Training courses on safety for public transport drivers on CD-ROM; ‘626 AUTOLINEE’ and ‘MASCOTTE’(Moderare

gli Agenti di Stress per i Conducenti del Trasporto

Terrestre – Relieving Stress Factors for Drivers), Italy

Organisation(s): INAIL

Key points

 Training and information given by virtual tutors.

 Training of drivers (coaches, minibuses, hire cars, buses).

 Includes maintenance.

 Covers physical risks and psychosocial risk.

 Learning strategies to prevent accidents and injuries and to reduce the risk of work- related illnesses include identification of prevention measures.

 Free products.

Introduction

This case study describes two self-help instruments developed on CD-ROM to train and inform drivers about safety and the prevention of psychological as well as physical problems caused by driving land-based transport. To get the message across, the CD programmes use virtual tours, photographs and film clips of real or reconstructed work environments with the ability to zoom in on features. The CD-ROM also provides oral tuition from a ‘virtual tutor’.

Aims

To provide valid training and information tools that can be used for:

 Classroom-based training, during which the various situations presented in the clips contained on the CD-ROMs can be observed, commented on and used as a stimulus for discussion and sharing of experience among workers;

 Self-help sessions in which the driver can learn alone as the CD’s virtual tutor or teacher explains both the risk factors in the various scenes presented in the clips and how to identify what action can be taken to prevent accidents.

Background

The body that produced these CD-ROMs, Italy’s National Institute for Insurance against Workplace Accidents ((INAIL) Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro), provides health and safety and accident prevention assistance and consultancy in workplaces with the cooperation of other key public sector organisations, and with employers’ associations, the self-employed and employees.

The creation of the training instruments discussed in this case study was triggered by a request from representative associations and unions. They wanted training and information tools aimed at all the people affected by health and safety regulations in the workplace, from safety representatives and safety technicians to directors and managers.

Scope

‘626 AUTOLINEE’ is a training programme with virtual tutors and spoken tuition aimed at the drivers of coaches, minibuses, hire cars and buses. It is also relevant to office-based staff and those responsible for vehicle maintenance. By navigating within real space on the computer screen, photographed or reconstructed, it is possible to zoom in on features and learn the strategies necessary to prevent accidents and injuries, and reduce the risk of work-related illnesses by improving conditions where vehicle maintenance is carried out. The CD is divided into four sections:

 Information about the work risks facing drivers and workplace health and safety regulations. For each risk the health and safety consequences are described and preventative strategies and measures are given;

 A safety-based training programme presented on-screen by a virtual teacher and virtual tutor ready to answer any questions workers may have;

 Simulations (film clips) of real work situations in which the risks and the preventative measures to adopt are highlighted;

 Final tests to assess learning progress.

The CD-ROM ‘MASCOTTE’ (Moderare gli Agenti di Stress per i Conducenti del Trasporto Terrestre; Reducing Stress Factors for Drivers) offers workers in the sector information about

stress, and a specific safety-based training course relevant to seven types of land-based transport – rail, road-based local public transport, trams, underground services, buses, and goods transport for heavy and light goods vehicles. The various choices of training and information programmes are immediately available through a simple, guided on-screen procedure. This means that the CD-ROM can address most of the risks that face drivers of land-based transport, analysing psycho-physical and psychosocial risks in particular. Workers can assess their perception of risks through a programme of interactive tests by gradually learning to identify and prevent them. The video section also features the experiences of other workers and offers examples of best practice to reduce psycho-physical stress. The prevention strategies address organisational measures and individual attitude changes. For example, the video section shows the most common situations in which passenger transport drivers can sustain musculoskeletal disorders – poor posture, fixed positions, repetitive movements – and gives some suggestions to reduce such risks:

 At traffic lights, to prevent pain in the lower limb joints, put on the handbrake, raise the feet from the pedals and stretch the legs.

 Always keep your back against the seatback.

 When it rains, do not bend forward to see better – move the seat forward instead.

Outcome and evaluation

The products, which are used as a back-up to other training activities, are frequently requested. They are free of charge, and are distributed at exhibitions, fairs and conferences.

Problems faced

The main difficulty was that of creating a product which offered relevant and effective training for drivers, but without being difficult or boring for the user. It was also difficult to create a product capable of both providing safety information and changing some types of driver behaviour.

Success factors

 Ease of use.

 Contents relevant to real work situations.

 Enticing presentation.

 Free product.

Transferability

Both the training techniques and the contents are easily transferable.

Further information

INAIL – Central Prevention Department 00144 Rome – Piazzale Giulio Pastore, 6 Email: dcprevenzione@inail.it

3.3.11.

‘Objective – Secure Travelling’ and ‘Driving in Security’