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            In This Section
        eLearning: Attention
                The Attention Game
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                                Attention: Definition and Examples
                Tasks & Demands
                Distraction: Definition and Examples
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                The Cost of Distraction
                                First person: Distraction and its Consequences
                Attention Related Accidents
                BNSF coal train collision
                Metrolink 111 collision with UP. Chatsworth. Sept 2008
                Canadian National collision, Two Harbors MN Sept 2010.
                HiRail collision, Rockville, MD. Jan 2010
                Rear end collision, Mineral Springs NC
                Pedestrian fatality, West Jordan, UT
                Rear end collision, Westville IN
                Derailment, Bronx NY Dec 2013
                Port Authority collision, Hoboken NJ, May 2011
                Santiago de Compostela derailment, July 2013
                Amtrak 188 Derailment May 2015
                Bad Aibling, GER Collision, February 2016
                Human Systems Integration
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                User Centered Design
    

    
    
          **What is user-centered design?**
A man drives a train.

User-centered design is a process to design tools that take user needs and requirements into account. It  includes steps to identify these needs and requirements through interviews and/or observations of the target user. Some key parts of the user-centered designed process are:

User needs are identified early on in the research and development (R&D) effort
	Users participate at each stage of Research & Development, through participatory designand prototype usability assessment
	Following this process, the resulting product is more likely to support user needs and is less likely to need costly modificationsIf new technology introduces excessive physical or mental workload demands, sudden shifts in workload demands can degrade operator performance (Wreathall, et. al., 2007). For more information on user-centered design, see:http://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-centered-design.html

**User-centered design in the railroad industry**

A screencap of the Railroad Traffic Planner.Researchers at the Volpe Center and MIT developed the Railroad Traffic Planner (see at right) through user-centered design. The planner shows positions of trains  time through and has the ability to calculate times and speeds of these trains and draw string plots. The display helps operators save time by making these calculations for them. The planner has been implemented at four U.S. railroads.
              For more information on user-centered design, see:
      
                              
                  
                  Federal Railroad Administration. (2004). *Railroad traffic planner: User guide*. Washington, DC: US Department of Transporation. http://transitdocs.com/files/data/volpe/rtp_guide.pdf
	Lee, M. T., (2004). Visualizing Railroad Operations: A Tool for Traffic Planners and Dispatchers. Presented at Railroad Dispatching Operations: Putting Research into Practice, September 30, 2004, Scottsdale, AZ. - See more at: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work/safety-management-and-human-factors/human-factors-publications-and-papers#sthash.62JENRMg.dpuf
	Wreathall, J., Woods, D. D., Bing, A. J., and Christoffersen, K. (2007). *Relative Risk of Workload Transitions in Positive Train Control*. (Report No. DOT/FRA/ORD-07/12). Washington DC: Federal Railroad Administration.
      
    
          Last updated: Saturday, November 2, 2019 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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