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It’s confidential and no-fault.

And the result, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, is a significant reduction in rail workplace derailments that too often lead to serious injury and death — plus, as a bonus, better labor/management relationships and improved operational performance.

We’re talking about four pilot projects called Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), whose core value is that railroaders don’t intentionally make mistakes, and the most effective means of correcting workplace errors that have the potential to cause death, injury and accidents is to investigate the cause in a non-judgmental environment.

In a review of C3RS pilot projects on Amtrak, Canadian Pacific, New Jersey Transit and Union Pacific, the FRA also determined they result in supervisors becoming “more fair and cooperative” and placing a greater value on safety relative to productivity, fewer discipline cases, and workers more willing to raise safety concerns with management.

C3RS is a collaborative effort involving the FRA, carriers, the UTU and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. 

The pilot projects encourage engineers, conductors, trainmen and yardmasters to report — without fear of discipline or FRA enforcement action, even if rules violations are involved — close calls that may have resulted in accidents or injuries.

All C3RS reports by employees are collected anonymously and kept confidential. With names and locations masked, a C3RS peer review team recommends corrective action, such as improved training, changes in physical plant, changes in existing federal safety laws or regulations, changes in carrier operating rules, and improved training and/or education.

Examples of close calls include varying levels of risk, such as leaving pieces of equipment unsecured, improper blocking, operating trains beyond track authority, or violating operating rules.

UTU International Vice President John Previsich spearheads the UTU involvement in the four C3RS pilot projects – systemwide on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, and at CP’s Portage, Wis., yard, and UP’s North Platte, Neb., yard.

At UP, which has the most experience with  C3RS, the pilot project has led to reformatting track warrants so they are easier to read, and with a UP officer observing that C3RS “is helping UP move from a blame culture to one that bridges communication gaps between employees and management.”

WASHINGTON – The FRA has has strengthened its positive train control (PTC) team, naming Mark Hartong as senior scientific technical adviser for railroad electronic systems within the FRA’s Office of Safety.

Hartong’s primary responsibility, said the agency, “will be to ensure that electronic technology is applied in a manner that will support the safety and security of freight and passenger transportation on the national railroad system.”

In announcing the appointment, the FRA said Hartong has “in-depth understanding of the other critical systems, including the locomotive electronics, communications systems and back office dispatch systems that must interface with PTC.”

Hartong earned a Ph.D. in information technology from George Mason University and also earned two masters degrees in software engineering and computer science. Prior to joining the FRA in 2003, he worked with Lockheed-Martin Corporation in the Undersea Surveillance Division as senior engineer for all combat and communications systems for nuclear attack submarines as well as the Trident class ballistic missile submarines.

Hartong served for 14 years in the U.S. Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander.

WASHINGTON – A final rule on improved locomotive cab safety and comfort has been published by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The final rule, affecting all new and remanufactured locomotives in road and yard service, follows collaboration among the FRA, rail labor and carriers through the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) process and becomes effective June 8.

Significant in the final rule is a requirement that new and remanufactured locomotives be equipped with a secure cab lock to prevent unauthorized intrusions. While many locomotives do have cab locks, not all are “secure.”

As secure cabs create intolerable conditions during hot weather, the new rule also requires climate control – air cooling inside the cab in hot weather as well as a cab environment ensuring a low temperature of no less than 60 degrees in cold weather – for all new and remanufactured locomotives.

“Fatigue management and security concerns require climate controlled locomotive cabs,” said UTU National Legislative Director James Stem. He observed that “CSX is doing a good job of consist management to move the newer and air-conditioned locomotives to the lead.”

Stem also observed that 22 months ago, a crew member was fatally shot inside a locomotive cab in Louisiana during a robbery attempt. And while that locomotive did have locking devices for the cab door and windows, the locomotive was not air-conditioned, which caused the crew not to secure the cab.

The new rule also affects use and operation of remote control locomotives, and revised standards for locomotive brake maintenance, headlight replacement and locomotive electronics.

To read the final rule, click on this link

WASHINGTON – Responding to petitions for reconsideration to its Nov. 9, 2011, final rule on conductor certification, the FRA has delayed for six months the testing implementation dates and clarified other mandates affecting territorial qualifications and the definition of hostlers.

The FRA, in a Feb. 8 Federal Register notice, said that because its final rule was published Nov. 9, 2011, six months later than contemplated, carriers were not permitted sufficient time to formulate training programs and have them approved by the FRA in time for testing to begin March 1, 2012.

Therefore:

* By Sept. 1, 2012 (rather than March 1, 2012), each railroad (other than Class III) shall designate as “certified conductors” all persons authorized by the railroad to perform the duties of a conductor as of Jan. 1, 2012; and issue them certificates of certification.

