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Metrolink Medical

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Lassar

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Hi everyone,

Just looking for some advice. I went for the metro interview the other day and im happy to say that today I got my letter of acceptance pending medical and references.

References are fine however im a little worried about the medical......

I have been told by my optician that I'm mildly red-green deficient but not colour blind. I have read that colour blindness is an issue but are there tolerances? Am I setting my self up for a large fall?

Someone else has told me that they do the kalaedascope test and not the usual dots one...

Anyone put my mind at rest? I would hate to have gone through the whole process to have my chances dashed at the final hurdle.
 
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185

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Before your reply we were debating this is in work... general opinion is maybe ok maybe not if you were goin for PSR/Inspector (you have to use the staff crossing, and be 'aware' of signals) but unlikely if you were going for driver.

However I should mention that anything depends on the decision of the nurse doing the medical and whether or not it beyond a certain benchmark. During my medical I was panicking as the hearing test broke, and they didn't realise until AFTER I'd failed it!?! :o)
 

142094

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During my medical I was panicking as the hearing test broke, and they didn't realise until AFTER I'd failed it!?! :o)

I once had a hearing test where someon was doing renovation work next door and the room wasn't soundproofed...
 

Lassar

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Before your reply we were debating this is in work... general opinion is maybe ok maybe not if you were goin for PSR/Inspector (you have to use the staff crossing, and be 'aware' of signals) but unlikely if you were going for driver.

However I should mention that anything depends on the decision of the nurse doing the medical and whether or not it beyond a certain benchmark. During my medical I was panicking as the hearing test broke, and they didn't realise until AFTER I'd failed it!?! :o)

Unlikely im going to be ok or unlikely I'm going to pass ?
 

185

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Back home now... bit wet after that shift :(

Red/Green colour differentiation is 100% critical to the job and unfortunately some of the best candidates for the job fall at that hurdle. I'm not going to jump the gun though and say you'll fail or pass, I did ask a couple of drivers during my break and general consensus was that it could be a problem, but it depends totally on the decision of the nurse doing the medical and I'd wait and see what she says.

The tests (at Healthwork Medical, St John St off Deansgate) are the Ishihara colour blindness test, and yes as you mention there's also some kaleidoscope thing that tests your differential vision, preriferal vision, blind spot and eyesight etc.

To get a heads up, you might want to search the net to see whether you pass the Ishihara tests. http://www.nisgav.com/ishihara.htm
 

Lassar

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Back home now... bit wet after that shift :(

Red/Green colour differentiation is 100% critical to the job and unfortunately some of the best candidates for the job fall at that hurdle. I'm not going to jump the gun though and say you'll fail or pass, I did ask a couple of drivers during my break and general consensus was that it could be a problem, but it depends totally on the decision of the nurse doing the medical and I'd wait and see what she says.

The tests (at Healthwork Medical, St John St off Deansgate) are the Ishihara colour blindness test, and yes as you mention there's also some kaleidoscope thing that tests your differential vision, preriferal vision, blind spot and eyesight etc.

To get a heads up, you might want to search the net to see whether you pass the Ishihara tests. http://www.nisgav.com/ishihara.htm

Thanks 185... appreciate the input.. sorry to hear your so wet :( Had a look at that link struggled with the 1st one but could make out a 2 by the 3rd one I could see a 12...

Fingers crossed for a nice nurse :D I dont suppose you find out there and then do you ?
 

martin2345uk

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Out of interest will this type of thing still be an issue when there are no longer any red/green signals on the Metrolink network?
 

185

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I reckon it unfortunately will. Even when the orange TMS signals replace red/greens,

-the staff crossing outside the depot is over a 50mph line and controlled by Red/Green miniature stop lights;
-there are shared (side by side) Network Rail running sections at Cornbrook and Navigation Road-Alty.... understanding their signals aswell as Metrolink's is important, should there be an emergency situation;
- Bardic lamps (hand lamps) are used in the even of an accident, and red is displayed to signal a driver to stop should there be a derailment/accident;
-and finally, the medical standards they recruit under are pegged to ordinary UK train driver standards; due to insurance, I honestly doubt they will change that spec.

Sorry for painting a bleak picture, but as I said, it all depends on the medical and whether or not they pass the candidate.
 

Nym

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Hmmm, quite bad that I didn't see any of them then isn't it?

Utterly joyous when they use very strange shaped numbers on these tests that mean even if it was all in shades of grey with similar levels of distinction, I still wouldn't be able to tell what the number was, and yes, I have filtered these to test this by changing it to shades of grey, and I still couldn't tell.
 

WatcherZero

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A couple are tough and might take a seconds concentration but they are all readable.
 

Nym

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Some of us was never taught how to read or write properly so recognition of shapes within ill defined areas is a rather large challenge. Like I said, it could be in shades of grey and it would be just as hard...
 

