APTA Bus Safety Award Solano County Transit. Building the Safety Culture to Improve our System Safety Performance

Transcription

1 APTA Bus Safety Award Solano County Transit Building the Safety Culture to Improve our System Safety Performance February

2 Transit Agency Background Solano County Transit (SolTrans) is a transit bus system consisting of approximately 75 buses that provide service in Vallejo, Benicia, Fairfield and Solano County, California. The SolTrans National Express contract employs 95 bus operators and 130 total employees. The system also provides commuter service to Oakland and San Francisco from Vallejo. It supplements the regional Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system (BART) by providing fully ADA accessible bus service from local neighborhoods to the BART system at transit centers in Oakland and San Francisco. SolTrans operates neighborhood-friendly and environmentally-friendly buses, using Gillig hybrid low-floor buses and MCI clean burning diesel commuter buses. The system also includes approximately 8 paratransit commuter buses that are demand response vehicles for special needs riders and the disabled community. National Express Transit, a transit-contracting firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with its world headquarters in London, England under the National Express Group global umbrella, operates SolTrans, taking over the service from the previous contractor on July 1, Building a Safety Culture at SolTrans Safety Issues that were identified When taking over the contract from the previous contract provider, National Express corporate safety and training staff observed a number of driving issues in our evaluation of the existing bus operator group. Overall employee morale was questionable and the overall accident rate was approximately 2.0 accidents per one hundred thousand miles. When the new National Express safety and training staff rode with existing bus operators in ride check evaluations, we identified a number of at risk driving behaviors which included speeding, not coming to complete stops at stop signs, hard stops, aggressive pull-ins and pull-outs of bus stops and speeding in transit centers. While we were not provided with a log of the previous accident type history, the former contractor supervisor group informed us that many of the prior collisions were fixed object accidents, sideswipes and hitting parked vehicles, which indicated a lack of space around the vehicle awareness and aggressive driving behaviors. In our initial orientation meetings we informed the employees that we were going to improve the safety culture by heavily involving our employees in our safety process. National Express corporate safety personnel and SolTrans staff put together a building the safety culture training process for all SolTrans employees. Our initial safety culture training sessions included safety culture awareness training classes that covered in detail the five culture-building steps listed below to help the local employees build the safety culture at SolTrans. The safety culture steps we implemented are as follows: 1. Create a vision of the desired safety culture and communicate it throughout the SolTrans organization. Our goal is to be the safest contract transit provider in Northern California and provide outstanding customer service. We would meet this by obtaining and maintaining key performance indicators. 2. Gather input to assess the SolTrans organization safety culture's strengths and weaknesses. 3. Develop a safety action plan strategy to implement desired changes and allocate the necessary resources: personnel, training, and time. 4. Implement the safety action plan strategy and hold people accountable for meeting objectives. 2

