51% fewer safety incidents among new hires

How a major Australian rail and logistics organisation used Davidson Strategy & Performance’s assessment framework to strengthen hiring decisions across safety-critical roles. 

fewer safety incidents involving new hires

internal and external candidates assessed

years of implementation

Making safety potential visible before hiring

In safety-critical roles, an unsuitable hiring decision can have consequences beyond workforce performance. Employees need to process information, maintain concentration and respond effectively under operational pressure. 

A major Australian rail and logistics organisation wanted greater confidence in its recruitment decisions for safety-critical roles. 

Traditional recruitment and behavioural assessments provided useful information, but only part of the picture. They did not fully assess how candidates processed information, maintained attention or responded under pressure. 

The organisation needed a more complete way to assess candidates before they entered safety-critical roles. It also needed an approach that could support consistent decisions across a large candidate population. 

The challenge was to make the capabilities associated with safe performance more visible during recruitment.

Building a more complete assessment framework 

Davidson Strategy & Performance designed a customised psychometric and safety assessment framework aligned to the organisation’s operational requirements. 

Working with the client, Davidson identified competencies and behaviours linked to safe performance in its rail and logistics environment. 

The resulting framework combined behavioural, cognitive and psychomotor assessment. This gave recruitment teams a broader evidence base for evaluating candidates against the demands of safety-critical work. 

Assessments examined capabilities including: 

• Reaction time 
• Stress recovery 
• Attention and concentration 
• Processing speed 
• Trajectory judgement 
• Visual coordination 

Psychomotor testing and simulated exercises also assessed candidate responses under conditions designed to reflect operational demands. 

Together, these measures provided information that behavioural assessment alone could not. The organisation could consider not only candidates’ behavioural traits, but also capabilities relevant to processing, responding and performing in operational settings. 

Applying consistent benchmarks at scale 

Over approximately two years, 5,311 internal and external candidates applying for safety-critical roles were assessed. 

Validated assessment benchmarks gave the organisation a consistent way to evaluate candidates across this substantial hiring population. 

Candidates who did not meet required safety thresholds could be identified earlier in recruitment, before appointment to safety-critical roles. 

This shifted assessment from an additional recruitment input to a more structured part of workforce decision-making. It gave recruitment teams a common evidence base for evaluating capabilities relevant to operational safety. 

51% fewer safety incidents involving new hires 

Following implementation of the assessment framework, the organisation reported a 51% reduction in safety incidents involving new hires. 

For a safety-critical workforce, the significance extended beyond recruitment consistency. The organisation had a more structured way to identify candidates against defined safety requirements before they entered operational roles. 

Across approximately two years and 5,311 candidates, the framework provided a scalable approach to assessing safety-related capability during recruitment. 

The source also reports broader benefits including improved confidence in recruitment decisions, stronger alignment between workforce capability and safety expectations, and reduced exposure to operational and workforce risk.