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Selecting safe pairs of hands for safety-critical work
#6 - 0--mikeshields--Selecting safe pairs of hands for safety-critical work--2004-10-08 04:47:42
#An innovative HSE/HMRI-funded
research project,
Recruiting safe employees for safety-critical roles, the work of the Occupational Psychology Centre
Limited's (OPC) Dr Stephen Fletcher and colleagues, piloted a selection process for
safety-critical employees within the UK rail industry. - Track-working employees
were the subject of the study which aimed to:
·
identify
key characteristics needed for safe and effective performance in a range of
safety-critical activities;
·
select
suitable assessment tools for measuring these characteristics;
·
trial
the assessment tools with track worker applicants and existing track workers;
and
·
validate the assessment tools by demonstrating any link between
performance on the assessment tools and performance in training and on the job.
The results showed that
scores on a range of assessment tools were linked to performance in track
training.
The researchers recommended that rail industry key stakeholders can benefit
from the findings of the project and where relevant should implement effective
recruitment programmes for key safety-critical employees within the industry,
applying the 7 main best practice steps derived.
The rail industry should also be encouraged to introduce effective and robust
recruitment programmes for selecting track workers, and undertake a more
detailed study into the effectiveness of the assessment tools.--comments-->0--7882--5
