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"Safety Critical Communications Test"

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"Safety Critical Communications Test" 20/05/2011 at 01:33 #3060
ExDistrictDriver
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30 posts
Greetings everyone,
Just had an email informing me I have been selected for the Safety Critical Communications Test to progress my application (Signaller at Corby Gates). Apparently this is carried out by talking to a computer over the phone! Just wondering if the computer is pretty reliable? May seem like an odd question, but being a Geordie I have an accent, although not very strong due to having to try and talk properly while I was working in London. I believe I have a clear voice, but are the assesments actually listened to by a human at some stage or do they just take the word of a computer?! BTW, I passed the signaller assessment in Manchester with top marks a few years ago... Do those results still count? I seem to remember being told they were valid for about five years (or am I thinking of my old Train Driver psychometric tests?)

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"Safety Critical Communications Test" 20/05/2011 at 01:33 #15926
ExDistrictDriver
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30 posts
Greetings everyone,
Just had an email informing me I have been selected for the Safety Critical Communications Test to progress my application (Signaller at Corby Gates). Apparently this is carried out by talking to a computer over the phone! Just wondering if the computer is pretty reliable? May seem like an odd question, but being a Geordie I have an accent, although not very strong due to having to try and talk properly while I was working in London. I believe I have a clear voice, but are the assesments actually listened to by a human at some stage or do they just take the word of a computer?! BTW, I passed the signaller assessment in Manchester with top marks a few years ago... Do those results still count? I seem to remember being told they were valid for about five years (or am I thinking of my old Train Driver psychometric tests?)

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"Safety Critical Communications Test" 20/05/2011 at 02:41 #15927
UKTrainMan
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1803 posts
As you're applying for the job of signaller (or signalman, if you prefer) then I assume you're aware that in the job itself communication is key, particularly clear communications. One would imagine that the computer you're talking to is a bit like software used for 'talk typing' (where you talk into a microphone and it types / writes for you) but probably specialist or advanced software or system or something like that. As long as you speak clearly enough then I shouldn't think it'd be too much of a problem. I'd imagine that the 'conversation'(?) you have with the computer is listened to live or if not then listened to afterwards and assessed.

Personally I wouldn't overly worry about the accent, the signaller/signalman you can hear in the video linked to in this thread sounded to me like he had some kind of an accent yet I could understand him fine and it seems that the driver of the train could also understand him too.

One would expect that even NR wouldn't solely rely on a computer.

Hope this helps, if only somewhat.

Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for.
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"Safety Critical Communications Test" 20/05/2011 at 04:40 #15928
mfcooper
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707 posts
On my course at Signalling school we had a collection of people with accents, including a Geordie with a fairly strong accent. Just don't worry about it too much.

The Ghanaian bloke at my current job is probably the strongest accent I've heard in signalling. As he was allowed in, I can see no problems with you!

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"Safety Critical Communications Test" 20/05/2011 at 08:34 #15931
GeoffM
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6282 posts
Humans do listen to the comms test, though not live! The signaller assessment is valid for a number of years - I thought it was six, you say five, so it must be around there somewhere!

Accents will not be a problem and in fact would probably be illegal to discriminate on that basis, as long as you are clear and understandable. Don't try to fake a Windsor accent though!

Good luck.

SimSig Boss
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"Safety Critical Communications Test" 20/05/2011 at 12:21 #15933
ExDistrictDriver
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30 posts
Thanks for the replies! I've done the deed now... Bit surreal discussing the subject of child discipline with a computer, but we'll just have to wait and see now!
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