Understanding Our Metrolink Safety Culture

Metrolink System SafetyOctober 2011

Metrolink System View • 163 weekday trains on 7 lines• 68 weekend trains on 4 lines• 55 stations across the

Metrolink System• Approximately 40,000 avg.

weekday trips • Operates on a 512-mile

system• Avg. train weighs 400 tons• $173.3 million operating

budget• Funding sources; Metro,

OCTA, RCTC, VCTC, federal, state and government, etc.

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Metrolink Safety MissionAt Metrolink, safety is foundational. Everything we do demonstrates an appreciation for life and every act values the lives of our employees, contractor co-workers, customers and communities. The safety of our employees is a core value at Metrolink and is woven into the fabric of what we do each and every day. Keeping our workplace safe is everyone’s responsibility. Performing our job safely is our ultimate responsibility.

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Metrolink’s Core Values

• Safety

• People

• Quality

• Efficiency

• Growth

Railroad Fatalities Year to Date

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Metrolink Workplace AccidentsBELIEF BELIEF “Accidents can be “Accidents can be

prevented”.prevented”.INTENTION “INTENTION “Zero harm”.Zero harm”.

Actual Metrolink Results Actual Metrolink Results • Injury or illness claims.Injury or illness claims.• 1 workplace fatalities1 workplace fatalities• $2.7 Billion in payouts/year.$2.7 Billion in payouts/year.

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The Safety Improvement Journey

Focus on Compliance,

Rules and Penalties

1980’s CURRENT

Catastrophic Risk Management

Catastrophic Risk Management

Behaviour

BehaviourISO 14001 Environment

ISO 14001 Environment

Safety Legislation

Safety LegislationWorker Compensation

Worker Compensation1990’s

OHSAS 18001 & Z1000

OHSAS 18001 & Z1000 Health and Safety

Health and Safety

Loss Control

Loss ControlDuties, Rights & IRS

Duties, Rights & IRS

ISO 26000

ISO 26000 Social Social Responsibility

Responsibility

WHMIS / TDGA

WHMIS / TDGA

CultureCulture

Environmental Assessment

Environmental Assessment

Environmental Bill of Rights

Environmental Bill of Rights

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

1970’s

More Laws & Focus on Engineering and

Control

Focus on Management

SystemsFocus on People &

Social Responsibility

Green Initiatives

Green Initiatives

Target of Zero Harm

SUB-STANDARD BEHAVIORS / CONDITIONS

Accident / Incident Prevention

Lagging Indicators

Leading Indicators

MAJOR

MINOR

PROPERTYDAMAGE

NEAR MISS / Broken Gates

CULTURE(The way people work together when no one’s watching)

TRANSPARENCY(How much is Visible / Invisible?)

Culture

Sub-standard Behaviors/ Conditions

Near Miss Broken Gates

Property Damage

Minor

Major Can’t manage what you don’t know

COMMUNICATION

What is our Culture?Where employees and contractors beliefs

reflect its character and interact with its

structure and control systems to produce positive behavioural norms.

Culture is always changing for the better or worse.

What is our Culture?Spoken and unspoken set of values that drive risk

tolerance and affect the way we feel, think, act and make decisions daily.

“Group of people who share mythologies.” Systems Leadership (MacDonald, Burke & Stewart)

“What happens when no-one is watching.” Duncan Hawthorn

Understanding Our Safety Mythology

Our underlying stories, ideas or beliefs around Safety (whether true or not).

EXAMPLES• “Taking shortcuts is okay when we have late trains”• “Achieving zero injuries is impossible” • “If I report near-misses I will get yelled at”• “Even if we report problems, nothing ever gets fixed”

Culture / BehaviorCulture – primary focus on the “group”Behavior – primary focus on the “individual”

CULTURE

BEHAVIOUR

Improves Improves

Safety Culture - Maturity Model

• Intro Video (8 minutes)

• Tool Kit Video (22 minutes)

Source

Version 2 - 20.3.16

The Hudson Maturity ModelThe Hudson Maturity Model(Evolving Levels of Safety Culture)(Evolving Levels of Safety Culture)

PATHOLOGICALPATHOLOGICALWho cares as long asWho cares as long aswe don’t get caught.we don’t get caught.

REACTIVEREACTIVESafety is important, we do a lotSafety is important, we do a lotevery time we have an accident.every time we have an accident.

CALCULATIVECALCULATIVEWe have systems in place toWe have systems in place to

manage all hazardsmanage all hazards

PROACTIVEPROACTIVEWe work on problems that We work on problems that

we still find.we still find.

