Researchers at Coventry University in the UK have contributed their expertise as technical authors for a new guide to operating autonomous vehicles. The guide, titled ’BSI Flex 1887 – Human Factors for Remote Operation of Vehicles – Guide v1.0’ has been developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and supported by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), with the aim of establishing good practices for the remote monitoring, assistance and operation of self-driving vehicles.
The guide is being released following the UK government’s recent launch of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, which has been created to lay the foundations for a regulatory framework for the introduction of automated vehicles in the UK.
The researchers from Coventry University – Professors Stewart Birrell, Kevin Vincent and Dr Adam Bogg from the university’s Research Centre for Future Transport and Cities (FTC) – have gathered feedback from industry leaders and applied their human factors research expertise to create the guide.
The BSI Flex 1887 guide is intended to provide practical information to help businesses address challenges in operating autonomous vehicles. It emphasises the selection and training of remote operating staff, the organisation’s end-to-end responsibilities, and fundamental workstation design principles.
Key considerations include: ensuring qualified personnel are chosen and adequately trained for remote operations; implementing effective strategies for assessing and maintaining operator performance; following specific guidelines to enhance efficiency and comfort in operators’ working environments; and optimising the performance and co-ordination of remote operators through effective management.
While the BSI Flex guide primarily focuses on road use applications, it is also designed to serve as guidance for controlled environments that lack specific standards. The guide is designed to support organisations in implementing remote operation capabilities and services, offering insights and best practices.
Matteo Novati, programme lead for BSI’s CAM (connected and automated mobility) (cam) standards programme, said: “Standards have the potential to play a key role in realising society’s safe transition to self-driving vehicles and ultimately accelerating progress towards a sustainable future. Our CAM programme has recently focused on filling an important gap in standards supporting remote operations of road vehicles.”
He added that the guide “is a very welcome piece of this puzzle and has already attracted much attention from industry and policymakers in the UK and globally. This guidance on human factors such as operators’ competencies and workstation design has been highlighted as a priority since our early engagement activities, and aims to support deployment and imminent work on secondary legislation.”
BSI Flex 1887 is now open for public consultation. Stakeholders and interested parties are encouraged to review the guide and provide feedback to ensure it meets the highest standards of safety and effectiveness.
For more information and to participate in the consultation click here.
