(The following appeared at Ohscanada.com on June 10.)
OTTAWA — A House of Commons committee investigating railway safety in Canada says it has “serious concerns” about delays and the manner in which railway safety management systems (SMSs) have been implemented by railway companies and the federal government.
An SMS is a formal framework designed to integrate safety into the daily operations of a company, and addresses such areas as accident investigation procedures and reporting, hazard identification and risk mitigation procedures, and employee training programs. Since 2001, all railways have been required to have SMSs in place.
But progress on implementation of SMSs has been insufficient, says the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities, which released its rail safety report, including 14 recommendations, on May 29.
“If more stringent oversight by Transport Canada had taken place, there might have been better results in implementing [SMSs] and the railroads would have been further along in developing a safety culture than they are today,” the committee writes. “Transport Canada will have to take a much more ‘hands on approach’ in this process if we are to see a favourable implementation of [SMSs] in a timely manner.”
The committee identified poor communication between rail companies and their workers as a serious issue.
“Employees who were at the front line of implementing [SMSs] had, in many cases, very limited knowledge of [the] SMS and what their role in this system was,” the committee notes.
Three of the recommendations issued by the committee regarding SMSs include:
— Within one year, Transport Canada and the railways must develop an action plan and timelines for full implementation of SMSs and report back to the committee on its progress;
— Transport Canada should ensure that railway employees are meaningfully consulted about the implementation of SMSs; and
— Transport Canada should ensure that its rail safety inspection process is rigorous and that it has adequate resources to administer SMSs.
“No open, consistent communication”: union
“Sadly, there is no clear understanding on how these [SMSs] should work, no clear benchmarks to assess their effectiveness and no open, consistent communication among the parties involved, including labour,” William Brehl, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division, says in a statement.
Mike LoVecchio, a spokesman for Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), says CPR is already in the process of working with Transport Canada on an SMS action plan. He adds that his company has a “superior” safety culture and “it is well understood by our employees that this is our first priority.”
In the last decade, employee injuries at CPR have decreased 76 per cent and train accidents have been reduced by 73 per cent, he says.
The standing committee says it is concerned that railway employees are reluctant to report safety violations because they fear reprisals from their employer. This was particularly the case for Canadian National Railway (CN) employees, where a “culture of fear” has been reported by workers, the committee reports.
To address fears of reprisal, railway companies should create confidential, non-punitive reporting systems for workers, the committee urges.
Bryan Tucker, a CN spokesman, says his company is conducting a full review of the report. He disputes the ‘culture of fear’ suggestion and says that “CN management has taken major steps to foster an effective safety culture.”
The committee also took aim at worker fatigue and training, including recommendations that companies should have “precise” employee fatigue management plans that are monitored by Transport Canada; and, the organization should monitor new employee training programs offered by railway companies to ensure they meet the highest standards.
Transport Canada will respond to the committee’s report within 120 days, says Maryse Durette, a department spokeswoman. She notes a recent review of the Railway Safety Act resulted in the creation of an Advisory Council on Railway Safety, which will be crucial in “maintaining a solid and productive relationship between Transport Canada and its stakeholders.”