https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling-japan-trains * Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. * Trips + Upcoming Trips + All Trips Trips Blog [bmc] Get the Atlas Obscura book Shop Now >> Upcoming Trips View All Trips >> [blank-11b9] Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia [blank-11b9] Iceland in Summer: Journey Through a Fabled Land [blank-11b9] Hidden Florence: Private Palazzos & Secret Societies [blank-11b9] Expedition Galapagos: Island Wildlife & Ecology * Experiences Upcoming Experiences View All Experiences >> [blank-11b9] Members only Monster of the Month w/ Colin Dickey: Goatman [blank-11b9] Members only Get to Know Shodo: An Introduction to Japanese Calligraphy [blank-11b9] Members only Atlas Obscura Members Only Trivia Night [blank-11b9] Members only Inside the Wonder Factory: Making Animatronics at Garner Holt Productions [blank-11b9] Members only Accidental Discoveries: A Celebration of Historical Mistakes * Courses Upcoming Courses View All Courses >> [blank-11b9] Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown [blank-11b9] The Art of Death With Tessa Fontaine [blank-11b9] The Table as Canvas: Designing a Bizarro Dinner Party With Jen Monroe [blank-11b9] Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva [blank-11b9] Designing Modern Floral Arrangements With Arrin Sutliff * Places + Top Destinations + Latest Places + Most Popular Places + Random Place + Lists + Itineraries + ------------------------------------------------------------- Add a Place + ------------------------------------------------------------- DOWNLOAD THE iOS APP Download on the Apple App Store Latest Places View All Places >> [blank-11b9] London, England The Luck of Edenhall 51.4966, -0.1722 Bernd Rosemeyer Gedachtnisstatte Morfelden-Walldorf, Germany Bernd Rosemeyer Memorial 49.9735, 8.6031 [blank-11b9] St. Cloud, Minnesota Val's Rapid Service 45.5676, -94.1454 Righteous Among the Nations memorial at Dohany Street Synagogue Budapest, Hungary Righteous Among the Nations Memorial 47.4964, 19.0612 Top Destinations View All Destinations >> Countries + Australia + Canada + China + France + Germany + India + Italy + Japan Cities + Amsterdam + Barcelona + Beijing + Berlin + Boston + Budapest + Chicago + London + Los Angeles + Mexico City + Montreal + Moscow + New Orleans + New York City + Paris + Philadelphia + Rome + San Francisco + Seattle + Stockholm + Tokyo + Toronto + Vienna + Washington, D.C. * Foods Latest Places to Eat & Drink View All Places to Eat >> [blank-11b9] Val's Rapid Service The last and only Mister Donut in the U.S. Godfrey Mister Donut The neon pink clock is a Tube Bar original. JSQ Lounge Hacienda Buena Vista seen from above. Hacienda Buena Vista Longaniza from Restaurant La Sombra Ruta de la Longaniza * Stories Most Recent Stories View All Stories >> Goudier Island, off the northwest coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. is home to what one stamp collector from England described in 1946 as "the loneliest post office in the world." Letters from the Loneliest Post Office in the World [blank-11b9] Podcast: The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum All of the Atlas Obscura Easter eggs in the maze PDF are clickable. How a Master Maze Maker Gets You Lost The instruction isn't visible to people actually in the 2021 Chilliwack Corn Maze in British Columbia, Canada. Exploring the Mysterious Allure of Mazes and Labyrinths [blank-11b9] Podcast: Upton Chamber * Sign In Join * Sign In ----------------------------------------------------------------- Join * What's near me? Why Japan's Rail Workers Can't Stop Pointing at Things A seemingly silly gesture is done for the sake of safety. by Allan Richarz March 29, 2017 Why Japan's Rail Workers Can't Stop Pointing at Things Copy Link Facebook Twitter Reddit Flipboard Pocket In This Story [blank-11b9] Destination Guide Japan 79 Articles 451 Places A Tokyo train driver pointing at meters on the dashboard.A Tokyo train driver pointing at meters on the dashboard. Toru Yamanaka/AFP/ Getty Images It is hard to miss when taking the train in Tokyo. White-gloved employees in crisp uniforms pointing smartly down the platform and calling out--seemingly to no one--as trains glide in and out of the station. Onboard is much the same, with drivers and conductors performing almost ritual-like movements as they tend to an array of dials, buttons and screens. Japan's rail system has a well-deserved reputation for being among the very best in the world. An extensive network of tracks moving an estimated 12 billion passengers each year with an on-time performance measured in the seconds makes Japanese rail a precise, highly reliable transportation marvel. Train conductors, drivers and station staff play an important role in the safe and efficient operation of the lines; a key aspect of which is the variety of physical gestures and vocal calls that they perform while undertaking their duties. While these might strike visitors as silly, the movements and shouts are a Japanese-innovated industrial safety method known as pointing-and-calling; a system that reduces workplace errors by up to 85 percent. A Hiroshima train conductor pointing along the track.A Hiroshima train conductor pointing along the track. James Abbott/CC BY 2.0 Known in Japanese as shisa kanko, pointing-and-calling works on the principle of associating one's tasks with physical movements and vocalizations to prevent errors by "raising the consciousness levels of workers"--according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan. Rather than rely on a worker's eyes or habit alone, each step in a given task is reinforced physically and audibly to ensure the step is both complete and accurate. In the rail context, when train drivers wish to perform a required speed check, they do not simply glance at a display. Rather, the speedometer will be physically pointed at, with a call of "speed