United States Department of Transportation
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Edition:Final Report January 1990 - September 1990
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Abstract:This study explores matters related to the scheduling and management of locomotive crews, particularly as they
might contribute to fatigue and stress. It describes how crews are scheduled currently, why there is so much
unpredictability in schedules, how various aspects of current practices contribute to fatigue and stress, and what
options exist to improve matters. It is based mostly on interviews with operating managers, dispatchers and
crew callers on various railroads, discussions with union officials and focus-group sessions with working
engineers. The mechanics of scheduling trains and crews on each of seven roads are discussed along with the
timing of scheduling decisions, current problems and planned improvements in communications and control.
Among the causes of fatigue identified by engineers who participated in the focus groups are: uncertainty as to
the time ones nextjobwill be called, excessive working hours, long commutes and waiting times, the poor
condition of some locomotives and other equipment, unsatisfactory conditions for sleeping at some terminals,
poor distribution of workload among the crew, interpersonal conflicts with dispatchers and crew callers, and
deliberate choices by crewmen to do something other than resting during the day even when they knew they
mi ght be called for wor k that night.
Possible corrective measures suggested are: a minimum of eight hours notice before reporting for work, greater
predictability in scheduling, and division of the pools according to the period of the day when they were
susceptible to calls. Plans for implementing some of these measures are discussed.
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