Kristin Thompson Metro Transit, Supervisor of Service Analysis Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Transcription

1 All You Gotta Do Is Talk: Building Effective Ties Between Planning and Operations Kristin Thompson Metro Transit, Supervisor of Service Analysis Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

2 Martin J. Ruter Garage Fred T. Heywood Campus Office Building Garage Transit Control Center Instruction Center LRT Support Facility Nicollet Garage Commuter Rail OMF Minneapolis LRT OMF Overhaul Base Metro Transit Police Headquarters East Command Center Metro Transit Overview: Operating Facilities East Metro Garage St. Paul LRT OMF 912 Buses 86 LRVs 6 Locomotives 18 Commuter Rail Cars 2 South Garage

3 The Bad Old Days Periodic visits to operating garages by Service Development staff Gripe sessions Issues could not be researched on the spot No way to close the loop later 3

4 Breakthrough: Service Advisory Teams (SATs) Monthly meetings held at each operating garage to promote communication, issue prioritization, and broad input into planning and scheduling Participants Service Development staff Analyst Planner Schedulemaker Rotating manager Street Operations staff Garage training coordinators Garage managers 4

5 Service Advisory Team (SAT) Format Originally envisioned as a collaborative work plan development process Evolved to a less structured discussion of issues, including: Upcoming service changes Detours/construction Feedback from operators Garage-led Training coordinator handles agenda and scheduling 5

6 Additional Communication Tools Operating Conditions Reports (OCRs) On-Time Performance Committee Running Time Committees Operator Outreach 6

7 Operating Conditions Reports (OCRs) 7

8 Operating Conditions Report Process Operator fills out paper OCR Service change added to work plan Garage Coordinator sends response to operator Garage Coordinator enter OCR into system Implement service change 8 Staff review and respond to OCR Department assigns OCR to staff OCR Coordinator assigns OCR to department

9 On-Time Performance Committee Pilot launched in 2005 to make use of AVL data Standing group of staff from: Service Development Garage Operations Field Operations (Street Supervisors and Control Center) Review worst-performing routes Identify action items for follow-up Schedule changes Monitoring (field or TCC) Working groups System factors 9

10 Running Time Committees Each pick, one route chosen for in-depth review 3-5 operators who drive the route are selected to participate Other participants include Service Development staff, street supervisors, and garage staff Two meetings with operators: Gather input Report findings and recommendations Publicize results 10

11 Operator Outreach Garage visits focused on a specific topic A recent round of visits focused on the OCR process Presentations to full-time operator classes, covering: Service Development staff groups and responsibilities Transit planning trade-offs Pick work plan process OCR process How schedules are written Q & A 11

12 Service Development Communication Tools Service Advisory Teams Operating Conditions Reports On-Time Performance Committee Running Time Committees Frequency Field Operations Garage Management Monthly Operators ~20/month Monthly Quarterly Operator Outreach Varies 12

13 Challenges Commitment levels vary Staff work styles OCR/pick timeline Barriers to operator participation No pay for OCRs Staff turnover Assume we know issues 13

14 The Future Improve the use of operational data in these processes Foster discussion Identify issues to address 14

15 Tips for Success Persistence Progress can be slow & bumpy Honesty Clearly communicate what can and can t be done, and why Willingness to adapt 15

16 All You Gotta Do Is Talk: Building Effective Ties Between Planning and Operations Kristin Thompson Supervisor, Service Analysis Metro Transit Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota