Improving the Resilience of Transit Systems Threatened by Natural Disasters, Volume 3: Literature Review and Case Studies (2017) / Chapter Skim
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B‐29 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Case Study: Los Angeles, CA Highlights: LA Metro is at the forefront of incorporating resilience holistically across nearly all of its business functions to address both infrastructure and operational resiliency. The agency has integrated resilience considerations into its Environmental Management System (EMS)
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B‐30 Annual Unlinked Trips (2013) 476,299,313 Typical Hazards Earthquake, Urban Flooding, Mudslides, Wildfires, Wind, Sea Level Rise, Dust Storms, Heat Background: The original transit agency, which the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)
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B‐31 policies related to use of renewable energy, sustainability, reducing the agency's impacts on the environment, green construction and water use and conservation. LA Metro's Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Department (ECSD) is overseen by an Executive Officer who provides primary support for environmental, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and resiliency efforts within LA Metro. LA Metro defines resiliency as "The ability of a system to respond to threats and changing conditions by resisting damage, recovering quickly and continuing to provide its essential services." Although the primary responsibility for addressing climate change related resiliency falls within ECSD, LA Metro has been advancing a holistic approach through which all applicable departments and divisions are increasingly becoming involved in the work managed by the ECSD. ECSD coordinates with planning, construction, operations, maintenance, and risk management personnel in its efforts to operationalize resiliency agency‐wide. The ECSD recognizes the close link between resiliency and the agency's sustainability programs, which allows for further integration into agency policies. An important tool used to advance resiliency within the agency is the Environmental Management System (EMS)
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B‐32 received a grant in 2008. The implementation of EMS resulted in ISO 14001 Certification for the Metro's Red and Purple Line rail yard; the first major rail maintenance facility in the nation to receive certification. In 2010, LA Metro completed a GHG Emissions Study, which led to the completion of a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP)
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B‐33 actionable next steps such as incorporating resiliency into Long Range Transportation Plans, Short Range Transportation plans, Metro Rail Design Criteria and an upcoming agency‐wide risk assessment. In addition, the agency works closely with the City of LA including the LA City Mayor's Office, the LA City Department of Transportation, LA City Bureau of Sanitation, LA City Department of Public Works, LA City Department of Water and Power, LA City Bureau of Street Services, and LA City Department of Recreation and Parks. LA Metro has a Memorandum of Understanding in place designed to coordinate transportation planning, infrastructure siting and water pipeline planning related to LA Metro's infrastructure expansion projects. Both the City and LA Metro are cooperating to make very long‐term infrastructure investments within the City and County of Los Angeles, and to make such coordinated efforts successful, the entities develop strategies to reduce institutional and infrastructural conflicts between them. There has also been conversation to explore alternative forms of financing for building things like water recycling plants adjacent to nearby transit facilities for rail car/bus cleaning, irrigation, and other community resiliency projects. Successes: Receiving ISO 14001 certification for the whole agency and institutionalizing the environmental management process to develop, implement and maintain resiliency efforts and projects. Advancing resiliency and climate adaptation efforts through funding from grants and sources outside of the agency budget.
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B‐34 vulnerabilities to future threats. The following is an example of how the agency's asset management framework changed to include resiliency: In 2012, an extended period of high heat days stressed bus operation causing air conditioning and other equipment failures and a significant increase in maintenance personnel overtime to address the problems. At the same time, LA Metro's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan was released. The plan notes that more frequent high heat days are a climate threat facing the agency. In the wake of the high heat event, the agency married its operational data with past weather events using data from NOAA. This "marriage" of operational data from the asset management system allowed the agency to see patterns of problems and take steps to address the problem with enhanced asset management procedures. LA Metro now starts an enhanced preventative maintenance program three months prior to summer to improve operational resiliency by reducing breakdowns. This in turn has resulted in cost savings for the agency in the form of less unnecessary overtime and expenses associated with same. In addition, operations data are now monitored more closely alongside weather predictions and occurrences. LA Metro is also working to address a current disconnect between its asset management systems and the EMS. The two systems are not yet fully integrated they are used differently in terms of internal reporting. The data contained in the EMS is frequently used to "flag" problems with infrastructure from an environmental compliance and performance lens. This has led to the identification of capital projects to address the problems. Reporting limitations inherent in the asset management systems make it challenging to use the system in the same way. For example, a persistently leaky roof at one of LA Metro's dated facilities was creating a range of public health and operational hazards. EMS data was used to show vulnerabilities in this regard, and highlight the possible consequences of these vulnerabilities in the context of an impending El Niño event. The health and operational issues associated with the facility were being monitored using the EMS. As a result, the facility's vulnerability to extreme weather made addressing the problem a higher priority than just a state of good repair argument. In the end, performance‐monitoring data from EMS helped to make the business case for fixing the leaky roof. Decision makers could see that doing so was a priority for safety, energy efficiency and resilience reasons. Another example of how resilience‐related asset management data was used by LA Metro to inform capital project decision making has to do with overhead catenary systems, a critical piece of infrastructure considered in the RIF. LA Metro's Gold line is particularly vulnerable to high heat days. To assess the magnitude of vulnerability, the agency overlaid high heat day data with infrastructure maps to identify which catenary systems might be most at risk. This led to a conversation with maintenance personnel about what else should the agency be including to make the case for resiliency intervention on the Gold line or system wide. What they discovered was that many of the catenary system's lead weight counterbalances have no more room for adjustment. Operations and maintenance personnel noted that the lead weight tensioning systems have prematurely elongated to the ground in many places, which prevents them from tensioning sagging catenaries.
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B‐35 By combining the vulnerability assessment data/mapping with the detailed knowledge of asset conditions provided by front‐line workers, LA Metro was able to make a business case for repairing/replacing the systems. A standard asset management approach, which relies heavily on recommended lifecycle replacement might not capture the need to for premature replacement. The infrastructure vulnerability lens sparked a conversation with asset management, operations, maintenance personnel that flagged a significant operational problem that might otherwise have gone unaddressed. In the future, LA Metro hopes that a combined EMS + asset management system approach can result in more win‐win‐win to capital projects. A step in this direction is the growing collaboration between ECSD and the agency's risk and asset management teams. Both participate on the EMS advisory committee. Successes: Combining asset management data with data on weather patterns to identify problems and develop solutions that improve operational resilience. Using resiliency‐related performance data contained with the EMS to identify capital projects that address multiple agency priorities as the same time.
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B‐36 developed and implemented. This could result in actively implementing resiliency strategies during construction and operations and maintenance of a project. LA Metro now regularly utilizes a design‐build approach for its construction efforts. All projects require the development of a Sustainability Plan regardless of size. ECSD staff works with contractors on what can be done for resiliency and adaptation within the context of their Sustainability Plan commitments. ECSD staff usually conducts one or two workshops for project designers and contractors once they are awarded the bids to review sustainability and resiliency expectations. For smaller projects, facilities and maintenance, etc. LEED certification requirements bring in resiliency consideration in terms of "greenness." Finally, for sustainability‐related capital program projects, a full life‐cycle cost analysis is completed. Successes: Requiring all major capital projects to include a Sustainability Plan that actively addresses resiliency considerations. Working cooperatively with design and construction vendors to incorporate sustainability and resilience considerations from the very early stages of project development.
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B‐37 3. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Resiliency Indicator Framework.
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