* Class I and Class II (regional) railroads, Amtrak and railroads providing commuter services, will have until Sept. 30, 2012, to submit to the FRA for approval their programs for training, testing and evaluation. Class III (shortlines, switching and terminal) railroads will have until Jan. 31, 2013 to do so. The programs submitted by railroads will require collaboration with UTU general chairpersons.

* After Sept. 1, 2012, each railroad (other than Class III) shall designate as a “certified conductor” those authorized by the railroad to perform the duties of a conductor subsequent to Jan. 1, 2012, upon successful completion of testing, training and evaluation.

* After Dec. 1, no Class I or Class II railroad, Amtrak or railroad providing commuter service shall initially certify or recertify a conductor unless that conductor has been tested and evaluated. For Class III railroads, that date is April 1, 2013.

* No later than March 31 of each year (beginning in calendar year 2014), all railroads other than Class III railroads, shall conduct a formal annual review and analysis concerning the administration of its program for responding to detected instances of poor safety conduct by “certified conductors” during the prior calendar year.

* If a conductor lacks territorial qualifications on main track physical characteristics, that conductor shall be assisted by a person who meets the territorial qualification requirements.

* For a conductor who has never been qualified on main track physical characteristics of the territory over which the conductor is to serve, the assistant shall be a “certified conductor” who is not an assigned crew member.

* For a conductor who was previously qualified on main line physical characteristics of the territory over which the conductor is to serve, but whose qualification has expired for one year or less. and who regularly traversed the territory prior to the expiration of the qualification, the assistant may be any person, including an assigned crew member, who meets the territorial qualification requirements for main track physical characteristics.

* For a conductor who previously qualified on main track physical characteristics of the territory over which the conductor is to serve, and whose qualification has been expired for one year or less, but who has not regularly traversed the territory prior to the expiration of the qualification, or a conductor whose territorial qualification on main track has been expired for more than a year, the assistant may be any person, including the assigned crewmember other than the locomotive engineer, so long as the serving assistant would not conflict with that crewmember’s other safety sensitive duties and who meets the territorial qualification requirements for main track physical characteristics.

* As for qualification, and since territories differ in their complexity, railroads will be given discretion to determine how many times a conductor must pass over a territory to be considered to have regularly traversed a territory.

* Each of these territorial qualification issues will be included in each railroad’s plan filed with the FRA and will contain the input from general chairpersons.

Hostler Type Assignments Not Covered

* A person who moves a locomotive or a group of locomotives within the confines of a locomotive repair or servicing area — or moves a locomotive or group of locomotives for distances of less than 100 feet, and this incidental movement of a locomotive or locomotives is for inspection or maintenance purposes — is not subject to conductor certification requirements.

Theproposed new minimum training standards for those in in safety sensitive positions, announced by the FRA in aFeb. 7 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (see link, below), will also apply to conductor certification training programs. “With many thousands of new employee coming on board in the near future, the new training standards will help provide adequate training,” said UTU National Legislative Director James Stem.

Click here to read the changes to conductor certification as published Feb. 8 in the Federal Register.

Click on the following link to read the proposed new minimum training standards for those in safety sensitive positions (that will also apply to conductor certification training):

https://www.smart-union.org/news/fra-proposes-new-minimum-training-standards/

Click on the following link to read about the Nov. 9, 2011, final rule on conductor certification:

https://www.smart-union.org/news/conductor-certification-clear-track-for-jan-1/

FRA logoWASHINGTON – New minimum training and qualification standards are being proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration for rail workers in safety sensitive positions.

In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published Feb. 7 in the Federal Register, the FRA said affected employees would have to be trained and qualified in federal rail safety laws, regulations and orders. Those affected include train and engine workers, maintenance-of-way employees, and workers who inspect and repair freight and passenger cars and locomotives.

The FRA proposes that each railroad or contractor develop a training program designating the qualifications of each employee and them submit that program for agency approval. The training would consist of proficiency-based, incremental training modules, with workers required to demonstrate proficiency in one area before being permitted to accept additional instruction.

Employers would then be required to conduct periodic oversight of their own employees to determine compliance, and conduct annual written reviews of their training programs to close performance gaps.

The proposed rule is a requirement of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

“Well-designed training programs have the potential to further reduce risk in the railroad environment,” said FRA Administrator Joe Szabo. “Better training can reduce the number of accidents, particularly those caused by human factors, which account for the vast majority of reportable accidents each year.”

The proposed new rule was developed with the input from officials in numerous federal and state government agencies, industry and labor.

