Assessments & Medicals discussion

[RA84]

Hi everyone.

I'm new here and was looking for some advice.

I've just made it through the 1st interview for Trainee Train Driver and I'm awaiting a date for the assessment center. I'm surprised really as I didn't think I did well in the interview - guess I was I overthinking it, it's been 20 years since I've had any kind of interview ha.

I've received the info/help pdf from the company I'm going through the process with.

Would anyone know of anywhere I could find additional example tests? I want to ensure I'm 100% ready for it and want to practice as much as possible.

Understand this is likely to have been asked many times over the years but could do with a point in the right direction.

Thank you and have a great weekend.

 

[Kaydee2809]

Hello,

My husband is through to the medical stage of the Conductor Recruitment Process. My query is with regards to the eyesight test - he feels that his vision in one eye is worse than the other but his vision with both eyes is pretty on point. Do they ask you to close one eye at a time or do they only assess based on the vision in both eyes together?

He is booked in at the Optician but this will be after his medical. If he fails on eyesight will he be able to re-take the medical with glasses, if needed?

Thank you so much in advance for any support offered

 

[Gloster]

Hello,

My husband is through to the medical stage of the Conductor Recruitment Process. My query is with regards to the eyesight test - he feels that his vision in one eye is worse than the other but his vision with both eyes is pretty on point. Do they ask you to close one eye at a time or do they only assess based on the vision in both eyes together?

He is booked in at the Optician but this will be after his medical. If he fails on eyesight will he be able to re-take the medical with glasses, if needed?

Thank you so much in advance for any support offered

Do you want to change your location? It is sufficiently specific to identify your husband if somebody sees it. Contact the mods to ask how.

Not that I approve of working with bad eyesight, even though I did for nine years. But mine was too complicated to diagnose with 1970s methods, which was only really hot on the red/green Isihara test.

 

[tiptoptaff]

I would, if possible, get an eye test and any subsequent prescription before his medical.

If he requires corrective vision that is fine, but only with a prescription. If he doesn't, then he'll simply fail his medical.

I cannot speak for whether they would allow him to redo it, I suspect they would, but would delay him in the process.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Hello,

My husband is through to the medical stage of the Conductor Recruitment Process. My query is with regards to the eyesight test - he feels that his vision in one eye is worse than the other but his vision with both eyes is pretty on point. Do they ask you to close one eye at a time or do they only assess based on the vision in both eyes together?

He is booked in at the Optician but this will be after his medical. If he fails on eyesight will he be able to re-take the medical with glasses, if needed?

Thank you so much in advance for any support offered

A Railway medical will test both eyes individually and together. They now use a machine rather than an eye chart so it is very accurate and will pick up any deficiencies in sight. I too have a lazy eye for which I wear glasses.

 

[Kaydee2809]

Do you want to change your location? It is sufficiently specific to identify your husband if somebody sees it. Contact the mods to ask how.

Not that I approve of working with bad eyesight, even though I did for nine years. But mine was too complicated to diagnose with 1970s methods, which was only really hot on the red/green Isihara test.

Thank you - all noted

I would, if possible, get an eye test and any subsequent prescription before his medical.

If he requires corrective vision that is fine, but only with a prescription. If he doesn't, then he'll simply fail his medical.

I cannot speak for whether they would allow him to redo it, I suspect they would, but would delay him in the process.

Thank you

A Railway medical will test both eyes individually and together. They now use a machine rather than an eye chart so it is very accurate and will pick up any deficiencies in sight. I too have a lazy eye for which I wear glasses.

Thank you - I am hoping if it's flagged that he needs glasses he will be able to have another go at the test. We hadn't realised it was all done by machine so that is good to know - thank you

 

[Metrodriver73]

Has anyone undertaken the OPC Control Room Tests? If so, are there any practice materials? Or advice?

Thanks

 

[Horizon22]

Has anyone undertaken the OPC Control Room Tests? If so, are there any practice materials? Or advice?

Thanks

Have you applied for a Control role? If so, you should have been given some practice material before your assessment.

It's mostly focussed on your ability to prioritise, multi-task and take in relevant information.

 

[Metrodriver73]

Apparently the tests are relatively new, there are no practice materials available on the OPC website either

 

[Horizon22]

Apparently the tests are relatively new, there are no practice materials available on the OPC website either

They definitely aren't and have been around for years.

 

[FlyinScotsman.]

Hello,

Just a quick one for the Tea-occ part 3. I know this has been discussed previously regarding only circling the double symbols. I’m sure I seen somewhere that the area code had to match too, is this correct? If so, how can you guarantee that all the double symbols will have the same area code if you’re disregarding that part and only looking at the symbols?

