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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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      <title>A systematic review of cognitive and social factors in vessel traffic services operations</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2673077</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Vessel traffic service (VTS) plays a key role in the safety of maritime navigation by organising the sea traffic, ensuring regulatory compliance, promoting information exchange and early detection of navigational hazards and assisting in collision avoidance. The cognitive and social factors influencing the performance of VTS operators require important considerations in this regard. Current developments in the maritime industry and changing operational profiles present novel challenges for VTS operators. This study aims to present the empirical findings related to the applied cognitive and social factors pertaining to VTS operations for the past two decades. A systematic literature review was conducted with a Boolean search strategy across six major databases. The literature associated with empirical investigations was extracted as per the PRISMA guidelines. The study identified 19 articles that satisfied the pre-determined inclusion criteria. A qualitative synthesis of the identified literature was performed, aggregating the findings into various sub-groups based on thematic areas and contexts. The obtained results revealed fatigue and mental workload as the most frequently examined factors, while factors such as decision-making, communication, coordination and perception also influenced the VTS operator’s performance. The findings shed light on the current state of the art for research and practical applications related to cognitive and social factors influencing VTS operator performance and their impact on maritime safety. The result also identified gaps in the literature where further research is warranted, particularly related to emerging trends of automation and digitalisation in the maritime industry.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:44:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2673077</guid>
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      <title>Remote situatedness beyond the control room: enhanced seeing and sense of place in railway operations</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2573044</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper contributes to the long-ongoing research on control room work by exploring the work practices of traffic controllers and information officers in the domain of train traffic. This study examines how distributed, socially, spatially, and temporally dynamic work activities are enacted within train traffic control rooms. By exploring the situated knowledge of traffic controllers and information officers, we identify the challenge of maintaining remote engagement with, and attachment to, places beyond the control room. By employing a workplace study approach, the paper illustrates how the workers manage the demands of being distributed and dependent on artefacts, as well as their acquired ability to ‘see’ the rail, while physically present elsewhere. We introduce the concept of ‘sense of place’ to better understand the remote aspects of work and how workers develop and maintain their engagement with railway operations in locations far from their own. To conceptualise this phenomenon, we introduce a new term—remote situatedness. This concept integrates cognitive and technological aspects of enhanced seeing with the sense of place, capturing professionals’ ability to engage with distant locations. Our findings highlight three key examples: Mutually enacted situated seeing, Mediated sense of place, and Failed sense of place. These illustrate how remote situatedness is enacted, technologically mediated, and challenged. In conclusion, the paper highlights the need to put the workers’ engagement with their material and social environment at the core of control room research and suggests future research directions for studying work practices from a holistic perspective.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2025 13:39:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2573044</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Thermographic and cognitive assessment of fatigue in vessel traffic service operators: a socio-technical approach</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2573038</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Fatigue among vessel traffic service operators (VTSOs) poses critical risks to maritime safety, requiring objective, real-time monitoring solutions. This study integrates thermographic imaging and subjective self-reports to assess fatigue and mental workload in operational environments. A total of 23 VTSOs from two Spanish Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers (MRCCs), with an average of 7.74 years of experience, were observed for 200 h. Using facial thermography, specifically nasal temperature variations, and validated psychological assessments, we analyzed the physiological and cognitive effects of shift work. Results show that night shifts significantly increase fatigue, with a 15% increase in perceived exertion and a 2 °C decrease in nasal temperature. Automated face recognition via YOLO5Face facilitated real-time thermographic analysis, improving the accuracy of fatigue monitoring. Thermographic imaging successfully correlated nasal temperature changes with cognitive workload, demonstrating its potential as a non-invasive tool for fatigue assessment. In addition, pre-task rest was inversely related to fatigue, highlighting the importance of rest management in mitigating operator fatigue. By bridging cognitive systems engineering and socio-technical perspectives, this study provides a novel framework for fatigue assessment in safety–critical environments. The results support the integration of thermographic methods into maritime traffic management, contributing to human-centered safety technologies. Future research will explore broader applications of automated thermal analysis and additional physiological fatigue markers in high-risk industries.