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Non-technical skillsNew training resources and good practice on non-technical skills for the rail industry

What are non-technical skills?Non-technical skills (NTS) are personal, social and thinking skills that can enhance the way in which we carry out technical tasks.   A technical task – like safely dispatching a train from a platform – requires a practical understanding of the relevant rules, procedures, roles and responsibilities, all of which are formally assessed to ensure the person can carry out this safety-critical task. In addition to this technical knowledge, staff will also draw on a range of NTS in how they carry out a task, for example, checking the train and platform edge, maintaining concentration on the dispatch process, following a systematic approach in dispatching the train, clearly communicating to any passengers et. These NTS play a vital role in safety by helping people to anticipate, identify and mitigate error in task performance.

Why are NTS important?Reviews of operational incidents and accidents have shown that both poor use of NTS are a contributor to incidents taking place. It has also been noted that good NTS performance can stop an incident before it occurs or reduce the severity of an incident.  NTS have been successfully used in other safety critical industries for many years for example, oil and gas, aviation and in healthcare.  By taking a proactive approach to NTS development, integrating NTS into competence management systems and within training or briefing programmes, it is expected that safe task performance will improve.

Who is this relevant to? We all use non-technical skills (NTS) in our everyday roles. As such, NTS information contained in this leaflet and other NTS guidance is key to people responsible for managing the performance and competence of safety critical staff i.e operational managers, operational safety managers, trainers and briefers, managers responsible for selection of staff, accident investigators etc.

1 Situational awareness

Attention to detail

Overall awareness

Maintain concentration

Retain information (during shift)

Anticipation of risk

2 Conscientiousness

Systematic and thorough approach

Checking

Positive attitude towards rules and procedures

3 Communication

Listening (people not stimuli)

Clarity

Assertiveness

Sharing information

4 Decision making and action

Effective decisions

Timely decisions

Diagnosing and solving problems

5 Co-operation and working with others

Considering others’ needs

Supporting others

Treating others with respect

Dealing with conflict / aggressive behaviour

6 Workload management

Multi-tasking and selective attention

Prioritising

Calm under pressure

7 Self-management

Motivation

Confidence and initiative

Maintain and develop skills and knowledge

Prepared and organised

Non-technical skills list

NTS Category NTS Skill

NTS resources

Since the NTS launch in 2012, RSSB has produced a number of tools and related guidance designed to help the industry achieve a consistent and effective approach to the development of staff NTS. This includes:

• A list of non-technical skills and related behavioural markers. • A set of training materials for front line staff and their managers (including tools for managers to use in reinforcing NTS development on an on-going basis). • Guidance on integrating NTS across a competence management systems. • Train-the-trainer courses to support trainers new to the area of training NTS • Training and briefing materials for roles other than drivers • Case studies showing NTS contributions to incidents

Where can I find out more information?You can find more information on our NTS materials and training courses on the RSSB website www.rssb.co.uk/improving-industry-performance/human-factors/non-technical-skillsAdditional materials including those produced by RSSB can be obtained from SPARK – the rail industry’s shared on-line knowledge portal, managed by RSSB. You can access SPARK from  www.spark.rssb.co.uk where you can register for access and search by ‘non-technical skills’.

About the research by RSSBThe NTS training resources and good practice guide were developed on the basis of research by RSSB for the rail industry, in a project ‘Non-technical skills for rail: development, piloting and evaluation of a training course’ (ref T869).  The focus of this research was on the driver role, but the materials and related guidance can be applied to all safety-critical roles. A second research project (T1064) created the materials for non-driver roles to both extend the use of the NTS materials and to allow these to be used as stand-alone training or briefing materials.  

For more information on any aspects of NTS, contact RSSB:

Email: enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk

Tel: 020 3142 5400.

RSSB is a member-driven organisation, owned by the rail industry. As a natural place for the industry to build consensus, and being independent of any one company, RSSB has become a hub for groups containing representatives from across the breadth of the industry. The company is limited by guarantee and is governed by its members, and a cross-industry board that includes independent directors and observers from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

For more information about RSSB, go to www.rssb.co.uk