GENERATIVEGENERATIVESafety is how we do businessSafety is how we do business

round hereround here..

Increasingly Increasingly InformedInformedTrusting,Trusting,Aligned,Aligned,

andandAccountable.Accountable.

Pathological Organizations• Don’t want to know.• Messengers are shot.• Responsibility is shirked.• Failure is punished or concealed.• New ideas are actively discouraged.• SilosSilos serve as barriersbarriers to communication.

Calculative Organizations

• Deals with safety issues “by the book”.• Conformance to rules.• Reactive rather than preventative.• Responsibility is compartmentalised.• New ideas present problems.• Repair rather than reform.

Generative Organizations

• Common belief - good Safety is a business imperative (prevent human suffering prevent human suffering / optimize human performanceoptimize human performance).

• Involvement by everyone everyone (united/energized/aligned).

• Enterprise perspective Enterprise perspective to problem solving.• Have unceasing dedicationdedication to getting it right. • Acknowledge accomplishments while always asking “How can we

do better”?• DisciplinedDisciplined in always adapting & learning.

Generative Organizations

• Plan / Plan / Plan.• Train / Train / Train.• Report / Report / Report.• Employees empowered

– High degree of managing up.– Anyone can halt work.

• Rely on one another.• Low Tempo / High Tempo (Resilient).• Rewards are balanced (safety, production & quality).

Generative Organization(Off-The-Job Safety)

• Off-the-job safety programs are common in generative organizations.

• More people injured / killed off-the-job than at work.• Safety is not just a workplace behavior, it is a life behavior. • Caring about off-the-job safety brings benefits in the

workplace.

Drivers of Safety Cultural Change

Leadership(Strategy)

Team Empowerment

(Values)

Dissonance, Crisis, or

Significant Emotional

Event CULTURECULTURECHANGECHANGE

Building a strong Safety Culture takes time.

It often occurs incrementally(two steps forward

and one step back).

Works best when everyone sees value in the cultural

change and feels they are an active player.

Key Elements of a High Performance Safety Culture

HIGH HIGH

PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE Safety Safety

CULTURECULTURE Flexible

Culture

Just

Culture

Informed

Culture

Learning

Culture

Reporting

Culture

Accountable

Culture

Informed Culture

• Management knows what is going on in their organization.

• Knows where the ‘‘edgeedge’ ’ is without having to fall over it first.

Flexible Culture

• The organization can cope with new challenges.

• Resilient to most circumstances that come its way.

Accountable Culture

• An accountable culture is a disciplined culture.• Everyone is accountable for safety.• Accountability is clearly defined.• Holding persons accountable is not about blame.

Personal Accountability

Holding Others Accountable

Workplace Safety Culture

Reporting Culture

• Depends on people reporting hazards, near misses, errors and incidents.

• They won’t do that if they don’t trust management and the system or are unfairly disciplined.

• Need openness, transparency, sincere listening and straight talk.

Learning Culture

• The organization is continually learning from its mistakes.

• It is preoccupied with the “possibility of possibility of failurefailure” and works continuously to become more resilientresilient to its operational hazards.

Flexible Culture• The organization can cope with new

challenges.• Resilient to most circumstances that come its

way.

Just Culture

• Focus on positive reinforcement positive reinforcement “Catch employees doing things right!”• Use rewards and incentives wisely and cautiously.• Use discipline sparingly, fairly

and when warranted.

A ‘just’ culture depends on the workforce knowing the difference between

acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

Just Culture - Fairness

• Supervisors must not play favorites.• Every worker must be treated fairly.• Fairly does not always mean equally.• Supervisors must accommodate for valid circumstances (e.g.,

disability) and apply wise judgment.

Culture and Attitude

• Safety costs / inconvenient• Just get the work done• Find short cuts• Risk taker• Unconscious to dangers• Sense of invincibility /

macho

• Safety pays / worth the effort• Caring about self and others• Welcomes training• Plans before starting work• Risk “intelligence”

• Aware of risks• Know how to control risks• Choose to control risks

PositiveNegative

Culture Approach

Culture is mostly invisible …. especially to the organization itself !

Culture Perception Surveys can be helpful.Culture Perception Surveys can be helpful.

Safety Culture - Perception Surveys

Perception surveys often examine:• Management Commitment / Support• Employee Commitment / Support• Personal Responsibility• Education and Learning• Supervisory Leadership• Safety Management Systems

Culture and Values (Drawing Our Line in the Sand)

ACCEPTABLE ACCEPTABLE

NON-ACCEPTABLENON-ACCEPTABLE