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2025 13:39:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2573038</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Modelling operator control work across traffic management domains: implications for interaction design</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2382034</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Traffic management in aviation, shipping, and rail transport shows similarities and dissimilarities in the work process. For example, they share the temporal aspect, but different levels of urgency in the control work set different requirements on monitoring, decisions, and actions. However, few studies have been presented that model and compare the different domains in terms of temporal decision-making. The Joint Control Framework (JCF) is an approach to analyse and temporally model operators’ control processes from a cognitive systems engineering perspective. In this study, we have used JCF to map, and compare, cognitive joints, such as perceptions, decisions, and actions, in temporally challenging control situations in air traffic control, maritime vessel traffic service, and train traffic management. Data was collected collaboratively with traffic operators, focusing on (1) identifying challenging traffic situations and (2) jointly modelling the temporal decision-making patterns of these situations using simplified JCF. Post-analysis was done by breaking down the results into different processes and comparing domains to ascertain how operators maintain control. An intermediate level of activity—between general monitoring and work with specific vehicles—was identified: processes-in-focus. A shared problem arises in the shift between general monitoring and the processes-in-focus. All processes-in-focus comprise cognitive joint cycles of perceptions, decisions, and actions. However, depending on the framing of processes-in-focus, the patterns of joints, such as temporal extension and complexity, differ. In the remainder of the article, implications for the interaction design, in particular the potential for human–AI/automation teaming with higher levels of automation and cognitive autonomy, are discussed.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2382034</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Estimating hourly work schedule risk in railway traffic controllers</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1930306</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Around-the-clock staffing in safety-critical environments calls for an accurate risk assessment of work schedules. In this paper the authors introduce and evaluate an hourly version of the “Risk Index”, an established risk model in the UK rail industry. This “Hourly Risk Index” is the first risk-based model that allows the prediction of risk at the hourly level, and is founded on the most recent scientific insights in fatigue-related accident risk. It considers the build-up of risk over consecutive shifts, recovery during days off, quick returns, and time-of-day and time-on-duty effects. Improved understanding of hourly risk is highly relevant for both ex-ante (staff rostering) and ex-post (accident and incident analysis) evaluations. The authors evaluated the performance of the Hourly Risk Index by analyzing a purpose-built real-world dataset from Belgium’s railway traffic control centers (containing close to 8 million round-the-clock working hours in the period 2013–2018). Results not only show that the occurrence of safety-critical errors is significantly associated with higher Hourly Risk Index values, but also that error severity is significantly related to a further increase in risk. In addition, the Hourly Risk Index outperformed the original Risk Index. The empirical results also emphasize the importance of job demands, by indicating a higher performance of the Hourly Risk Index under conditions of low or high workload. Given these outcomes, it is currently being deployed and tested at Belgian national railways. This should allow the further refinement of the Hourly Risk Index in an iterative manner.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2022 10:44:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1930306</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>The Work of FAA Airway Transportation Systems Specialists (ATSS; FV-2101) at Field Systems Support Centers (SSCs): Results of the 2016 Job Analysis</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1874943</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Operations Services manages, operates, maintains and repairs the technical infrastructure of the National Airspace System (NAS). To accomplish this mission, the Technical Operations Services employs about 4,400 Airway Transportation Systems Specialists (ATSSs; FV-2101) to service the over 30,000 individual facilities, services, and equipment that comprise that technical infrastructure. This report describes a comprehensive baseline job/task analysis for field, non-supervisory ATSSs who maintain, repair, calibrate and support the hardware and software on which over 35,000 flights per day rely for safe and efficient flight operations. The job analysis was conducted to support validation of the initial training course for ATSSs known as Common Principles. The report is organized into five major sections. First, a brief overview of job/task analysis is presented to provide background on the approach taken in this analysis of the ATSS job as performed in the FAA. Second, the development of an initial catalog of ATSS duties and tasks and required knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) is described. That catalog of duties, tasks, and KSAs was translated into a Job Analysis Survey which was administered to 4,382 incumbent ATSSs in 2016. Overall, 1,649 incumbent ATSSs participated in the Job Analysis Survey, for a response rate of 38%. The results of the Job Analysis Survey are described in the third major section of the report, focusing on the identification of (a) the most critical and/or important job duties and tasks, and (b) the KSAs rated as most important to job performance overall. The next step in the job analysis was to determine the degree to which each important KSA was essential to the performance of each critical and/or important job duty or task. The results of this linkage exercise are reported in the fourth major section of the report. Linkage Surveys were completed by 250 ATSS first- and second-level supervisors of field ATSSs. The report concludes with a description of the essential KSAs required on Day 1 of employment as required by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (29 C.F.R. § 1607) to support validation of ATSS selection procedures. Future research and uses of the job analysis data for this mission-critical occupation are discussed in closing.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Sep 2021 11:54:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1874943</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Systems for aerial surveillance and security – a step forward for Air Force Academies</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1736364</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper is a report in brief of the project that “Henri Coanda” Air Force Academy, in collaboration with partners from Poland and Bulgaria, carried out under the aegis of the Erasmus + program of the European Union by the end of 2018. The project was called Systems for Aerial Surveillance and Security (SASS). The project proposed the initiation of a process of uniformisation of competences necessary for the people involved in the field of aviation, namely obtaining a joint study plan for pilots, air traffic controllers, and air surveillance officers [3]. It opened the way for cooperation between the Air Force Academies that began a joint semester of study. Achieving the objectives of the project meant introducing an online teaching/learning system based on an e-learning platform. The e-learning features have been fully utilised through the introduction of a videoconference system that allows teaching/learning activities for professors/students at a distance. The completion of the project was carried out by evaluating the results obtained at different stages. The analysis was based on the feedback from the main target groups - students, teachers and beneficiaries of the graduates. Two periods of teacher and student mobility were required for evaluation and analysis. The students’ and teachers' opinions on the implementation of the curriculum by means of the e-learning platform were analysed in detail.