UTU National Legislative Director James Stem said, “We need to start at the end of the pipeline. When you have a student, a new employee or an existing employee who is being trained on new equipment or new operating practices, what skills do we expect that employee to possess at the end of the training process? And then we’ll work back from that.”

Stem said many railroads, seeking to reduce training costs, have delivered self-directed, computer-based training, “leaving workers unprepared for the hazards of the job. Where there’s no instructor in the room, and all of the available information for the student is on the screen, if the student doesn’t understand the question, he or she has no one to ask. That student is then sent to the field.”

Stem said the proposed rule would create nationwide uniformity in training.

To read the FRA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, click on the following link:

www.fra.dot.gov/rcc/pages/fp_321.shtml and then click on “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking”.

FRA logoThe Federal Railroad Administration’s new associate administrator for administration is Michael Logue, a 29-year employee of the agency.

Logue has served as a railroad safety inspector trainee and in various positions within the Office of Safety and the Office of the Administrator. In 1999 he was named deputy associate administrator for safety compliance and program implementation.

Most recently, Logue worked with a team to improve human resources, information technology and acquisition management within the FRA. The agency cited his efforts “to increase diversity of the FRA workforce” through “strong support of a trainee program for rail safety inspectors and his participation in the selection of candidates for leadership positions throughout the agency.”

FRA logoWASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration, in response to inquiries about when it is permissible for an employee directing the movement to operate a motor vehicle in the context of a pushing or shoving movement, has issued the following advisory:

The central concern in each situation is whether the practice violates the prohibition in the Railroad Operating Practices regulations at 49 CFR 218.99(b), which states, in part:

No unrelated tasks. During the shoving or pushing movement, the employee directing the movement shall not engage in any task unrelated to the oversight of the shoving or pushing movement.

Factual circumstances may dictate whether an operation is safe and in compliance with the regulations.

Question 1: Do the Railroad Operating Practices regulations allow an employee to make an initial determination that the track is clear from a motor vehicle in which the employee is operating prior to the initiation of the shoving or pushing movement?

Answer:  While there may be some risk involved when an employee is both determining that the track is clear and operating the motor vehicle, the regulation does not strictly prohibit the same person from doing these tasks simultaneously when the movement has not been initiated and oversight of the movement is not required. However, if the terrain is uneven or the view is obstructed, the person may occasionally have to operate the vehicle at a slower speed or even stop the vehicle in order to accurately determine that the track is clear. 

Question 2: Do the Railroad Operating Practices regulations allow an employee to determine that the track is clear from a motor vehicle in which the employee is operating while simultaneously directing a shoving or pushing movement that is in motion? 

Answer:  Although there is no strict prohibition, the FRA is concerned that an employee who operates a motor vehicle while the shoving or pushing movement is in motion may not be adequately overseeing the train movement.

One of the stated purposes of the prohibition against engaging in any task unrelated to the oversight of the shoving or pushing movement was that it “increases the probability that the controlling employee will be in a position to reduce the severity of any accident that might occur.” (73 Fed. Reg. 8442, 8476) The cited language in the preamble to the rule immediately follows a recap of the fatal accident in Manlius, N.Y., which led to the issuance of FRA Safety Advisory 2007-01.

That fatal accident involved a carman whose vehicle was dragged a considerable distance before the employee directing the movement was contacted to stop the movement. The preamble language clarified that the “no unrelated task” provision was added as a compromise in exchange for the FRA giving up the proposed requirement that the leading end of the movement be continuously kept in sight by the employee directing the movement. 

The FRA recognized that “a ‘continuous observation’ requirement would force more employees either to walk or ride the point – creating an even greater vulnerability that someone could get hurt.” (73 Fed. Reg. 8476) The same type of argument could be made regarding an employee directing the movement who is instructed or elects to drive a vehicle while the shoving or pushing movement is in motion. 

With these concerns in mind, the FRA determined that an employee must not simultaneously direct a shoving or pushing movement while operating a motor vehicle of any type, except as follows:

* An employee may operate a motor vehicle to a point where he or she can visually determine that the track is clear, pursuant to 49 CFR 18.99(b)(3)(i).  After stopping the motor vehicle and determining that the track is clear for a specified distance, the employee directing a shoving or pushing movement may give an initial instruction to the engineer to start a shoving or pushing movement for the specified distance.

* After giving the initial instruction, the employee may operate the motor vehicle while the shoving or pushing movement is in motion. 

* After visually determining that the track is clear for an additional specified distance, the employee directing a shoving or pushing movement must stop the motor vehicle in order to provide any additional instructions to the engineer. This process may be repeated until the shoving or pushing movement is completed. 

