The Simulator of Humans & Automation in Dispatch Operations (SHADO) provides stakeholders from different sectors of transportation and technology industry with a tool to rapidly explore concepts as first steps in any systems engineering development process. This process can be followed by not just academic or government researchers but also analysts within companies to similarly model their unique operations using our customizable SHADO platform. Altogether, a foundational set of parameters that generally define the work flow structure of railroad and airline dispatch centers today is provided, along with parameters to explore future scenarios including advanced technologies integrated into operations. Predicted human-system performance results for futuristic scenarios are presented that, without this approach, are too time-intensive and financially expensive to investigate in 2018.
This work is motivated by the need for models of dispatch operator performance in the railroad, airline, and surface mobility and logistics industries. Dispatchers have long been integral parts of railroad and airline operations and their role has remained critical even with reduction of crew size over the past century. Today, companies and regulators are considering a future with reduced vehicle crew sizes and, in even possibly no person at all in the vehicle with high levels of automation (for example, driverless cars). Yet, not enough work has been published on how such changes may influence the dispatcher or how the design and staffing of dispatch centers may be adapted to optimize safety and efficiency with advanced technologies.
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