Rail Signaling & Wayside Equipment worked example

Inspection Bottleneck with inspection severity if the bottleneck fails undetected of 3 score: a worked example in rail signaling & wayside equipment

This worked example runs the inspection bottleneck numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: inspection severity if the bottleneck fails undetected of 3 score instead of the typical 6 score. Estimate inspection bottleneck for rail signaling and wayside equipment using production-ready inputs so teams can rank risks and decide which issue needs containment, controls, or escalation first.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Inspection severity if the bottleneck fails undetected: 3 score (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 6)
  • Likelihood the inspection bottleneck recurs per cycle: 4 score (held at the documented default)
  • Ability to detect the bottleneck before dispatch: 3 score (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Inspection bottleneck risk score = inspection bottleneck severity score × inspection bottleneck occurrence score × inspection bottleneck detection score.
  • Inspection bottleneck risk score works out to 3.35 score at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Inspection bottleneck severity score works out to 3 score at these inputs.
  • Inspection bottleneck occurrence score works out to 4 score at these inputs.
  • Inspection bottleneck detection score works out to 3 score at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where inspection severity if the bottleneck fails undetected sits at 6 score and the headline result is 4.55 score, this scenario comes in 26.37% below the baseline at 3.35 score.
  • Use it during maintenance planning reviews or after a near-miss when you must decide which inspection choke point to add capacity or automated monitoring to first. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Inspection bottleneck risk score: 3.35 score (headline result)
  • Inspection bottleneck severity score: 3 score
  • Inspection bottleneck occurrence score: 4 score
  • Inspection bottleneck detection score: 3 score

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Inspection Bottleneck calculator, set inspection severity if the bottleneck fails undetected to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.