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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/

SOFA LogoA UTU-member conductor employed by Canadian Pacific in LaCrosse, Wis., suffered a severe injury – being pinned beneath a freight car that derailed and tipped over — during a switching operation Sept. 5. The 43-year-old conductor had less than one year of service.

During the first six months of 2011, 37 serious injuries occurred during switching operations, resulting in three fatalities and eight amputations, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

These accidents emphasize that there is no more dangerous civilian occupation than working in a railroad switching yard, where accidents too often kill, maim and end careers.

Yard safety requires situational awareness, which is a state of mind coupled with teamwork, communication and uninterrupted attention to the task at hand.

To combat yard fatalities and career-ending injuries, the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) Working Group was formed in 1998.

It is a peer review group comprised of representatives from labor, management and the Federal Railroad Administration — all collaborating to bring railroaders home in one piece.

SOFA’s five lifesaving tips that can save yours:

* Secure all equipment before action is taken.

* Protect employees against moving equipment.

* Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes.

* Communicate before action is taken.

* Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely.

The SOFA Working Group also warns of special switching hazards:

* Close clearances

* Shoving movements

* Unsecured cars

* Free rolling rail cars

* Exposure to mainline trains

* Tripping, slipping or falling

* Unexpected movement of cars

* Adverse environmental conditions

* Equipment defects

* Motor vehicles or loading devices

* Drugs and alcohol

The SOFA Working Group’s lifesaving tips are proven to reduce your risk of a career-ending injury or death while on the job.

The UTU is represented in the SOFA group by Louisiana State Legislative Director Gary Devall, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy and Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo.

To view recent SOFA Working Group reports, and advisories related to inexperienced employees, close clearances, industrial track hazards, job briefings and mainline train hazards, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/td/switching-operations-fatality-analysis/

The UTU also has a Rail Safety Task Force charged with creating action alerts to reduce rail-employee risk while on the job.

Leading the task force is UTU Arizona State Legislative Director Greg Hynes, who is assisted by UTU Arkansas State Legislative Director Steve Evans and Michigan State Legislative Director Jerry Gibson.

The task force works with UTU state legislative directors, UTU general chairpersons, the FRA and carriers in seeking to identify and communicate best practices and techniques to improve situational awareness and keep situational awareness at its highest level.

For more information on the UTU Rail Safety Task Force, and to view its advisories, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/safety/smart-rail-safety-task-force/

Working in a rail yard puts life, limbs and career at risk more than any other job.

 Members attending UTU regional meetings in San Antonio and New York have access to a yard-safety workshop – conducted in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration’s risk-reduction team.

 Attendees will gain more from this workshop if they first review a portion of a recent FRA report prepared by the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) working group.

To read Chapter 3 of that report:

  •  Go to www.utu.org
  • Place your cursor on “Safety” in the drop-down menu above, and then left-click  on “Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis”
  •  Left-click on the SOFA logo.
  •  Left-click on the first link, “Findings and Advisories of the SOFA Working Group Volume I.”
  •  Scroll to Chapter Three, “Switching Fatalities – Understanding and Prevention,” which begins at page 13.

 “This chapter will give you a good introduction to the entire report and a basic understanding of the report before you attend one of the SOFA workshops,” says UTU Louisiana State Legislative Director Gary Devall, who is one of the UTU’s representatives on the SOFA working group along with Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy and Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo.

 Also to be found on the page where the SOFA logo appears, is the first quarter 2011 SOFA update.

 All UTU members working in rail yards also are urged to review the following message on yard safety:

 www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=53959

 

 

Imagine baseball without rules against bean balls, football without helmets or rules against clipping, roadways without stop signs, and cars without seat belts.

Rules have a purpose. On railroads the rules — developed over more than a century-and-a-half — are to save lives and limbs and keep trains running without incident.

There is no more dangerous civilian occupation than working in a railroad switching yard, where accidents too often kill, maim and end careers.

Yard safety also requires situational awareness, which is a state of mind coupled with teamwork, communication and uninterrupted attention to the task at hand.

Eight switching fatalities and 63 career-ending injuries — seven involving amputations — occurred in rail yards during 2010. Already in 2011, there has been one switching fatality.

