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2023 Triennial Audit - Grouping 4. Safety Assurance – Performance Measures

The Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”), as the State Safety Oversight Agency for rail transit (subway lines) in Massachusetts, has completed a Triennial Audit of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (“MBTA”) Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and its implementation. The Triennial Audit is a requirement of 49 C.F.R. § 674.31 and 220 CMR 151.10(2).
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Scope

  • Safety Performance Criteria, Targets, and Measures
  • National Safety Plan
  • FTA Guidance on Safety Performance Measures and Targets
  • Coordination with the State and Metropolitan Planning Organization (“MPO”) for Safety Performance Measures and Targets
  • SSO Program Standard Requirements/Procedures for Hazard/Risk Identification, Data Collection, and Analyses/Assessments
  • Hazard Log, Risk Register, and Corrective Actions/Mitigations Tracking and Status
  • CAPs definition, tracking, closure process

Positive Observations

  • The MBTA is successfully working through the SMI activities and corrective actions.
  • The Safety Data Analysis Report (“SDAR”) provides a much-needed insight into the data being tracked by the organization.
  • The MBTA uses a dashboard to communicate the critical details of Safety to the GM.
  • The MBTA coordinates with the MPO and annually communicates performance measures in compliance with 49 C.F.R. Part 673.15.

Opportunities for Continual Improvement

  • The MBTA should track Corrective Actions and ensure uniform status updates across MBTA responsible departments.
  • The MBTA Safety should assist and engage in CAP development with the responsible MBTA departments to determine if proposed CAPs adequately address the root causes of the precipitating event.

Recommendations

  • The MBTA should formally identify its peer organizations and compare its performance measures and targets with the peer group.
  • The MBTA should formally develop guidance on how to best address failure to reach its safety performance goals. This would assist in addressing and justifying capital expenses.
  • The MBTA should share the GM Dashboard with the DPU during the CAPs and Hazards meetings and documentation distribution.
  • The MBTA should ensure that Key Performance Indicators (“KPI”) and status of progress towards those indicators are accessible to frontline employees.
  • The MBTA should regularly communicate the Safety Performance results to frontline employees.
  • The MBTA Safety Office should study whether the Safety Rules Compliance Program (“SRCP”) is consistent with APTA Standard RT-OP-S-011-10 and other peer organizations. This evaluation should be used to determine whether the program should be further developed to be more effective.

Findings

  • None.

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