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2020 12:27:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1736364</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Professional Capacity Building for Communications - Phase 4</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1678750</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Rural communication engineering remains a mission critical skill that most engineers in the state have limited experience with. Lacking these skills, engineers and technicians have a difficult time designing and maintaining reliable and robust communication networks for rural Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) field equipment. As new technologies emerge, engineers and technicians will be required to understand the reality of what is possible versus the hype from a vendor. In this phase of the project, one specialized course in Small Data Center Design, Structured Cabling, and Grounding was researched, developed and delivered by subject matter experts to train rural engineers and technicians. Caltrans procured the following additional courses (developed in previous phases of this project) directly from vendors, with WTI's assistance: Three (3) hands-on classes on Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Fundamentals. Four (4) hands-on classes on Telecom Wireless Fundamentals. One (1) hands-on class on Advanced Internet Protocol(IP)/Networks. All these courses help build the professional capacity of rural ITS engineers and technicians to provide them with the skills necessary to successfully design, implement, and maintain reliable and robust communication systems in rural and remote areas. Additional specialized training in other ITS areas by subject matter experts is recommended for the follow-on phase of this project.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2020 17:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1678750</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Non-technical communication factors at the Vessel Traffic Services</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1502297</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This study done at the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) explored how the VTS operators (VTSOs) communicated with ships and other actors in the maritime sociotechnical system and how decisions were made with regard to assisting traffic in maintaining safe passage in port areas, where most vessel movements are seen and accidents occur. The fieldwork was done during four independent visits to a VTS centre under the Swedish Maritime Authority, with a total sample of six VTSOs and one VTS instructor. The qualitative data were sorted and coded using a grounded theory approach. The data pointed at non-technical information processing and communication factors that play a role in decision-making and ultimately in safety. During protocol operations at the VTS, these factors influenced how VTSOs judged the skills of the vessels’ bridge teams, and how they approached them. This is a time where much effort is being put into upgrading technological systems, and these will have the power to change the ways in which the maritime network obtains and processes information, as well as how they can communicate with each other. The further development of technological systems, work protocols and training programmes can benefit from taking the soft aspects of communication and the needs of the operators and their tasks into account for the enhancement of safety.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:03:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1502297</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Telecom, Traffic Cones, and the Big One: Identifying Transportation and Communications Emergency Support Workforces and Calculating Their Exposure to Seismic Peak Ground Accelerations</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1496356</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Successful post-disaster response and recovery depends on prompt restoration of infrastructure, including transportation or communications. However, disasters can have an impact on the workforce responsible for restoration, for example, by damaging their homes. This study has two goals: 1. Identify workers potentially participating in restoring transportation and communications infrastructure; 2. Calculate these workers’ exposure to the peak ground accelerations (PGAs) of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in a Southern California scenario, and compare it with the rest of the working population’s exposure. Four steps are required. First, calculate the mean PGA for each affected public use microdata area (PUMA). Second, identify the infrastructure restoration workforce by specifying Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. When specifying, use the Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes for Transportation (ESF#1) and Communications (ESF#2) to clarify workers’ roles and responsibilities. This ESF-specific listing of codes is a novel contribution. Third, via frequency table, calculate the mean and standard deviation of transportation and communications workers’ exposure to PGAs in their PUMAs of residence. Finally, test the difference in mean PGA exposures between two populations: (a) transportation or communications workers and (b) the rest of the working population. This study finds that, for this scenario, transportation workers are exposed to statistically significant higher PGAs than non-transportation workers, and communication workers to significantly lower PGAs. For practitioners, knowing which worker categories a disaster disproportionately affects could justify pre-event investments in workforce preparedness and recovery planning efforts.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 31 Jan 2018 10:46:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1496356</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Seeing the woods for the trees: the problem of information inefficiency and information overload on operator performance</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1491068</link>
