Pointing and calling

It is recommended by the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association [ja] (JISHA, 中央労働災害防止協会),[1][2] and a part of railway management regulations in China.

Pointing and calling requires co-action and co-reaction among the operator's brain, eyes, hands, mouth, and ears.

The method is widely used in Asian countries, especially in dangerous works such as elevator maintenance and railway operations.

The Chinese variant became much more complex including pointing (using both forefinger and middle finger instead of forefinger-only as in Japan, and used when checking signals, doors, speed and other major aspects) and caution (bending the right elbow by 90° and lifting the forearm upright, used when a checking procedure is finished or caution signals).

The method is also used in Indonesia by national rail operator Kereta Api Indonesia and its subsidiary (KAI Commuter and KAI Bandara) following the company's reform in 2015, and also by newer regional rail operators such as Jakarta MRT and Jakarta LRT.

The procedure was implemented after a series of incidents where conductors opened the doors on the wrong side of the train.

[15] A 1994 study by the Railway Technical Research Institute showed that pointing and calling reduced mistakes by almost 85 percent when doing a simple task.

Train driver pointing
Pointing and calling requires co-action and co-reaction among the operator's brain, eyes, hands, mouth, and ears.
(video) different train operators and factory workers using Pointing and Calling.
A TRA conductor pointing and calling before closing the train door at Shifen Station .
Chinese train engineers do pointing and calling.
A KAI Commuter conductor pointing and calling after closing the train door at Cakung station .
A New York City Subway conductor points at a "zebra board" at 34th Street-Penn Station .
A zebra board used on the New York City Subway. Upon arriving, the conductor is required to point at the board prior to opening the doors.