Application of contemporary systems-based methods to reduce trauma at rail level crossings. Crashes at railway level crossings continue to cause significant trauma across Australia. Despite being a longstanding safety problem, the design and operation of level crossings has not changed considerably for decades. This research will provide an in-depth understanding of road user, environmental and infrastructure-related factors that influence safety and performance at rail level crossings. This wil ....Application of contemporary systems-based methods to reduce trauma at rail level crossings. Crashes at railway level crossings continue to cause significant trauma across Australia. Despite being a longstanding safety problem, the design and operation of level crossings has not changed considerably for decades. This research will provide an in-depth understanding of road user, environmental and infrastructure-related factors that influence safety and performance at rail level crossings. This will be used to develop a world-first model of the level crossing system that is needed to support the development of innovative countermeasures that will improve safety. Reductions in the levels of significant trauma at level crossings, and new public policy for level crossing upgrades, are the intended real-world outcomes.Read moreRead less
Next-gen accident prevention: a new theory and toolkit for safer systems. This project aims to address limitations associated with existing accident causation theory and methodologies. Accident prevention across high risk industries is constrained by limitations in accident theory and methodologies. As a result, reductions in injuries and fatalities in most domains are plateauing. The expected outputs of the project include a new theory of accident causation, a new proactive risk assessment meth ....Next-gen accident prevention: a new theory and toolkit for safer systems. This project aims to address limitations associated with existing accident causation theory and methodologies. Accident prevention across high risk industries is constrained by limitations in accident theory and methodologies. As a result, reductions in injuries and fatalities in most domains are plateauing. The expected outputs of the project include a new theory of accident causation, a new proactive risk assessment methodology and a new methodology for analysing accidents. This will provide organisations and researchers with a powerful framework for enhanced accident analysis and prevention activities. This will provide significant benefits, associated with reductions in accidents, injuries and fatalities.Read moreRead less
Plastic deformation and failure of high strength rail steels in heavy haul transportation of mineral products. The Australian Government has made infrastructure, including rail, as a national priority for investment to meet the freight transport demand. This project focuses on the deformation and failure of rail in heavy haul lines to transport ores in the mining industry. The outcomes will be applied to ensure the structural integrity of rail infrastructure.
Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicl ....Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicle crashes and will identify cost-effective strategies to reduce the growing economic burden associated with these crashes.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of train driver work culture and environment for improving railway safety. This innovative research intersects the fields of neurosciences, computer science and engineering, leading to application of new knowledge for developing intelligent train driver systems for improving transport safety. Such research will place Australia at the forefront of this area. Reducing train related accidents will positively impact on the socio economic fabric of society by reducing the emotional and fin ....Evaluation of train driver work culture and environment for improving railway safety. This innovative research intersects the fields of neurosciences, computer science and engineering, leading to application of new knowledge for developing intelligent train driver systems for improving transport safety. Such research will place Australia at the forefront of this area. Reducing train related accidents will positively impact on the socio economic fabric of society by reducing the emotional and financial burden to the community. The research has the potential to lead to substantial revenue generation in Australia in the future. The data obtained will provide new knowledge and information to transport and Government authorities.Read moreRead less
Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in cra ....Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in crash analysis and prevention. By working closely with QFleet, current fleet safety thinking will be advanced to reduce the frequency and severity of road crashes thereby reducing road trauma and increasing business effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Novel vibro-acoustic technologies for detecting bearing and wheel defects in rail vehicles. Research will be conducted to provide the basis for the development of a novel automatic system that detects bearing and wheel defects in under-way railway wagons, thus helping to prevent catastrophic derailments and minimise fuel consumption. It will also maintain Australian industry at the forefront of the global track-side monitoring industry.
Faster, cheaper, safer: how to accelerate rail driver training and avert the looming skills shortage. The Australian rail industry is growing rapidly and needs to double the number of drivers trained in order to meet demand. This project will bring together Australia's leading hi-tech simulator company and Australia's leading rail human factors research team to 'reinvent' driver training technologies and techniques for the 21st century.
Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will des ....Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will design, implement and evaluate a program of countermeasures to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers, which will contribute significantly toward reducing the truma related to road crashes in Australia and assaults on public transport drivers.Read moreRead less
Development of a new rail maintenance technology by using laser cladding. With the continuously increasing demand for higher production, and hence increased haulage rates and reduced track access for maintenance purposes, the development and application of new cost effective manufacture and repair rails maintenance strategies play a more important role in ensuring the structural integrity of rail infrastructure. This project aims to systematically investigate the laser cladding materials and par ....Development of a new rail maintenance technology by using laser cladding. With the continuously increasing demand for higher production, and hence increased haulage rates and reduced track access for maintenance purposes, the development and application of new cost effective manufacture and repair rails maintenance strategies play a more important role in ensuring the structural integrity of rail infrastructure. This project aims to systematically investigate the laser cladding materials and parameters to enhance the wear and fatigue performance of a series of high strength rail steels used in heavy haul railway lines. The outcomes of this project intend to be applied directly to the rail industry track producers and operators of high axle load rail systems to develop and improve their rail maintenance strategies.Read moreRead less