 

[Samzino]

Hello,

Just a quick one for the Tea-occ part 3. I know this has been discussed previously regarding only circling the double symbols. I’m sure I seen somewhere that the area code had to match too, is this correct? If so, how can you guarantee that all the double symbols will have the same area code if you’re disregarding that part and only looking at the symbols?

Explained Here

 

[FlyinScotsman.]

Explained Here

Couldn’t have asked for it to be explained any better. Thanks for your help.

 

[MaverickGTA]

Hi everyone. I have just completed the OPC assessment. I was just wondering if there was supposed to be an e-mail once it’s completed explaining the assessment has been completed and received? Also, has anyone had an incident where their computer crashed but after rebooting, you were able to get back to where you left off and complete the assessment? I had exactly that. I just hope that after I completed everything, it was all completed correctly.

 

[AverageJoe]

Hi everyone. I have just completed the OPC assessment. I was just wondering if there was supposed to be an e-mail once it’s completed explaining the assessment has been completed and received? Also, has anyone had an incident where their computer crashed but after rebooting, you were able to get back to where you left off and complete the assessment? I had exactly that. I just hope that after I completed everything, it was all completed correctly.

Would it not have been best to ask the person running the test about these questions?

For the paper and computer tests I found out there and then. For the mmi it took a few weeks for me to hear back and that was the toc contacting me to put me on to the next stage.

I was never contacted by the OPC.

 

[MaverickGTA]

Would it not have been best to ask the person running the test about these questions?

For the paper and computer tests I found out there and then. For the mmi it took a few weeks for me to hear back and that was the toc contacting me to put me on to the next stage.

I was never contacted by the OPC.

I was just wondering if anybody else had experienced the same thing. I am going to speak with OPC as it is their assessment but just wanted other people's experiences with this.

I was just wondering if anybody else had experienced the same thing. I am going to speak with OPC as it is their assessment but just wanted other people's experiences with this.

Would it not have been best to ask the person running the test about these questions?

For the paper and computer tests I found out there and then. For the mmi it took a few weeks for me to hear back and that was the toc contacting me to put me on to the next stage.

I was never contacted by the OPC.

I am referring to the online assessments OPC invited me to just after the acceptance of the application form.

 

[cheekymonkey91]

TRP - Part 1. I'm guessing most people just read the passage and memorise? Tried to make bullet points for practice question, as suggested in sent material, but 3 minutes isn't long enough to scan paragraph write points down and memorise

 

[TacoTraveller]

TRP - Part 1. I'm guessing most people just read the passage and memorise? Tried to make bullet points for practice question, as suggested in sent material, but 3 minutes isn't long enough to scan paragraph write points down and memorise

The practice material is actually more difficult than the test, or at least it was for me.

They played an audio recording of the passage you're given and then you're allowed a window of time to write notes/memorise information, so I made notes and read it as it was being played plus the memorising time.

The answers are pretty clear and in the 3-5 minutes I got (can't remember the actual time) I'd read it 5/6 times, wrote a load of bullet points as to what I thought were the answers and then read that a couple of times.

 

[marco sadler]

Hi everyone. I have just completed the OPC assessment. I was just wondering if there was supposed to be an e-mail once it’s completed explaining the assessment has been completed and received? Also, has anyone had an incident where their computer crashed but after rebooting, you were able to get back to where you left off and complete the assessment? I had exactly that. I just hope that after I completed everything, it was all completed correctly.

results should be sent to you in about 2 weeks

Hi everyone.

I'm new here and was looking for some advice.

I've just made it through the 1st interview for Trainee Train Driver and I'm awaiting a date for the assessment center. I'm surprised really as I didn't think I did well in the interview - guess I was I overthinking it, it's been 20 years since I've had any kind of interview ha.

I've received the info/help pdf from the company I'm going through the process with.

Would anyone know of anywhere I could find additional example tests? I want to ensure I'm 100% ready for it and want to practice as much as possible.

Understand this is likely to have been asked many times over the years but could do with a point in the right direction.

Thank you and have a great weekend.

Practice the group bourdon test

 

[cheekymonkey91]

The practice material is actually more difficult than the test, or at least it was for me.

They played an audio recording of the passage you're given and then you're allowed a window of time to write notes/memorise information, so I made notes and read it as it was being played plus the memorising time.

The answers are pretty clear and in the 3-5 minutes I got (can't remember the actual time) I'd read it 5/6 times, wrote a load of bullet points as to what I thought were the answers and then read that a couple of times

So, there could be potentially an extra couple of minutes then. I timed myself with the practice material, where it says to give yourself 3 mins. Even trying to write bullet points straight off, then study them after is virtually impossible in three minutes with the paragraphs given.

