Abstract
Cooperative strategies of individuals within a distributed organizational structure can contribute to increased efficiency of operations and safety. We describe selected results of a cognitive task analysis that examined the cognitive and collaborative demands and activities of railroad roadway workers. The findings highlight the informal cooperative strategies that railroad workers have developed across distributed teams consisting of roadway workers, train crews, and railroad dispatchers that foster shared situation awareness and enhance on-track safety. We discuss design implications for leveraging new digital technologies and location finding systems to more effectively support these informal strategies to improve efficiency and enhance on-track safety are discussed.
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