3 5. Conduct an ongoing evaluation of our progress Step One create a vision We explained in detail what developing a safety culture was in our training to all SolTrans employees. We let them know that each and every one of them contributes to our vision to be the safest contract fixed route provider in Northern California and to provide excellent customer service. Building the vision through visibility After taking over the service on July 1 st we immediately established a large daily scoreboard in the operators break room that tracked daily safety performance to let them know if they achieved another accident and/or injury free day. To heighten that awareness we asked our employees if they knew how many days we had gone without an accident or injury, and if they knew either one of those performance numbers the local management team would pay them $5 out-of-pocket for knowing the answer. We instituted a daily safety message that was read over the air throughout the service day. The local team placed safety banners and signage throughout the location and on the grounds to promote safety awareness. We armed our employees with a safety write-up awareness tool to report hazards and safety issues. Our management and supervisory staff stationed themselves at transit centers, on the yard and at the gate to support the operators and to promote our safety culture vision. We reminded our employees with signs and messages of our goal. All supervisors were required to positively approach operators in the field and provide daily safety contacts with a minimum of 10 employees per supervisor promoting our safety culture awareness. All mentoring with our bus operators had to be approached in a positive vein. After our initial training of the five step safety culture process with all employees and after establishing our goal to be the safest fixed route contract provider in Northern California (with the message carried out through the aforementioned involvement of staff and by implementing signage which we still continue to use to this day), we initiated step 2 which was to identify our strengths and weaknesses. Step 2 identify strengths and weaknesses One of the easiest strengths for us to identify was our employees. Once they had bought into our vision, they became excited about the goal. In fact, when our existing employees went through the initial 16 hour safety culture and customer service training at the beginning of our service takeover, they let us know that their commitment to be the best was an absolute guarantee. Their shortcomings related to past customer service issues would be rectified and they would work to wow our customers with world class customer service treatment. Some of the weaknesses that we identified included a lack of ongoing training, poor follow through or lack of mentoring the employees, no active safety committee, and no visible system safety program plan in place with safety a consideration of all processes and job functions. There was no evidence of formalized hazard identification and reporting process. According to our supervisors there was no job safety analysis of positions and procedures, and limited safety controls and safety metrics in place to measure our ongoing safety performance. The local management team and National Express corporate staff embraced what they identified as shortcomings and developed a strategy to address the shortcomings. Step 3 develop a safety strategy We put together our strategy by taking our laundry list of strengths and areas where we needed improvement. We prioritized their importance and developed the process we would take to build on the strengths and fix the areas that needed improvement. 3

4 One of the areas that really needed improvement was the operators at risk behaviors behind-thewheel. We implemented Smith System defensive driving training and coached all current operators in defensive driving techniques. To ensure that they applied the principles of Smith System defensive driving concepts we had ride checks and road observations conducted on all operators within the first 90 days of our taking over the operation. A supervision issue that we believed needed improvement was how supervisors reinforced policies and supported our operators in the field. All supervisors were trained in our One-Minute Manager technique that teaches them how to provide short, effective communication and praise to the operators by observing them doing the details of their jobs right. To correct issues, shortcomings, or at-risk behaviors, the Supervisors correct deficiencies through administration of one-minute reprimands that allow the operators to understand the source of the problem without losing their self-esteem. We also applied this same approach to ride checks and road observations. We know this has had a very positive impact on building the safety culture and improving morale because the operators bought into the importance of our safety culture and avoiding at risk behaviors through positive reinforcement. In our maintenance shop we applied the same safety culture buy-in process by training our maintenance staff in the One Minute Manager and taught them the company s hazard resolution process to ensure they were reporting hazards. Another strategy implemented was to eliminate discipline steps for any hazards or hazardous acts reported and to place our focus on retraining and future prevention. When our employees saw that there was no discipline issued for any of the reports, it gave them more confidence that management really did care for them and that the goal really was to improve our overall safety culture and not to beat up on the employees. Step 4 implement our strategy After working in a group and involving our newly formed safety committee in the process, our SolTrans supervisory group with the help of corporate safety staff built a safety action plan with measured objectives that supported each goal of the new plan. The plan is tied into our System Safety Program Plan elements and is designed to offer continuous improvement. It is designed to involve all employees in the process with set goals that were obtainable. The action plan is built around items that were identified as areas that we needed to improve upon in safety. As an example, one of the safety action plan s metrics is to reduce our overall accident frequency to 1.00 accidents per hundred thousand miles and set up recognition for all employees for obtaining this improvement. There were specific action item objectives that supported this goal. An example of a safety action strategy objective in support of our accident goal was to post pictures of any accident that occurred for all employees to see. The employees are asked to come up with ways to prevent a reoccurrence of the accident. Anyone that is able to identify a root cause or a potential training issue is rewarded with a safety recognition pin and a certificate of recognition. This example has not been frequently used because since the start of the contract in 2013 through February 2014 the location has incurred only 4 preventable accidents/incidents with a frequency rate of 0.41 accidents per one hundred thousand miles! The SolTrans safety action plan includes goals for accidents, injuries, training, security, emergency preparedness, CalOHSA training, audits and customer service. Each goal metric is supported by a number of objectives that tie into the goal. The safety action plan is posted in common areas and has been distributed to our employees. We updated the safety action plan for the 2014 calendar year with tougher metric requirements. As an example, our current accident frequency goal is now 0.50 accidents per hundred thousand miles. 4