check, 80"--confirming the action taking place, and audibly confirming the correct speed. For station staff who ensure the platform-side tracks are free of debris or fallen passengers, a visual scan alone is not sufficient. Instead, the attendant will point down the track and sweep their arm along the length of the platform--eyes following the hand--before declaring all clear. The process repeats as the train departs, ensuring no bags--or passengers--are caught hanging from the train's closed doors. It is such an integral part of Japanese transportation that direction boards at the Kyoto Rail Museum even feature characters in the classic point-and-call stance. Jing Du Tie Dao Bo Wu Guan notoiresainga[Zhi Chai Hu Cheng ] ninatsuteta! pic.twitter.com/f0Qx6aSzGp -- Motohiko Sakazaki (@Tokyo_Seoul) February 16, 2017 The system is in place across a number of industries in Japan. Originally developed by the now-defunct Kobe Railroad Administration Bureau in the late Meiji Period (the early 20th century), pointing-and-calling is known to reduce workplace errors by up to 85 percent, according to one 1996 study. While some workers point-and-call more enthusiastically than others, even those who are more blase benefit from the increased awareness that comes from physically reinforcing each task. For such a simple but effective method of improving workers' error rate, the system continues to find itself largely confined to Japan. Indeed, it is one of the many quirks of the Japanese workplace that fall flat with Western workers. In the case of pointing-and-calling, Japanese commentators have theorized that Western employees feel "silly" performing the requisite gestures and calls. Guard on Shinkansen bullet train in Kyoto StationGuard on Shinkansen bullet train in Kyoto Station Peter Adams/Getty Images A notable exception is New York City's MTA subway system, whose conductors have used a modified point-only system since 1996 after then Chief Transportation Officer Nathaniel Ford was fascinated by the point-and-call system during a business trip to Japan. In the MTA's case, conductors point to a fixed black-and-white "zebra board" to confirm a stopped train is correctly located along the platform. According to MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan, conductors were quick to adapt to the new system, and within two years of implementation, incidents of incorrectly berthed subways fell 57 percent. Japanese workers are also not immune to feeling self-conscious when it comes to pointing-and-calling, although with training it soon becomes an accepted part of the job. A spokesperson for Tokyo Metro noted in a statement that new employees "recognize pointing-and-calling as necessary for safe rail operations, and therefore do not feel embarrassment." Read next The Strange Business of Suction Cups "The suction cup holds it fast to anything the cup is stuck to," The New York Times said in 1925. [blank-11b9] trainstransportationfeatures Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. Using an ad blocker? We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world's hidden wonders. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Continue Using Ad-Block Support Us Keep Exploring [blank-11b9] railroads Glimpses of Lost Railway Journeys of the Past A new book collects 33 routes that went off the rails. Sarah Laskow November 12, 2018 [blank-11b9] transportation The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees A collection of photos from the 1960s tried to show why locomotives need two people in the cab. Sarah Laskow July 3, 2018 [blank-11b9] food The Exquisite Boxed Meals of Japan's Train-Station Kiosks Ekiben offers a taste of the country's regional delicacies. Rohini Chaki June 25, 2019 [blank-11b9] railroads The Daunting Challenge of Saving Lebanon's Storied Rail Network Can rusting locomotives and crumbling stations become a vibrant transportation network again? Pesha Magid May 4, 2021 [dGlsbCAwMS] Video What's the Point of Pointing in Japan? 3:16 [U3RpbGwwMD] Video Meet Ms. Showtime: Motorcyclist, Poet, Trailblazer 6:33 Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member. From Around the Web Atlas Obscura Trips Artisans & Exiles: Exploring the Hidden Traditions of Japan's Sado Island View This Trip [] See Fewer Ads Become an Atlas Obscura member and experience far fewer ads and no pop-ups. Learn More Get Our Email Newsletter [ ] Thanks for subscribing! View all newsletters >> [Submit] Follow Us * * * * * Get the app Download on the Apple App Store Places * All Places * Latest Places * Most Popular * Places to Eat * Random * Nearby * Add a Place Editorial * Stories * Food & Drink * Itineraries * Lists * Video * Podcast Trips * All Trips * Trips Blog * Art & Culture Trips * Food Trips * Hidden City Trips * History Trips * Photography Trips * Wildlife & Nature Trips * FAQ Experiences * Experiences * Online Courses * Online Experience FAQ * Online Course FAQ Community * Membership * Travel Forum * Latest Posts * Top Posts * Request a Feature Company * About * Contact Us * FAQ * Work With Us * Advertising * Press * Unique Gifts * Privacy Policy * Cookie Policy * Terms of Use (c) 2022 Atlas Obscura. All rights reserved. Questions or Feedback? Contact Us Thanks for sharing! Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Want a Free Book? Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders. [ ] Subscribe No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders Stay in Touch! Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com No purchase necessary. Winner will be selected at random on 06/01/ 2022. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Offer subject to change without notice. See contest rules for full details. Add Some Wonder to Your Inbox Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. [ ] Subscribe No Thanks We'd Like You to Like Us Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. No Thanks [p] Quantcast