Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) conducted a three-day programme for the Karnataka State Police at Mysore on ‘Training on Structured Crash Investigation using Root Cause Analysis Matrix (RCAM)’.
The programme sought to upskill the police with design thinking principles to aid in improving the Road Traffic Accident (RTA) investigations to arrive at the cause of accidents with greater emphasis on understanding human factors.
The workshop aimed to equip road crash investigating officers with the practical skills required to adopt a systems approach to problem solving. Training was provided for ‘Root Cause Analysis Matrix’ (RCAM), a tool used to perform structured crash investigations. The training also focused on on-field data collection and analysis and communicate their hypothesis effectively.
Providing the insights on the importance of the training program, Shri Alok Kumar, IPS Additional Director General of Police (Training and Road Safety), Karnataka, said, “We are very pleased about the training programme. It's critical that investigating officers have a more receptive mind set and approach to gathering information about crashes. We must use a sound data collection procedure and conduct investigation in a scientific manner to establish the facts. We can identify better interventions in the future with the aid of this program, which is a good beginning”.
The key outcomes targeted from this workshop include:
Understanding the root cause analysis matrix (RCAM) methodology towards conducting a structure crash analysis.
Encourage use of data-driven and scientific strategies to develop targeted interventions.
Knowledge sharing of best practices on design thinking approach to creative problem solving for better understanding of various human factors leading to road crashes.
Improve the capacity of the investigation officers to perform death audits.
Elaborating on the need for the programme, Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Head, CoERS and RBG Labs, Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras, who is coordinating this initiative, said, “A scientific approach to enforcement in road safety is an essential requirement to formulate preventive interventions to reduce the occurrence of crashes. RCAM provides a structured methodology to investigate the root causes of a crash based on a 3M&E model. That is from the perspectives of Man (Human), Machine (Vehicle), Method (User Behaviour), Environment (Road). This methodology enables factual collection of human, vehicle and property damage data and perform evidence-based design of interventions for improving road safety.”
Explaining the need for the programme, Dr. M.B Boralingaiah, IPS, DIGP, Director, Karnataka Police Academy (KPA), said, “This capacity building program is a significant step towards bringing a change in the officers to approach the crash data collection and collation from a scientific investigation point of view. RCAM methodology will provide a structured approach to identify the contributing factors of the crashes, identify responsible stakeholder to take rectification measures thereby prevent its future occurrence. This programme is a good beginning which will help us determine effective interventions in the future.”
Highlighting the innovative approach of the program, Shri Chennabasavanna Langoti, Deputy Director, Karnataka Police Academy (KPA), said, “RCAM workshop has provided our officers with practical skills and best practices in road crash investigation. By adopting a systems approach of RCAM, we can enhance our officer’s capacity to perform thorough death audits, focus on data-driven and scientific strategies to reduce the occurrence of crashes.”