The Cross River Rail (CRR) project is a major transformational Rail Infrastructure project which will support Queensland Rail’s growth to a modern, customer focused, world-class rail service and to cater for future public transport demand. While the Cross River Rail program will transform Brisbane’s rail service, it will introduce changes to the way many workers interact with the rail system and undertake railway operations. Human-Centred Design (HCD) is an approach to creating solutions for problems and identifying opportunities through a focus on the needs, contexts and behaviours of the people that the solutions will serve. Successful performance and safe solutions rely on the interaction of people with interfaces, and related processes, people and systems. In order to optimise these interactions, the project takes into account human capabilities, human limitations and other human characteristics. Or quite simply, what it means to be human. This presentation will explain how this is being achieved throughout the lifecycle of CRR project design through both the rigorous and consistent application of Human Factor principles and the engagement of those “end users” who will ultimately use these interfaces, systems and processes in their daily jobs.

Human Factors in practice incorporates elements of psychology, design and engineering. Through their attendance at this presentation, attendees will gain conceptual knowledge and an understanding of the procedural application of Human Factors in large-scale project design. Moreover, they will be encouraged to value why a Human-Centred Design (HCD) approach is necessary in the design of new work systems and to appreciate how the analysis of human limitations and capability are important in determining changes to workload, responsibilities, and training in project implementation. Through the example provided specific to rail and the Cross River Rail project, attendees should then be able to apply and adapt HCD principles and a Human Factors approach to other projects and industry in a meaningful way.