      <description><![CDATA[One of the recurring questions in designing dynamic control environments is whether providing more information leads to better operational decisions. The idea of having every piece of information is increasingly tempting (and in safety critical domains often mandatory) but has become a potential obstacle for designers and operators. The present research study examined this challenge of appropriate information design and usability within a railway control setting. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the presentation of different levels of information (taken from data processing framework, Dadashi et al. in Ergonomics 57(3):387–402, 2014) and the association with, and potential prediction of, the performance of a human operator when completing a cognitively demanding problem-solving scenario within railways. Results indicated that presenting users only with information corresponding to their cognitive task, and in the absence of other, non task-relevant information, improves the performance of their problem-solving/alarm handling. Knowing the key features of interest to various agents (machine or human) and using the data processing framework to guide the optimal level of information required by each of these agents could potentially lead to safer and more usable designs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jan 2018 09:20:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1491068</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Safety Recommendation Report: Addressing 911 Communication Problems in the Area of Cooper Township, Michigan</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1465228</link>
      <description><![CDATA[​The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a collision between a Chevrolet pickup truck and nine cyclists that occurred in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on June 7, 2016. In the course of the investigation, NTSB identified a serious problem with communication among the agencies that received 911 notifications concerning precrash actions by the driver involved in the crash. Consequently, the NTSB is issuing urgent safety recommendations to the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office, and the Township of Kalamazoo Police Department. The recommendations are to (1) expedite the establishment of a consolidated dispatch center to incorporate the communications needs of all public safety agencies in Kalamazoo County and (2) request and undergo a voluntary compliance review by the Michigan State 911 Committee, and immediately implement the recommendations made by that committee.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 May 2017 10:52:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1465228</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/876834</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This article discusses the language proficiency requirements instituted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in March 2008. Because it is considered critical to aviation safety, ICAO has required that pilots, air traffic controllers, and aeronautical station operators involved in international flight operations become proficient in both speaking and understanding the language used for radiotelephony (RT) communications at ICAO Operational Level 4. Under the current plan, all stakeholders are to reach compliance level by March 2011. The article reports that presently only 44 of 190 contracting states are considered to be compliant with the new standard. However, 86 contracting states have filed either a part or full implementation plan. To aid in plan implementation, the ICAO has developed guidance materials, including a manual – 'Implementation of Language Proficiency Requirements' (Document 9835) and a CD containing speech samples of speakers representing ICAO levels 3 through 5. In an ICAO report published in April 2008, it was reported that 751 passengers died in a total of 12 aircraft accidents worldwide in 2006; in 2007, 587 passengers died in 11 such accidents. Based on an accident fatality rate of 100 million passenger kilometers, the study shows that the approximate rate of 0.019 for 2006 is reduced to approximately 0.014 in 2007. This decline, though slight in year-over-year reportage, occurred despite a 6.6% increase in scheduled passenger kilometers performed. The article suggests that implementation of the new language proficiency requirement will help contribute to a downward trend in passenger fatalities to meet the increasing needs for safety within the global air transport system as it prepares for accelerated growth.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:36:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/876834</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Next Step in Aviation Security</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/803658</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This article describes the newly opened Security Operations Center (SOC) at San Francisco International Airport. Launched in August 2005 with a staff of four security analysts, SOC monitors the airport via an extensive Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) network. Housed in the same facility as the airport's 911 Communications Center, SOC collects and analyzes security data, identifies trends, and conducts proactive surveillance that provides communication dispatchers with information regarding specific incidents.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/803658</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Training Simulation Systems for Train Traffic Controllers</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/798435</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Training European railway traffic controllers and signalers in countermeasures to compensate for possible disruptions in the signaling system is the emphasis of this article. In general, the article discusses relay interlocking simulators and their capability to reproduce control areas on a monitor, including the original control desk, electronic interlockings, and centralized control systems (exactly duplicating workspaces down to the computer keyboard, mouse, tablet and monitors). In particular, the author closely examines the use of the 'Best' operations and interlocking simulation system, a relay interlockings simulator developed by Germany's Vossloh Information Technologies (Vossloh IT) that is now in use throughout Europe. Vossloh IT's Best simulation, which also replicates safety and traffic control systems, is designed to offer training that increases staff confidence in maintaining the safe operation of rail traffic in situations where unexpected incidents might occur. The article also explores the development of interlocking simulation from its introduction by German Rail (DB) in 1996.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2007 13:32:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/798435</guid>
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