Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment
This paper describes an experiment that was undertaken to compare three levels of automation in rail signalling; a high level in which an automated agent set routes for trains using timetable information, a medium level in which trains were routed along pre-defined paths, and a low level where the o...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30675/ |
| _version_ | 1848794035370590208 |
|---|---|
| author | Balfe, Nora Sharples, Sarah Wilson, John R. |
| author_facet | Balfe, Nora Sharples, Sarah Wilson, John R. |
| author_sort | Balfe, Nora |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper describes an experiment that was undertaken to compare three levels of automation in rail signalling; a high level in which an automated agent set routes for trains using timetable information, a medium level in which trains were routed along pre-defined paths, and a low level where the operator (signaller) was responsible for the movement of all trains. These levels are described in terms of a Rail Automation Model based on previous automation theory (Parasuraman et al., 2000). Performance, subjective workload, and signaller activity were measured for each level of automation running under both normal operating conditions and abnormal, or disrupted, conditions. The results indicate that perceived workload, during both normal and disrupted phases of the experiment, decreased as the level of automation increased and performance was most consistent (i.e. showed the least variation between participants) with the highest level of automation. The results give a strong case in favour of automation, particularly in terms of demonstrating the potential for automation to reduce workload, but also suggest much benefit can achieved from a mid-level of automation potentially at a lower cost and complexity. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-30675 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:47Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-306752020-05-04T16:53:44Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30675/ Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment Balfe, Nora Sharples, Sarah Wilson, John R. This paper describes an experiment that was undertaken to compare three levels of automation in rail signalling; a high level in which an automated agent set routes for trains using timetable information, a medium level in which trains were routed along pre-defined paths, and a low level where the operator (signaller) was responsible for the movement of all trains. These levels are described in terms of a Rail Automation Model based on previous automation theory (Parasuraman et al., 2000). Performance, subjective workload, and signaller activity were measured for each level of automation running under both normal operating conditions and abnormal, or disrupted, conditions. The results indicate that perceived workload, during both normal and disrupted phases of the experiment, decreased as the level of automation increased and performance was most consistent (i.e. showed the least variation between participants) with the highest level of automation. The results give a strong case in favour of automation, particularly in terms of demonstrating the potential for automation to reduce workload, but also suggest much benefit can achieved from a mid-level of automation potentially at a lower cost and complexity. Elsevier 2014-09-19 Article PeerReviewed Balfe, Nora, Sharples, Sarah and Wilson, John R. (2014) Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment. Applied Ergonomics, 47 . pp. 52-64. ISSN 0003-6870 Automation Rail human factors Workload Performance http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003687014001410 doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2014.08.002 doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2014.08.002 |
| spellingShingle | Automation Rail human factors Workload Performance Balfe, Nora Sharples, Sarah Wilson, John R. Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| title | Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| title_full | Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| title_fullStr | Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| title_short | Impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| title_sort | impact of automation: measurement of performance, workload and behaviour in a complex control environment |
| topic | Automation Rail human factors Workload Performance |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30675/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30675/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30675/ |