IIT Madras' CoERS conducts training for Greater Chennai Traffic Police on scientific crash investigation

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras’ Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) is conducting a programme for the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) on ‘Training on Structured Crash Investigation using Root Cause Analysis Matrix (RCAM)’ from September 6 to September 9.

According to the institute, the programme will impart design thinking skills to the investigation officer (IO) to adopt a human factors or empathy-based approach in identifying the cause of accidents.

ALSO READ| IIT Madras executive MBA programme to include international immersion learning

The workshop will be conducted in two parts including a three-day hands-on training session at IIT Madras followed by the application of the learnings on the field by the IOs in live cases and presenting their findings after two weeks. The workshop aims to equip the IO of the traffic police with the practical skills required for on-field data collection, collation, and analysis in a structured format as per the institute.

Key outcomes at the workshop

The learners will be provided hands-on training on using the root cause analysis matrix (RCAM) methodology for performing a structure crash investigation as per IIT Madras.

The traffic police officers will be guided about knowledge sharing of best practices on design thinking approach to problem-solving for a better understanding of various human factors leading to road crashes.

IIT Madras will use data-driven and scientific strategies. The investigation officers will be taught to perform death audits as per IIT Madras.

ALSO READ| IIT Madras tech centre, Canadian firm to develop AI tools for manufacturers

Thiru R Sudhakar, IPS, additional commissioner of police of traffic, Greater Chennai Police, said, “This course will have immense value for the police. We sometimes miss the human aspect when investigating traffic accidents and this will help us understand that by instituting a mindset change in how we conduct investigations. With a change in approach to our investigative methods, we hope to achieve a better closure rate which in turn will help us in bringing out more meaningful interventions to prevent future accidents from occurring.”

Venkatesh Balasubramanian, head of CoERS and RBG Labs, department of engineering design, IIT Madras, said, “By applying design thinking principles in a co-creative environment, we hope to introduce the investigating officers to a more result-oriented approach to crash investigations. Towards this a structured framework called RCAM based on the ‘Man, Machine (Vehicle), Method (of driving) and Environment (3M&E)’ model was developed by CoERS. This is a human-centric model towards arriving at a root cause."