To combat yard fatalities and career-ending injuries, the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) Working Group was formed in 1998.

It is a peer review group comprised of representatives from labor, management and the Federal Railroad Administration — all collaborating to bring railroaders home in one piece.

SOFA’s five lifesaving tips that can save yours:

  • Secure all equipment before action is taken.
  • Protect employees against moving equipment.
  • Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes.
  • Communicate before action is taken.
  • Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely.

The SOFA Working Group also warns of special switching hazards:

  • Close clearances
  • Shoving movements
  • Unsecured cars
  • Free rolling rail cars
  • Exposure to mainline trains
  • Tripping, slipping or falling
  • Unexpected movement of cars
  • Adverse environmental conditions
  • Equipment defects
  • Motor vehicles or loading devices
  • Drugs and alcohol

Going home in one piece requires situational awareness.

The SOFA Working Group’s lifesaving tips are proven to reduce your risk of a career-ending injury or death while on the job.

To view the most recent SOFA Working Group report, which includes five new advisories related to inexperienced employees, close clearances, industrial track hazards, job briefings and mainline train hazards, click here.

It’s winter — the three months of the year during which a significant number of yard fatalities and career-ending injuries occur.

The FRA says risk is concentrated in cold-weather states, but those in warmer climates are not immune, because darkness is a factor along with cold weather and slippery ground conditions that contribute to falls.

An elevated risk during winter is the risk of being struck on mainline track by a passing train, says the FRA.

Of special concern this winter are new workers and experienced workers who have recently been brought back from furlough. “Productivity expectations should adjust to employee experience,” says the FRA, which urges that crew composition should pair an inexperienced employee with experienced employees when possible.

The UTU participates in the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) working group, which includes labor, management and the FRA — all collaborating to bring railroaders home to their families in one piece.

SOFA’s five lifesaving tips can save yours:

  • Secure all equipment before action is taken
  • Protect employees against moving equipment
  • Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes
  • Communicate before action is taken
  • Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely

 The SOFA working group also warns of special switching hazards:

  • Close clearances
  • Shoving movements
  • Unsecured cars
  • Free rolling rail cars
  • Exposure to mainline trains
  • Tripping, slipping or falling
  • Unexpected movement of cars
  • Adverse environmental conditions
  • Equipment defects
  • Motor vehicles or loading devices
  • Drugs and alcohol

Going home to your family in one piece requires situational awareness. SOFA’s life-saving tips are proven to reduce your risk of a career-ending injury or death while on the job.

By UTU International President Mike Futhey

What should have been a joyous holiday season ended all too tragically Dec. 29 with the death of 44-year-old UTU Local 1000 member Samuel Lundy in a switching accident in Minneapolis. He leaves behind a loving wife and three children.

Brother Lundy was the eighth UTU member killed in the line of duty during 2009. We grieve for each of them, and I am inspired by the somber words of Local 1000 President John Haggarty, who observed — and this applies to each of our fallen brothers — “If this could have happened to him, it could happen to any of us.”

Railroaders work in one of the most — if not the most — dangerous industries in America, where accidents, rather than resulting in sprains and broken bones, too often result in career-ending injuries and death.

Death and dismemberment stalk operating crews every moment of their working hours, and there is no greater priority — none! — than returning home to our families in one piece.

Worker safety is the number-one priority of every labor union, and the UTU works closely with every labor organization in this effort. There is no stronger bond among labor organizations, and the working men and women in America, than the joint objective of improving workplace safety.

Within the UTU, we have three separate safety initiatives in place. This is in addition to our efforts at the negotiating table; our joint initiatives with other labor organizations; our communications and meetings with federal regulatory agencies, Congress and state legislatures; and our Designated Legal Counsel program.

Progress is being made, but we cannot, should not, and will not retreat from this fight. It is the most vital duty we owe our membership.

Our most recent safety initiative was the creation, earlier this year, of the UTU Rail Safety Task Force, whose mission is to identify and communicate best practices and techniques to improve situational awareness and keep situational awareness at its highest level.

Additionally, the UTU participates with other labor organizations and rail management in the Federal Railroad Administration sponsored Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) working group, whose mission is to develop recommendations for reducing fatalities in switching operations. The SOFA group has developed best practices for yard workers to help ensure their safety.

