simulating the operation of various technical objects of railway transport. For this purpose, it is advisable to use computer interactive teaching methods that use modern technologies for modeling and simulating the operation of various technical objects of railway transport, that is, simulators and computer training programs that allow both training and examination of applicants. The work contains an overview of computer teaching aids for bachelors of railway universities. A description of the beta version of a computer program for studying the predeparture inspection of wagons for the timely detection of damage to rolling stock structures, emergency operation of mechanisms and other emergency situations was presented. A system was proposed for integrating the software product into the educational and professional program “Wagons and wagon facilities” in the Railway Transport specialty.

Ad-hoc train-arrival notification system for railway safety in remote areas

In the last few years, a particular interest in using wireless technologies in the industrial domain in order to automate processes and increase the level of safety has been noticed. This paper introduces an affordable mobile system to notify railway workers in rural areas about the approach of trains, and thus, to enhance their safety allowing for the early evacuation of repair sites located near the rails. The system comprises three key elements: a train device, a portable station device, and wearable devices for the workers. The communication methods and the underlying protocols between these components are discussed in detail. The system has been developed for freight trains of the national railway company of Kazakhstan and has undergone extensive testing for each of its components before its final trial. The preliminary results demonstrate that the system meets the requirements in terms of evacuation time, range, and portability, while exhibiting a very low cost of manufacturing. More specifically, the system can achieve a reliable communication range of several kilometers and a maximum response time of 2.3 s. The cost does not exceed $500 for a set of train, station, and 5 worker devices.

The effect of shift work on body mass index: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Shift work involves working outside the standard working hours of 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday and may include working evening, night, weekend, or rotating shift patterns. Since shift workers sleep less and their circadian rhythms are disrupted, they are reported to have higher body weight than day workers. This meta-analysis aims to determine whether shift workers (SW) are more prone to higher body mass index (BMI) than their day workers (DW) counterparts. It also addresses the question of whether the duration of shift work exposure, sex, or occupational type affect BMI value. Four databases that is PubMed, EBSCO Host, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for reports published up to October 2023. Sixty-three studies involving a total of 693 449 participants met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses showed a significant effect of shift work on BMI value (standard mean difference; SMD: 0.10 kg/m2 [95% confidence interval; 95% CI: 0.07; 0.13; p < .001]) as compared with non-shift counterparts. Subgroup analysis revealed that shift work significantly increased BMI for studies where male working on this job schedule (SMD: 0.10 kg/m2 [95% CI: 0.04; 0.17; p = .0018]) for studies where shift workers worked ≥13 years (calculated as the median of shift work experience; SMD: 0.14 kg/m2 [95% CI: 0.10; 0.18; p < .001]) as well as for studies where industrial (SMD: 0.12 kg/m2 [95% CI: 0.05; 0.19; p = .0012]) and other type of occupations were dominated (0.12 kg/m2 [95% CI: 0.07; 0.16; p < .001]). We found that in general working on a shift schedule increases BMI as compared with day workers, especially in case of male employed in this job schedule, for shift workers working for long periods of time (≥13 years), and for shift workers employed in industry and other type of occupations(e.g., airline workers, firefighters, police officers, blue collar, security personnel, bus drivers, garbage collectors, railway workers, postal, oil and gas workers).

КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТЬ СПЕЦИАЛИСТОВ ЖЕЛЕЗНОДОРОЖНОГО ТРАНСПОРТА В ОБЛАСТИ ЗДОРОВЬЕСБЕРЕЖЕНИЯ

The priority of safety issues in ensuring the uninterrupted and accident-free movement of trains, the safety of cargo, the life, health, well-being of passengers and railway workers allows us to consider measures aimed at maintaining health, preventing occupational diseases, developing professionally significant physical, psychological and personal qualities enshrined in regulatory documents defining the procedure for professional inspections in railway transport as part of the technological processes of railway production (Development Strategy of the Russian Railways Holding for the period until 2030; section 5.5. Social block). An increase in information flows, changes in the organizational, logistics, technological, and technical foundations of transport production give rise to situations of high variability and danger. This challenge significantly increases the level of influence of risks of various natures, the implementation of which can lead to socially unfavorable consequences (the occurrence of errors, failures, failures, threats to the safety of cargo, the health and life of workers and passengers). This challenge actualizes the problem of developing the health care competence of railway transport specialists, which belongs to the universal competencies of the “Self-development and selforganization” category. Analysis of scientific and methodological literature and the results of applied research made it possible to summarize the essential characteristics of the concept of “health-preserving competence” and define it as an integrative personal education, the structure and content of which depends on the conditions for the implementation of professional activity, the main functions, actions and operations of the professional activity of specific specialists. The structure of the health-saving competence of railway transport specialists is represented by a set of components: motivational (readiness and attitude towards the implementation of competence), cognitive-activity (knowledge, cognitive skills, practical experience, level of physical fitness and psycho-emotional stability), reflective (self-analysis, selfdevelopment, formation of the self - concept). The logic of forming health care competence can be represented by a movement from a threshold level to a basic level and from there to a higher level - progressive.