Lassar

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Hi TheRev my medical is on hold till the new year as all training courses for 2012 are full :(. Keep you all posted though.
 

Rick1984

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I've done the dot test as Seafarer and it's a bloody nuisance. Especially the ones where your not supposed to make out anything.
 
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TheRev

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Got my result today. Failed the Ishihara test for colourblindness. If you get more than 3 test plates wrong it's a no go for drivers.
Lassar, I hope you fare better and get my training slot.
 

Nym

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TheRev, unfortunately, while many companies remain stuck in the past with their tests for colour perception that are able to be skewed by any number of external factors that bear no relevance on colour perception of workplace suitability by using the Ishihara test, people will remain to not be able to pass it by the test showing false positives, all I can say really is don't loose hope of railway work as not all companies make use of this flawed test, instead comissioning their own, much more advanced testing regeimes that take much longer and are much more in depth than 'flicking through some dotty pictures' and give a proper perception spectrum, with a numerical score of severity.
 

TheRev

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Nym, thanks for that. Been doing quite a lot of research into test protocols and discovered that the RSSB recognise the short comings of the current protocol and are looking at the alternatives such as those used by the CAA for pilots and TfL for tube drivers.
Anybody know what TfL use for testing?
 

Nym

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Nym, thanks for that. Been doing quite a lot of research into test protocols and discovered that the RSSB recognise the short comings of the current protocol and are looking at the alternatives such as those used by the CAA for pilots and TfL for tube drivers.
Anybody know what TfL use for testing?

Yes, but it's incredibly difficult to describe, but I can say it's a lot more operationally applicable than the Ishihara test in my opinion.
 

Lassar

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Hi TheRev really sorry to hear you failed. How many plates did you look at? Did you struggle with all of them?
 

Nym

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Hi TheRev really sorry to hear you failed. How many plates did you look at? Did you struggle with all of them?

It's impossible to struggle on all of them. (Unless you're blind)

Plate 1 can be seen by anyone who isn't black blind, even those with polarised insensitivity to all gradient and colour.

Plates 2 to 5 are visible to anyone with any colour sensitivity (ie. not like a dog, seeing everything in greyscale)

Plates 6 onwards get more complex and tend to mix it up a bit between the R-G and B-Y spectrum ranges, but even with this, it's not a reliable method to distinguish severity.
 

TheRev

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They may vary the sequence as the plate series I was tested with presented the Red/Green deficiency set first. These contained some where I just couldn't see the number and others where I saw a different number to the ones that a normal vision person sees. The blue set were fine. I know that the test can also contain plates that only display a number to people who are colour deficient so seeing a number is not always a sign of normal vision. Also a person with normal vision may get up to three wrong.

Lassar, If you are worried about this go to see an optician now. It is the only way to find out . Even though there are lots of images on the internet of the Ishihara test the chances of your monitor and printer being properly colour calibrated are next to nil so you won't get the right answer.
 

Nym

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Too add to the optician thing, ask to do other types of test for colour deficiency, such as a 'comparison' test that actually gives you a scale.
 

Lassar

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My issue is that I have seen an optician who told me I was marginally colour deficient. She said it was a 50 - 50 if I would pass as a train driver / pilot. I knew it was to good to be true passing the assessment. The frustrating thing is that I travel the line to Cornbrook everyday and have no issues reading the Network Rail signs.

We're you able to appeal TheRev ?
 

TheRev

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Lassar, The standard specified by Metrolink for the medical is the same as network rail which is Normal Colour Vision determined by getting no more than 3 Ishihara plates wrong. If you are borderline, as your optician says, then make sure you are well rested before the day of your medical.
 

Nym

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The problem is though, you know when you have an Ishihara plate wrong, and that just throws you off for the rest of the plates, there are numerous other testing methods where you remain confident throughout, so don't suffer from confidence loss thus affecting your ability to read the plates (with some very weird shaped numbers), such as those used by TfL.
 

TheRev

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I agree with you Nym. Perhaps that's part of the test;) It's like there is something in your memory that says "you've already shown me this and there was nothing then, why are you showing me again?".
 

Nym

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I agree with you Nym. Perhaps that's part of the test;) It's like there is something in your memory that says "you've already shown me this and there was nothing then, why are you showing me again?".

Since I normally get critisised for going into too much detail, I won't bother this time, but yeah, the way your brain is wired means that failiure on one plate affects the ability to perceive the remainder.
 

Lassar

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Well everyone I had my medical on Monday and I passed!!! My worries were completely unfounded as I got 24 out of 24 plates !!!! I got one plate wrong on the goggle test afterwards which apparently is acceptable but I'm over the moon !

I good nights rest the night before and lots of concentration helped !

I also looked into few plates online and the shapes to look for which helped :).

Just waiting for my start date now :)
 
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