* The FRA recognizes “that employees can safely make shoving or pushing movements without continuously observing the leading car (i.e., the leading end of the movement) for the entire distance of the movement.” (73 Fed. Reg. 8477) However, to the extent possible, the FRA would expect an employee to observe a shoving or pushing movement in progress and be able to take appropriate action to minimize the severity of any unexpected derailment or accident that might occur.

* Under all circumstances, the engineer must stop the movement in one-half the specified distance, unless additional instructions are received.  (49 CFR 220.49)

Question 3: Do the Railroad Operating Practices regulations allow an employee directing the shoving or pushing movement that is in motion to determine that the track is clear while riding in a motor vehicle as a passenger? 

Answer:  There is no strict prohibition on an employee determining that the track is clear while riding in a motor vehicle as a passenger. Of course, if the terrain is uneven or the view is obstructed, it may not be factually possible to make the determination that the track is clear.  As always, the FRA will consider enforcement action when the circumstances show that the person could not make an accurate determination.

FRA logoWASHINGTON – Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Rae is departing the agency Nov. 3 to rejoin the New York State government as deputy secretary of transportation in the office of New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Rae has been the number two to Administrator Joseph Szabo since March 2009. No successor, who will require Senate confirmation, has been nominated.

Before her appointment as deputy FRA administrator, Rae was deputy commissioner of policy and planning for the New York DOT.

During the first six months of 2011, 37 serious injuries occurred during switching operations, resulting in three fatalities and eight amputations; while over the past two years, five rail workers have died in accidents involving rolling rail equipment.

The Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (SOFA) Working Group and the UTU Rail Safety Task Force have been consulting with the FRA to study the causes and prevention of such horrific accidents, leading the FRA Oct. 11 to issue new recommendations aimed at preventing such fatalities and injuries.

The recommendations, published in the Federal Register, are intended, says the FRA, to convey to carrier management and rail workers “the critical importance of following key operating procedures when going between rolling equipment.”

These recommendations include:

* Review current operating and safety rules that specifically address remote control locomotive and conventional switching operations that require employees to go between rolling equipment, and determine whether those rules provide adequate protection to employees, or need to be updated or revised;

* Develop, implement and monitor sound communication protocols that require employees on multi-person switch crews to notify their fellow crewmembers when the need arises to enter between two pieces of rolling equipment – regardless of whether the employee is the primary RCO or working on a conventional crews.

* Review SOFA Safety Recommendation No. 1 relating to adjusting knuckles, adjusting drawbars and installing end-of-train devices, and communicate procedures implementing that recommendation to employees working in yards or other locations where the possibility of entering between rolling equipment exists.

SOFA Safety Recommendation No. 1 provides: “Any crew member intending to foul track or equipment must notify the locomotive engineer before such action can take place. The locomotive engineer must then apply locomotive or train brakes, have the reverser centered, and then confirm this action with the individual on the ground.

“Additionally, any crew member that intends to adjust knuckles/drawbars, or apply or remove EOT device, must ensure that the cut of cars to be coupled into is separated by no fewer than 50 feet. Also, the person on the ground must physically inspect the cut of cars not attached to the locomotive to ensure they are completely stopped; and, if necessary, a sufficient number of hand brakes must be applied to ensure the cut of cars will not move.”

* Convey to employees that their own personal safety is their responsibility and that railroad management supports and encourages those employees that make safety their number one priority, regardless of their immediate assignment;

* Convey to employees that they should encourage fellow employees to perform their tasks safely and in compliance with established railroad rules and procedures.

To view the FRA’s Federal Register notice, click on the following link:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-10-11/html/2011-26283.htm

To view more information on rail safety, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/td/safety/

FRA logoCHICAGO — Here is an opportunity to voice your rail safety concerns directly to the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.

A 90-minute town hall meeting on rail safety will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11, in Chicago. FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo will take questions and hear concerns as part of the agency’s outreach to rail labor.

Szabo, formerly the UTU’s Illinois state legislative director and a fifth-generation railroader, promises “a frank and often safety discussion.” He also will share with the audience details on the FRA’s risk reduction program, which is a non-punitive approach to addressing safety in advance of an accident or injury.

FRA Associate Administrator for Safety Jo Strang wrote of that program some months ago in an exclusive column that appeared in the UTU News and on the UTU website. A link to that column is provided below.

Here are the details of the town hall meeting:

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 9-10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Chicago Laborers District Council, 999 McClintock Drive, Burr Ridge, Ill. Burr Ridge is 20 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

To read the Jo Strang column on the FRA’s risk reduction program, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/news/help-fra-stop-harassment-improve-safety/