 

[marco sadler]

So, there could be potentially an extra couple of minutes then. I timed myself with the practice material, where it says to give yourself 3 mins. Even trying to write bullet points straight off, then study them after is virtually impossible in three minutes with the paragraphs given.

focus on the key pieces of information, speeds, colours ect

 

[TacoTraveller]

So, there could be potentially an extra couple of minutes then. I timed myself with the practice material, where it says to give yourself 3 mins. Even trying to write bullet points straight off, then study them after is virtually impossible in three minutes with the paragraphs given.

Im only going off how mine was, but it's read aloud first and you're allowed to listen/read/make notes in that time, then they give you reading time to memorise/make notes (what the 3 minutes is for), you're not allowed your notes so if you do make notes to read make sure it's short and relatable.

I can't remember the actual passage but the key information stands out with how it's worded.

As an example you could have "the red button is located next to the yellow striped box"

Then you could get questions like

"What colour is the button"
"What colour/pattern is the box next to the red button"

As others have said, try to pick out key points and either memorise them or make a note to remember/re-read

 

[Wave01]

Quick question about trp1.

If anybody has done it recently, is it still about the “glop” train or has it changed? Reading some posts about a braking system. I know some tocs have replaced trp1 with trfs so just wondering if the passage for trp1 has changed.

 

[FlyinScotsman.]

So, there could be potentially an extra couple of minutes then. I timed myself with the practice material, where it says to give yourself 3 mins. Even trying to write bullet points straight off, then study them after is virtually impossible in three minutes with the paragraphs given.

Hello, just done mine recently. It gets read aloud through a speaker first which isn’t included as part of your timed 5 minutes. When it stops, you then have 5 minutes to read over the passage which I also thought was much easier than the practice material.

Question for anyone that’s sat the Tea-Occ and passed, on part three did you notice or think you may have missed some of the double symbols? I fear I may have missed a few and could lead to a fail. However, I feel that I was accurate with the beeps I counted. I know the pass rate isn’t publicised so it’s hard to say, but just asking anyone from their experience. Thanks

 

[Croydon1991]

I’m still waiting for my Southeastern DMI it’s been 3 weeks of silence now. Anyone waited this long?

 

[Samzino]

I’m still waiting for my Southeastern DMI it’s been 3 weeks of silence now. Anyone waited this long?

Best advice is no news is good news, as difficult as that may seem not related to SE but from my own current experience of driver recruitment. Just keep the phone primed, email notifications on and try to avoid constant email camping

 

[cheekymonkey91]

focus on the key pieces of information, speeds, colours ect

Hello, just done mine recently. It gets read aloud through a speaker first which isn’t included as part of your timed 5 minutes. When it stops, you then have 5 minutes to read over the passage which I also thought was much easier than the practice material.

Question for anyone that’s sat the Tea-Occ and passed, on part three did you notice or think you may have missed some of the double symbols? I fear I may have missed a few and could lead to a fail. However, I feel that I was accurate with the beeps I counted. I know the pass rate isn’t publicised so it’s hard to say, but just asking anyone from their experience. Thanks

Im only going off how mine was, but it's read aloud first and you're allowed to listen/read/make notes in that time, then they give you reading time to memorise/make notes (what the 3 minutes is for), you're not allowed your notes so if you do make notes to read make sure it's short and relatable.

I can't remember the actual passage but the key information stands out with how it's worded.

As an example you could have "the red button is located next to the yellow striped box"

Then you could get questions like

"What colour is the button"
"What colour/pattern is the box next to the red button"

As others have said, try to pick out key points and either memorise them or make a note to remember/re-read

 

[Croydon1991]

Best advice is no news is good news, as difficult as that may seem not related to SE but from my own current experience of driver recruitment. Just keep the phone primed, email notifications on and try to avoid constant email camping

Cheers dude! Yes emails get refreshed at least 20 times a day

 

[vargas1995]

Good evening everyone!

first time posting here

I have my SE assessment coming up this Monday morning in Tonbridge. I would like to know if there is a specific order the tests are done in? also would the MMI be done on the same day as i've read some comments saying you get invited back for another day?

last question on the TRP part1/2

any information or hints on what the passage is based on? I feel like the TRP could be my weakest point on the day but i've been doing a-lot on comprehensive reading to be prepared.

kind regards all!

see you on Monday if anyone is booked in for the day

 

[Croydon1991]

Good evening everyone!

first time posting here

I have my SE assessment coming up this Monday morning in Tonbridge. I would like to know if there is a specific order the tests are done in? also would the MMI be done on the same day as i've read some comments saying you get invited back for another day?

last question on the TRP part1/2

any information or hints on what the passage is based on? I feel like the TRP could be my weakest point on the day but i've been doing a-lot on comprehensive reading to be prepared.

kind regards all!

see you on Monday if anyone is booked in for the day

Hey depends how busy they are on the day wether or not you do the MMI same day.

good luck!