5 Step 5 Evaluate our progress As part of our ongoing evaluation process, our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are covered in weekly and monthly staff meetings. Our local SolTrans management team and our corporate support team go through our Safety Action Plan and make sure that our goal objectives are on track and evaluate our training and employee progress. Our safety culture continues to improve as we move forward with our action plan. Another part of our ongoing evaluation process is the use of our safety committee to evaluate progress. We call our committee safety ambassadors because they help us lead the safety culture development process. The safety ambassadors assist with safety action plan goals and are also involved with our security drill planning. Safety committee members were also involved with setting up our onsite 1/7 mile employee walking track, fitness room, and the promotion of our recent employee health fair. No transit organization can truly be successful unless they are able to adjust to the needs of the transit system and the needs of the employees. We continue in our safety culture journey by evaluating our ongoing system needs through our KPI metrics and overall performance indicators. Based on the overall system safety improvement we are on our way to achieving our ultimate goal of zero preventable accidents. Performance based on our safety culture improvement After completing the initial safety culture training and the behind-the-wheel defensive driving training with existing employees on weekends before assuming the contract, we took over the service contract approximately two weeks later. Based on the initial safety performance we felt the employees had thoroughly embraced the safety culture process. Our operators achieved the first 58 days of service with no accidents and the first 118 days of service without an employee injury. The month before we assumed service from the previous contract provider the bus operators had four preventable accidents. This was an amazing turn around! We celebrated this achievement with an employee barbecue. In comparing our rates in the final six months of 2013 to the rates of the first six months of 2013 before taking over the contract, we reduced the accidents from 14 to 4. This was a reduction of 71%. Passenger falls dropped from 4 to 1. Employee injuries were reduced from 9 to 3. The overall accident rate for our tenure in 2013 was 0.57 accidents per one hundred thousand miles. To this day the accident rate continues to improve and our overall accident rate through February 2014 from the start of the contract is 0.41 accidents per one hundred thousand miles. Achieved Results 2013 (first 6 months) 2013 (last 6 months) Results Accident reduction totals % decrease Passenger falls % decrease Employee injuries % decrease Our client saw an immediate impact from the safety culture training and the buy-in from our employees. In addition to the significant reduction of accidents, our client, the SolTrans agency noticed the reduced safety complaints and the elimination of passenger falls on the bus. Commendations, rather than complaints, were on the rise. Service perceptions improved with the positive interactions with our employees and customers. 5

6 Conclusions The SolTrans transit team has been able to establish an effective safety culture that has helped reduce accidents, insurance costs related to accidents, passenger falls and employee injuries. They now have an effective process for the identification and resolution of hazards. Employees do not fear a reprisal for reporting unsafe conditions or near misses and are comfortable that management supports any issues that they identify. The safety action plan has gotten our employees actively engaged in proactive safety measures to continue our quest towards zero accidents/incidents. The building of the safety culture also has had a profound effect on our employees attitudes. With management proactively supporting the employees, our team members are much more focused on following the rules and driving defensively. Some of the outcomes of building our safety culture are listed below: Reduced accidents/incidents by 71% Employees actively involved in the hazard resolution process Improved employee morale Improved customer service Reduction of employee injuries Elimination of at risk behaviors Safety has become a lifestyle Any transit system can apply the steps mentioned in this report and achieve good results toward cultivating and building their safety culture. SolTrans Operator Break Room with the National Express Safety Scoreboard in the Background 6

7 Initial Safety Culture Orientation Training with New Bus Operators before the start of service Safety Supervisor making a safety contact with a SolTrans Bus Operator at the Vallejo Transit Center 7