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Pages 67-80

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From page 67...
... 67 Improving Safety Culture at Four Transit Agencies Introduction This chapter uses four success stories to reinforce the identification of elements that improve safety performance and safety culture in public transportation systems so that they may be considered for application throughout the transit industry. These elements were previously identified in Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Appendices A, B, and C
From page 68...
... 68 the recent fatality, other fatalities and injuries, and strategies, such as an emergency stand-down, to be taken to improve safety. Emergency Safety Stand-Down The emergency safety stand-down at NYCT for all employees who worked on the tracks lasted from April 30 to May 10, 2007.
From page 69...
... 69 tudes and accepted norms of behavior for that particular part of the organization. At NYCT, the subcultures were distinguished by: • Organizational role (e.g., board, management, supervision, hourly employee)
From page 70...
... 70 flaggers (a total of 7,852 people) attended one of 51 training sessions lasting 8 hours that were presented for employees.
From page 71...
... 71 • Safety as a priority: added safety to the WMATA mission statement. • Reorganization: moved the safety department to under the general manager.
From page 72...
... 72 • Parts availability: There was a major parts problem for both buses and rail that took 2 years to fix. Employees can see that parts are available and get the message that things have changed.
From page 73...
... 73 Recent Board Initiatives Safety Culture Assessment In 2012, the LACMTA board commissioned an evaluation of safety culture, which included a safety culture survey and group discussions with hourly operations employees. The results of the survey and the discussions indicated the presence of a positive safety culture.
From page 74...
... 74 are e-mailed to LSC members and posted on division bulletin boards to inform employees of LSC activities. LSCs use data analysis to: • Review accident and occupational injury data and implement strategies and programs to reduce workplace incidents, • Ensure that the subcommittees are analyzing all appropriate data/metrics and key performance indicators, and • Review subcommittees' programs and recommendations for improvements.
From page 75...
... 75 • An executive committee on safety initiatives has also been established. This committee focuses on the "3 Es": engineering improvements, educating the public, and enforcement.
From page 76...
... 76 a maintenance supervisor who serves as a safety captain, any employee can use the safety captain program to get a procedure changed that needs to be changed. A machinist and safety captain confirmed this.
From page 77...
... 77 • New-hire screening: OCTA attempts to screen out risktaking employees by reviewing department of motor vehicle (DMV) and criminal records prior to employment and continuously thereafter.
From page 78...
... 78 case, affirming Reason's dictum that informed culture is synonymous with safety culture. Assessing Safety Culture The starting point of any safety culture improvement process is determining where the transit agency stands -- both with regard to its existing safety culture and in comparison to other agencies.
From page 79...
... 79 at each of these transit agencies indicated that the inherent conflict and tension between maintaining privacy and providing sufficient transparency in the administration of the disciplinary system make it difficult to demonstrate to employees that the disciplinary system in fact is generally just. High Level of Organizational Trust (Mutual Trust)
From page 80...
... 80 hazards and near misses. Reporting near misses and developing strategies to reduce or eliminate these problems are integral to a positive safety culture.

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