The design and development of H-TRAM has been largely dependent on an adherence to the Analytical Risk Management (ARM) process. The ARM is the preferred approach to accessing risk within the railroad industry and is an approved methodology by the US Department of Homeland Security. Risk Management is the process of selecting and implementing countermeasures to achieve an acceptable level of risk at an acceptable cost. This is the basic premise of the ARM. The ARM methodology uses a systematic approach to accomplish this goal. It provides structure, record keeping and objectivity within each step of the process. The process provides both qualitative and quantitative assessments and is particularly appropriate for rail routing risk analysis. An important feature within the approach is the ability to assign rating factors within each step of the process resulting in end product numerical scores that can be used by management to make trade off decisions that reflect both the impact on risk and the resulting cost/benefit projection. In this process threats, vulnerabilities and consequences are all accounted for and as a result the 27 factors begin to take on relevance as to their own level of risk as well as how they impact and compare to the other factors. The end result is a very thorough route risk analysis that produces a unique score. A railroad can use this process to help make decisions regarding operating or capital investments and determine if in fact these contemplated changes will raise or lower risk over the route.
Project Based Organization
H-TRAM employs a project-based organizational model. A “project” uniquely connects a set of risk factors with the centerline and population model along with the calculation parameters and resultant risk score calculations. This project model allows the user to establish multiple scenarios, both for annual risk assessments, as well as “what-if” scenarios, without affecting other projects. It also allows one project’s results to be compared to another project’s results. For example, the results of the 2015 annual assessment can be compared directly to those of 2014, both in overall risk score as well as in the detailed segment risk scores. This allows the user to see whether their risk is going up or down over time, as well as the factors causing the changes.
Population Key Determinate
While it is never possible to capture the exact location and quantity of human population in the area of a railroad route, i.e., a snapshot, it is possible to model the population in terms of broad time periods and location. For location, we can record the places where we are likely to find people: houses, stores, meeting halls, recreation fields, and so on. And based upon those types of buildings and areas, we can estimate the human population based upon common usage patterns. These usage patterns are derived in part from census information (e.g., average household size) as well as experiential knowledge (e.g., typical shopping malls aren’t open at 4am). This model is developed into a population profile based upon the building or area type. Each building type carries an expected number of persons and the percentage of those persons that might be found at that location during specific time periods. For example, if we have a housing subdivision of 50 single family dwellings, the profile might tell us to expect 2.58 persons average per household, and, during nighttime, 85% of whom can be expected to be at home. For this subdivision, we would estimate the population to be 50 x 2.58 x 0.85 = 110 persons (rounding up).
For public, commercial and industrial buildings it is considerably more difficult in that there is a very wide range of number of persons depending upon facility size and usage. So two methods are utilized. If we know nothing about the actual number of persons who typically utilize the structure and what time period, we assume the worst, that is, we assign the highest risk score to the segment of track in the vicinity of the building. However, if we know the precise average number of persons (due to field verification), we can directly utilize that in the risk calculations, thereby providing a more accurate assessment of the population and resulting consequence.
System Access
Access to H-TRAM is achieved through common web browsers, and requires no downloads or plugins be installed. All users – for all participating railroads – access it through the web address https://www.caseexperts.com/h-tram/ Each account established in H-TRAM is associated with a specific railroad or consolidation company, thus allowing them to only see their data and risk scores. H-TRAM uses a robust method of user authentication, including administrative authorization to prevent access by unauthorized users such as hackers and rail fans.
System Components
The following subsections provide descriptions and screenshots of the various sections of the H-TRAM system.
Division Hierarchy, Centerline Construction and Population
Since many railroads employ either a division/subdivision or corporate/railroad hierarchy to manage their properties, H-TRAM incorporates a similar structure. This helps organize data around the same structure that the railroads utilize themselves. In the case of a simple short line railroad, this is more than they need, however, in the case of a regional railroad or a holding company, this allows them to organize their risk model around the way they organize themselves.