Freight Railroad Safety: Hours of Service Changes Have Increased Rest Time, But

Description: Freight Railroad Safety by U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Government Estimated delivery 3-12 business days Format Paperback Condition Brand New Description GAO-11-853. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) overhauled requirements for how much time certain freight railroad workers can spend on the job (called "hours of service"). Changes included limiting the number of consecutive days on duty before rest is required, increasing minimum rest time from 8 to 10 hours, and requiring rest time to be undisturbed. RSIA also provided for pilot projects and waivers. RSIAs changes became effective for freight railroads in July 2009. GAO was asked to assess (1) the impact of these changes on covered train and engine (T&E) employees, including implications for fatigue, (2) the impact of the changes on the rail industry, and (3) actions the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has taken to oversee compliance with hours of service requirements and implement RSIA provisions for pilot projects and waivers. To perform this work, GAO analyzed covered employee work schedules and used models to assess fatigue, surveyed the railroad industry, analyzed FRA inspection and enforcement data, and interviewed federal and railroad officials as well as fatigue and sleep experts. According to GAOs analysis of covered employee work schedules, RSIAs requirements led to changed work schedules, increased rest time, and reduced risk of fatigue for covered T&E employees. RSIAs consecutive work day limits and rest requirements contributed to work schedule changes and increases in rest time. Increased rest time also led to equivalent decreases in the hours that covered employees worked. Overall, GAO found, using an FRA-validated fatigue model, that the time covered employees spent working at a high risk of fatigue-- a level associated with reduced alertness and an increased risk of errors and accidents--decreased by about 29 percent for employees of class I railroads (those with the largest revenues) and by about 36 percent for employees of selected class II railroads (those with smaller revenues). GAOs analysis also shows that there are further opportunities to reduce fatigue risk. Specifically, RSIAs changes did not result in material decreases in night work, yet scientific literature and GAOs analysis show night work represents a major factor in fatigue risk. As might be expected from changes aimed at improving safety by reducing covered employee fatigue, the railroad industry reported that RSIAs hours of service changes had operational and administrative effects on it, some of which increased some railroads one-time or ongoing costs. GAO did not determine how RSIAs changes affected railroads earnings; but the act took effect as the economy was starting to recover from the recession that began in late 2008. Through its industry survey and interviews, GAO found that RSIAs changes affected railroad operations, including changes to crew and train schedules and increases in staffing levels. Railroad officials GAO spoke with attributed these changes to RSIAs consecutive work day limits and rest requirements, both of which acted to reduce peoples availability to work. To maintain operations while complying with the law, railroad officials told GAO they, among other things, hired new employees or brought employees back from furlough. GAO estimated that adding people--120 to 500 each by some class I railroads--increased these railroads annual costs by $11 million to $50 million. Administrative effects reported by railroads included a need for railroads to revise their hours of service timekeeping systems. Details ISBN 1478124474 ISBN-13 9781478124474 Title Freight Railroad Safety Author U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Government Format Paperback Year 2012 Pages 78 Publisher Createspace Independent Publishing Platform GE_Item_ID:93104051; About Us Grand Eagle Retail is the ideal place for all your shopping needs! With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and over 1,000,000 in stock items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! Shipping & Delivery Times Shipping is FREE to any address in USA. Please view eBay estimated delivery times at the top of the listing. Deliveries are made by either USPS or Courier. We are unable to deliver faster than stated. International deliveries will take 1-6 weeks. NOTE: We are unable to offer combined shipping for multiple items purchased. This is because our items are shipped from different locations. Returns If you wish to return an item, please consult our Returns Policy as below: Please contact Customer Services and request "Return Authorisation" before you send your item back to us. Unauthorised returns will not be accepted. Returns must be postmarked within 4 business days of authorisation and must be in resellable condition. Returns are shipped at the customer's risk. We cannot take responsibility for items which are lost or damaged in transit. For purchases where a shipping charge was paid, there will be no refund of the original shipping charge. Additional Questions If you have any questions please feel free to Contact Us. Categories Baby Books Electronics Fashion Games Health & Beauty Home, Garden & Pets Movies Music Sports & Outdoors Toys

Price: 22.46 USD

Location: Fairfield, Ohio

End Time: 2024-09-11T03:19:32.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD