Organisational factors and scheduling in locomotive engineers and conductors: Effects on fatigue, health and social well-being

This study examines critical organisational factors and work scheduling in railway freight operators to understand how job-related factors are related to fatigue, health and social well-being. A 148-item questionnaire was developed and distributed to a sample of 276 locomotive engineers and conductors working for the U.S. Operations of a North American Railway. One hundred and twenty-five questionnaires were returned, which was a response rate of 45.3%. Structural equation modeling was performed to identify the relationships between the examined factors. The analytical results of this study indicate that organisational factors and the scheduling system could not be distinguished as two separate factors. The scheduling system is not just the practice of assigning locomotive crewmen to trains, but it is a function tightly connected with other organisational factors. Social Well-Being is an important mediator between Scheduling and Fatigue. Finally, the study revealed a strong relationship between fatigue and health complaints.