RSSB TFW Case Study Highlights How SpatialCortex's MOVA Ergonomic Risk Assessments Helped Renew a Barrow Crossing

RSSB TFW MSD Case study shows how proactive risk management & system approach helps mitigate MSD risk factors

Ergonomic Risks Faced by Catering Hosts

Catering hosts at Carmarthen station manoeuvred catering trolleys, weighing up to 80–90 kg fully laden, across the barrow crossing before loading onto trains. Gaps between the crossing's wooden boards regularly catched the trolley wheels, forcing hosts to lift, and force the trolley free, repeatedly, across a shift. Catering hosts had raised the physical effort this took on multiple occasions. Transport for Wales (TfW) wanted to know exactly what that effort was costing staff's bodies, rather than rely on anecdotal reports of difficulty, so it commissioned SpatialCortex to investigate using its MOVA wearable-sensor technology.

Assessing Risk Using MOVA Technology

Data collection and interpretation were aligned with established HSE frameworks, including the Manual Handling Assessment Charts (MAC) and Risk Assessment of Pushing and Pulling (RAPP) tools, and complemented by biomechanical modelling to estimate joint loading. At Carmarthen, MOVA's workwear-integrated sensors captured kinematic data throughout each crossing traversal. The horizontal distance between the shoulder joint and the load ranged from during traversal was tracked, and to clear structural gaps in the crossing, staff were required to momentarily lift and support a fraction of the total load mass. Even with a two-handed grip, asymmetrical posture and load distribution placed higher shoulder moment, which was using biomechanical modelling. These values were compared with published population-based shoulder torque capacity data for women across the 25th to 95th percentile, which revealed that the upper end of what hosts were doing approached or exceeded the strength capacity of a substantial share of the workforce.

Evaluating the Hierarchy of Controls

With that biomechanical evidence in hand, TfW worked through the hierarchy of controls to identify the most appropriate fix. Options considered included eliminating the gaps or routing around the crossing entirely, substituting a trolley design better suited to navigating the gaps, engineering controls such as bridge plates for a smoother surface, administrative controls like two-person handling or reduced trolley loads, and personal protective equipment such as back support and appropriate footwear. Working systematically through each level, rather than reaching for the easiest option, let TfW weigh the practicality and effectiveness of each control against the objective risk data MOVA had produced. Full details of the options TfW assessed are set out in RSSB's case study.

The Engineering Fix Implemented by Network Rail

Local repairs were tried first but could not produce a surface reliable enough to stop wheels catching. A Safety Officer's inspection then found that part of the crossing's wooden structure had collapsed, creating a dip that made wheels catch more often, reinforcing what the biomechanical data already showed. Together, the incident reports and MOVA's findings built the case for a full renewal rather than another cycle of local patching. Following a site visit and review of the evidence, Network Rail agreed, and the crossing was renewed in May 2026: the old wooden structure was replaced with a cement foundation and waterproof, non-slip matting, closing the gaps and unevenness that had been catching wheels and removing the need for hosts to lift the trolley to clear the crossing.

Early Results Show Positive Outcomes

Early feedback on the renewed crossing has been positive. Most catering hosts have reported satisfaction with the improvement, and TfW's Catering Supervisor described it as a “significant improvement to the safety and welfare of catering hosts.” Simon Carpenter, TfW's Risk and Standards Manager, said the collaboration “allowed us to demonstrate the likelihood of short- and long-term injuries through data and identify suitable solutions that have significantly improved usability, safety, and wellbeing for our colleagues.” TfW is now reviewing other barrow crossings for similar issues, and a follow-up ergonomic assessment is planned to confirm the improvement holds at Carmarthen.

TfW–SpatialCortex Partnership on MSD Mitigation

The Carmarthen renewal is one result of a wider partnership between TfW and SpatialCortex that began in 2024, when TfW trialled SpatialCortex's MOVA technology with train hosts and conductors in both training and operational environments. Since then, the collaboration has grown into a broader programme of ergonomic risk assessment across TfW's frontline roles and was presented by Simon Carpenter at the CIEHF Ergonomics & Human Factors Conference 2026. Beyond the barrow crossing, the wider study also assessed ramp deployment by conductors and wheelchair assistance carried out by Passenger Companions, surfacing risk profiles of their own, from technique drift between training and live operations, to high push forces on steep ramp gradients. The full peer-reviewed findings are published in Understanding and mitigating MSD risks faced by frontline rail-staff using wearable technology.

How SpatialCortex Can Help Understand and Mitigate MSD Risk

Carmarthen shows what happens when objective, task-level biomechanical data and a physical inspection point the same way: an infrastructure investment case stops being a judgement call and becomes evidence. That kind of quantified, HSE-aligned risk assessment is exactly what SpatialCortex's MOVA platform is built to provide, helping health and safety teams understand the physical demands their staff face, anticipate high-risk tasks before they cause injury, and target mitigations backed by data rather than guesswork. It is the same approach behind RSSB's industry-wide T1278 research into MSD risk in UK rail, and SpatialCortex has set out how objective data can help organisations act on its findings in RSSB T1278 MSD Research in UK Rail.

If your organisation is weighing whether a manual handling concern warrants engineering investment rather than another cycle of repairs, get in touch to find out how MOVA could help.