BOSTON (WHDH) - The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) released a scathing 90-page safety report Wednesday, prompting the MBTA to launch the Quality, Compliance and Oversight Office to address the FTA’s findings from the report.
“Transit riders shouldn’t have to question whether they will get to their destinations safely,” said FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. “Safety is FTA’s top priority, and our role is to hold transit agencies and state safety oversight agencies accountable on behalf of transit riders and workers.”
The FTA emphasized throughout the report that the T’s investment into longer term projects came at the detriment of day-to-day maintenance.
The FTA made 20 total findings in four categories addressed to the MBTA. The key findings include:
- Category 1 – Managing the impact of operations, maintenance and capital project requirements on the existing workforce:
- MBTA’s focus on capital projects has diverted management attention and resources from the agency’s operations and maintenance
- Existing staffing levels and capabilities do not provide adequate safety oversight for new capital projects
- A series of construction safety events caused by a lack of oversight on worksites
- Category 2 – Prioritization of safety management information:
- Adopted limited safety practices in the field to support the identification, analysis and prioritization of safety information
- Category 3 – Effectiveness of safety communication:
- Lack of routine, consistent and meaningful communication regarding safety issues across departments and with frontline workers
- Category 4 – Operating conditions and policies, procedures, and training:
- MBTA isn’t meeting its own written requirements
- Does not have adequate training, coordination and supervision
- Does not have independent quality assurance and quality control
- Failure to provide workers with necessary resources and guidance to complete specific activities
The MBTA said Katie Choe, an over 20-year veteran of construction management and safety oversight, will lead the Quality, Compliance, and Oversight Office, which will operate outside of the T’s current organizational structure and implement actions to address the report’s findings. Choe will report directly to General Manager Steve Poftak to implement all of the FTA’s recommended actions. The Office will also report publicly every month on the T’s progress toward implementing the FTA’s directives.
“The MBTA’s number one priority remains safety for both our riders and our employees. We are grateful to the FTA for their recommendations as we build on numerous actions and initiatives already in place across the organization to strengthen our safety management,” said Poftak. “Under the leadership of Katie Choe, I am confident that through the Quality, Compliance, and Oversight Office, the MBTA will be better positioned to address the challenges it has faced and implement changes to the organization and system to provide a safer and more reliable T.”
To address these areas, the FTA ordered the MBTA to carry out 53 total actions. The MBTA said Wednesday it has either implemented or begun the process of implementing half of those including:
- Safety has facilitated multiple new safety risk management workshops over the past two months in coordination with management and subject matter experts from outside departments. The workshops have allowed for proactive hazard identification and mitigation in areas including hiring, training & certification, and field-based exercises working with Operations, Maintenance, Training, and Human Resources.
- The Safety Department has also expanded its safety meeting framework to include performance-focused safety data reviews with senior managers and executives, and will continue to use this meeting framework for review and discussion of data-driven safety analyses and risk management.
- Radio dead spots have been confirmed with frontline staff, and a regular reporting and confirmation has been established with the majority of spots resolved.
The MBTA will continue to seek FTA approval as it progresses through the directives and will report monthly progress updates to the MBTA Board of Directors.
“The Quality, Compliance, and Oversight Office will help support the MBTA’s over-6,000 employees, from track walkers to inspectors to operators and motorpersons by giving them the tools they need to succeed, including training, documentation, and support systems as we continue to implement the recommended actions presented in the FTA’s report,” said Choe. “I have seen first-hand, through countless New England winters, events like championship parades and in their everyday work, the perseverance, effort, and focus of the MBTA workforce and I am confident that they will rise to the occasion again.”
MassDOT will also lead an engagement with a consultant to balance larger projects and day-to-day maintenance by investigating the potential benefits of a multi-modal large construction unit apart from the MBTA and other agencies of MassDOT that would develop, design, construct and deliver large capital assets to the operating agencies. The MBTA said this new engagement will investigate the opportunities to expand this type of model that was used with the Green Line Extension and South Coast Rail projects.
Governor Charlie Baker is set to file a supplemental budget that includes $200 million for the MBTA on Wednesday to provide additional resources to addressing the FTA’s safety directives and ensuring a safe, reliable transit network for its riders. The supplemental budget also includes $10 million for MassDOT, in collaboration with the MBTA, to develop a training academy to create a talent pipeline to address the staffing challenges at the MBTA.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)