ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the experiences gained through administering the mental workload toolset, developed for railway use by the Institute for Occupational Ergonomics at University of Nottingham, on behalf of Network Rail. The requirements for such industrial strength or industrial suitability can be stated thus: detect workload and indicate whether it is excessive, identify the sources of demand and the drivers that are associated with the perception of excessive effort, and can be administered within a half day site visit. The following tools have been used in real workload assessments: operational demand evaluation checklist, integrated workload scale and timeline analysis, workload principles, subjective workload assessment technique, rail-adapted modified Cooper Harper, and workload probes. The Principles, subjective workload assessment technique and rail-adapted modified cooper Harper are short tools that can be used to address whether a workload assessment is necessary, or else are used at the initial stage of the assessment to determine whether workload may be a problem at the outset.
