Network Rail is currently implementing a campaign to lower fatalities on level crossings. As part of it they have developed a risk management tool called the All Level Crossings Risk Management Process (ALCRM). Each crossing is run through the risk model and given a risk rating; if it is high, it is now possible to look at why and what can be done to improve its status.

Human Engineering is an external consultancy employed by NR to research what human factors make level crossings high risk. They have produced nearly 80 mitigation measures detailing a list of the common problems.

As Human Engineering’s technical partner Lucid built a database driven website to enable people managing level crossings to search the research database and identify suitable mitigation measures. The website is built using Lucid’s standard technical platform – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and ASP.NET 2.0. Due to the high volume of information needed to be entered, Lucid built a Windows based Smart Client Management Console application that connects to the database via WebServices, and allows the research team to enter and update data. The Management Console is deployed using Microsoft’s ClickOnce technology, which overcomes the typical deployment issues associated with Windows applications.

The website will be launched at the start of September.