Amtrak: We’re building our safety culture

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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Amtrak

Amtrak laid out a series of initiatives it has implemented and continues to implement since a derailment in April 2016 left two of the railroad's employees dead and 39 others injured.

 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited a fractured safety culture at Amtrak as a factor in the accident where an Amtrak train struck a backhoe on its way to Washington, D.C., from Philadelphia on April 3, 2016.

In a statement following the NTSB’s findings, Amtrak said, “Safety is a core value – for our passengers and our employees – and we are committed to operating our nationwide network of services safely, effectively and efficiently. We’ve been in the process of transforming our safety culture since this incident. In the 19 months since the Train 89 event, we have taken a series of actions to improve workplace safety at Amtrak.”

The railroad explains that a team is in place to review the NTSB recommendations and look at how to implement them. The railroad also cites nine areas where it has enhanced processes to improve safety including:

  • Improved communication, such as a weekly safety focus, safety bulletins, safety alerts and rules alerts, which have been incorporated into job briefings and tool box discussions.
  • Revised Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) training, including a comprehensive review and revision of its RWP manual and training programs and clarification of requirements for the use of redundant protection when fouling with equipment.
  • Organized the Safety, Compliance and Training resources within a single department, which allows these three functions to work as a one team to address safety concerns from multiple angles and in an integrated manner.
  • Established a dedicated compliance team to support engineering in the field. Amtrak explains that this team audits Engineering in the field to ensure rules compliance and education.
  • Invested in safety leadership with the hiring of Justin Meko as vice president of Safety, Compliance and Training, to lead the new team. Amtrak says Meko is using a disciplined systems approach and best practices to help drive results.
  • Redesigned safety training to clarify expectations and require engagement of all employees through “Safety Starts with Me” initiative. Amtrak notes that safety isn’t the sole responsibility of single department, but is the responsibility of every employee. A redesigned three-day safety training workshop for all operations managers has been implemented and has trained more than 2,000 managers with a plan to extend the training to agreement employees beginning in early 2018.
  • Issued a revised and expanded drug and alcohol policy, which was reviewed with employees and managers in November 2016. Amtrak says the drug and alcohol program was expanded to include maintenance-of-way employees in alignment with the FRA final rule 49 CFR 219, which took effect in June 2017. Amtrak also introduced a new Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program in October 2017. Amtrak says the P.I.E.R. program (Prevention, Intervention, Education, Resources) replaces Operation RedBlock and focuses on substance use and abuse prevention.
  • Revised its efficiency testing program to focus on activities related to critical rules compliance. Amtrak says the next supervisory/management workshop will be launched this quarter and will focus on providing skills to incorporate best practices in efficiency testing.
  • Committed to maintaining an environment where employees are encouraged to report any unsafe condition without fear of retaliation. Amtrak cites its mature Confidential Close Call Reporting (C3RS) programs in place in Transportation and Mechanical and notes that it is evaluating these programs to identify opportunities for expansion throughout the company.

“We have seen the evolution of safety over time at our respective former companies and we know that the journey to get from good to great requires commitment and hard work. At Amtrak, we are on our way, and have taken many important steps in the right direction. We must learn from the past and continue our progress toward becoming the safest passenger railroad. Every one of us must support this effort,” said co-CEOs Richard Anderson and Wick Moorman.

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