Page 4 - August 2022 Track N Times

FEATURE STORY

Situational Awareness Continued

all day. The third and fourth level we can do but the stress is too exhausting to maintain for longer periods of time
and the first level of tuned out is more for when you are at home watching a movie.
It is important that we all know what problems we face and how serious they are. The temporary loss or
lack of situational awareness is a leading factor in many of the accidents / injuries we experience at Loram. We often
have so many things happening at once that we become so focused on the job at hand that we forget to pay attention
to other things that could be a potential threat to our health or safety.
The following story comes from a fighter pilot in the USAF.

On August 27, 2006, Comair flight 5191 took off from the wrong runway. It was early morning and still dark outside as
the captain (highly experienced and trained) was taxiing the airplane to the runway. Instead of taking the right runway,

he took a wrong turn, which led the plane onto a runway that was too short for take-off. During take-off the cockpit is a
designated quiet area to allow for concentration. On this occasion, the captain and co-pilot were chatting, affecting every-
one’s performance. Allowing this talk meant that the situational awareness of the captain and co-pilot was reduced and
they failed to spot that they were on the wrong runway. Their perception of reality was different to the actual reality.
Despite the co-pilot pointing out that there were no lights on the runway it was another 15 seconds before the captain
realized what was happening, by which time it was too late. They failed to stop work despite recognizing a hazard (there
were no lights even though it was dark). If they had stopped work and brought their situational awareness in line with
actual reality, 49 people would still be alive today!

When I read this story, I could relate it to the numerous incidents that we have had this year. In this situa-
tion the pilots were focused on the operation of the plane but missed the runway they were authorized to be on.
They were distracted with idol talk in the cockpit / cab so a small but major portion of their duties was neglected.
This can easily be the case with any of our machines on track. Not only is situational awareness important during the
operating of the machines but it is also important in every task we do to maintain our equipment.

Situational awareness is important to everyone, it is important that everyone is aware of their surroundings
and the potential hazards they face. It is important that each person is looking out for his or her own safety as well as
looking out for others. Even the most experienced people can lack situational awareness, especially when doing tasks
that have become routine.
This year we have an increase in personal injuries with most of them happening to our newer employees. It is
critical that we have a good briefing and fill out our 5-step process with the new hire. Be sure to check for their un-
derstanding of the task to be completed. Doing a proper 5-step allows an employee to think about the task at hand,
identify and anticipate hazards and put controls in place to keep them and their coworkers safe. I ask everyone to
embraces this process and uses it for the purpose it is intended and not just pencil whip the form. By using this pro-
cess we will improve our situational awareness allowing everyone to maintain that level of relaxed awareness.

Stay alert and stay safe!

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VOLUME 3 : ISSUE 7