The UTU also has a 13-member Transportation Safety Team that assists National Transportation Safety Board investigators in on-the-scene determination of facts in rail-related accidents. Members of this team are selected based on their knowledge of operating rules and understanding of general railroad operations, train movements and dispatching. Team members also receive special training in NTSB procedures. A team member was on the scene within hours of Brother Lundy’s death to assist the NTSB in its investigation.

In Washington, the UTU National Legislative Office spends a considerable portion of each workday in meetings with FRA, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration and Federal Aviation Administration safety officials; the NTSB; other labor organizations, academics, and key congressional staff discussing and pushing for improved workplace safety improvements.

Our state legislative directors similarly are involved, on a daily basis, in investigating member concerns and working with state officials and lawmakers on workplace safety issues. These efforts include gaining state regulations requiring safer walkways alongside yard tracks, improved sanitation and crew facilities, and protecting bus operators from unruly passengers.

Within hours of Brother Lundy’s fatal accident, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy called on “all railroad management teams voluntarily to clear our walkways of snow and ice, to rebuild and maintain the walkways at yard, industry, and mainline alike, and help us advance safety and service in this industry.”

Finally, our Designated Legal Counsel are an essential component of our workplace safety efforts. These attorneys are uniquely qualified in bringing civil actions against railroads under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), which is one of the best friends railroaders have in pressuring railroads to improve workplace safety.

Please visit the various safety-related pages on the UTU Web site to keep informed and stay up to date on best practices designed to bring you home safely to your family.

And when you do spot a workplace safety problem, immediately inform the carrier, and also inform your local legislative representative and your state legislative director at your earliest opportunity, providing as many facts as you are able regarding location and the nature of the safety problem.

I pledge to each of you that workplace safety will remain the UTU’s single highest priority.

The 24 days between Dec. 22 and Jan. 14 have proven the most deadly for railroad workers. More fatalities and career-ending injuries occur during this calendar period than any other.

With the holiday season upon us, we owe it to ourselves and our families to keep the season joyous and free from needless sorrow. Safety is a gift we keep giving our families.

Returning home to our families in one piece requires more than simply saying, “Be careful out there.”

Since 1998, the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) working group — comprised of representatives from labor, management and the FRA — has devoted itself to bringing railroaders home to their families in one piece.

SOFA’s five lifesaving tips can save yours, as they have saved countless other railroaders from death and career-ending injuries:

  1. Secure all equipment before action is taken.
  2. Protect employees against moving equipment.
  3. Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes.
  4. Communicate before action is taken.
  5. Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely.

The SOFA working group also warns of special switching hazards:

  • Close clearances
  • Shoving movements
  • Unsecured cars
  • Free rolling rail cars
  • Exposure to mainline trains
  • Tripping, slipping or falling
  • Unexpected movement of cars
  • Adverse environmental conditions
  • Equipment defects
  • Motor vehicles or loading devices
  • Drugs and alcohol

UTU members participating in the SOFA working group are Louisiana State Legislative Director Gary Devall, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy and Kansas Assistant State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo.

In the 17 years since 1992, only four have been fatality free, and almost 12 percent of all on-duty employee fatalities have occurred during the 24 days between Dec. 22 and Jan. 14.

Staying vigilant and heightening your situational awareness — by following the SOFA working groups life-saving tips, by being aware of special switching hazards, and by encouraging increased communication among crew members, limiting task overload and focusing on the task at hand — is the most effective way to return home to your families in one piece.

And remember: almost as many injuries and deaths involve employees with many years of seniority as new hires.

Let’s not permit ourselves to drift into mental vacations. As the SOFA working group says, warnings “can be viewed as numbers on a page, but the loss of a railroad employee is real, and brings sadness to their family, co-employees and friends.”

The UTU Rail Safety Task Force extends a happy holiday greeting to all members and their families.

For more information on the UTU Rail Safety Task Force, and to communicate with the task force, click below:

http://utu.org/utu-rail-safety-task-force/

In solidarity,

UTU Rail Safety Task Force

Greg Hynes, UTU Arizona state legislative director

Steve Evans, UTU Arkansas state legislative director

Jerry Gibson, UTU Michigan state legislative director