Associate Signal and Train Control Inspector
California State Personnel Board Specification
Schematic Code: IH43
Class Code: 3947
Established: 03/16/1993
Revised: 11/16/2010
Title Changed: --
Definition
Under general direction, incumbents independently perform inspections, audits, and studies relating to railway signaling; initiate and conduct informal negotiations with the management of carriers and public agencies; perform surveys to determine railroad systems compliance with State and Federal Signaling Safety Standards; identify equipment and procedural deficiencies posing occupational health and safety hazards; conduct incident and accident investigations; perform field surveys and tests of technical operating methods, equipment, and general order compliance; perform difficult field audits for carrier compliance with clearance and walkway requirements with special emphasis on signal equipment placement; attend formal boards of inquiry into the cause of unusual accidents, question witnesses, analyze transcripts, prepare and review reports, make recommendations, and negotiate for preventive practices; make difficult signaling equipment inspections; assist in planning, organizing, and directing the work of the staff; confer with departmental personnel regarding policies and programs; and represent the Commission at conferences with representatives of private and public agencies.
Typical Tasks
Incumbents are responsible for the development, adoption, and implementation of signaling safety operating standards and maintenance procedures for railroad signal control systems. Incumbents perform or are responsible for staff who perform difficult field audits for railroad compliance with the California Public Utilities Commission and Federal Signaling Safety Standards; conduct studies of signaling failure mode and effects analysis; enforce signaling safety regulations of railroads; conduct investigations of railroad accidents; prepare detailed technical reports and exhibits relating to railroad signaling; represent the State or the Commission as assigned; and do other related work.
Minimum Qualifications
Certification: Successful completion of a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approved apprentice program resulting in certification of expertise in signal and train control inspection by the FRA. (Applicants who are in the process of securing their certification from the FRA will be admitted to the examination but must obtain their certification before they can be considered eligible for appointment.) and Either I Three years as a certified State and/or Federal Signal and Train Control Inspector or Signal Supervisor; Signal Maintenance Manager; Division, District, or Regional Signal Engineer on a Class I, Regional or Commuter Railroad.
Or II
Four years of experience in railroad signaling construction and maintenance in a position equivalent in level to that of a Railroad Signal Supervisor, Manager Signal Maintenance, Division Engineer, or Chief Engineer with a Class I railroad operating under the General Code of Operating Rules.
(A Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering may be substituted for two years of the experience requirement in Patterns I and II.)
Knowledge and Abilities
Knowledge of: Railroad signal inspection, signal maintenance methods, signaling equipment, and general railroad safety; and the proper corrective action to be taken in order to bring railroad track signals into compliance with State, Commission, and Federal Rules, Standards, and instructions governing the installation, inspection, maintenance, and repair of signal and train control systems, devices, and appliances.
Ability to: Determine the safety of signaling equipment and the adequacy of maintenance procedures; understand railroad maintenance standards and detect deviation therefrom; determine adequacy for prescribed speeds in accordance with the provision of the Federal Signaling Safety Standards; conduct investigations of railroad accidents; write clear and concise reports; and compile and analyze data.
