The Human factor in the designing process of the Italian operational rules

The rail system can be divided into three main subsystems: (i) vehicles and equipment (hardware part), (ii) rules, procedures and organization (the software), (iii) operators (lifeware part). The common reliability analysis technique analyze the system from the point of view of technology and mechanical through well-established indicators (SIL safety integrity levels), while the aspect of the human performance is not yet fully defined, either by recognized indicators, nor by standardized and universally accepted methods. In order to allow a more rational design of new procedures in the rail sector, in this paper we propose a complete model of analysis of the human factor defined on the basis of a specific study of the literature, which led to the identification of available methods, choose the most reliable and build on them a complete methodology by introducing some innovative aspects. The model was adapted to the Italian railway sector and calibrated on the basis of three case studies selected from abnormal situations available in the certified databases of Italian Railway Network LC (FS Group, LC).