Transcript 12-05-08 Onsite Review Summary

FTA Transit Bus Safety & Security
Voluntary Onsite Reviews
Program Overview
February 3, 2009
BoydCaton&Grant
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Onsite Review Background
 Core initiative of the FTA Transit Bus Safety and Security
Program
 Completely voluntary, not compliance-based
 Create a national framework and baseline for safety, security
and emergency preparedness excellence
 Initial focus is on 5311 and small 5307 properties
 Emphasize technical assistance and coordination with industry
stakeholders
 State DOTs and FTA Regional offices are invited to participate
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Purpose
 Assist participating agencies in developing and
integrating safety, security and emergency preparedness
activities into all facets of system management and
operations
 Identify areas in which FTA can provide technical
assistance
 Document effective practices that can be shared with
sister agencies
 Identify gaps in assistance that must be developed by
FTA to support Program goals
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Onsite Review Process
 Identify volunteer and coordinate with stakeholders to develop
schedule
 Provider
 State DOT
 FTA Regional Office
 Notification package sent to volunteer agency
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Notification Letter
Preliminary Schedule
Review Topics
Document Request
 1½ day review, including interviews, record reviews site tour
 Checklists used to assure consistency
 Review team develops Final Report & Resource CD
 Effective Practices, Observations, Needs & Gaps, Suggestions
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Onsite Review Categories
 Review team evaluates six major categories:
1. Management
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Mission, Organizational Structure, Procurement, Labor
2. Equipment/Systems
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Regulations, Maintenance, Facilities, Modifications, Quality
3. Human Resources
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Policy, Procedures, Recruitment, Training, Evaluation
4. Safety Activities
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Responsibilities, Hazard Mgt., Safety Data, Internal Audits
5. Security Activities
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Responsibilities, TVA, Awareness, Security Data
6. All-Hazards Management
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Preparation, Incident Mgt., Internal Incidents, Recovery, Drills
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The Final Report
 Written report delivered following conclusion of onsite
review – typically within two weeks
 Documents observations made by the review team
 Identifies suggestions and recommendations as to how
the reviewed agency might more effectively meet its
safety and security mission
 Documents technical assistance materials delivered to
by FTA to the reviewed agency
 Includes an accompanying CD-ROM of assistance
materials
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Agencies Reviewed
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Reno County Public Transportation Department - Hutchinson, KS
JAUNT, Inc. - Charlottesville, VA
Pender Adult Services, Inc. - Burgaw, NC
Santa Fe Trails - Santa Fe, NM
Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) - Rochester, NY
Special Transit - Boulder, CO
Capital Area Rural Transportation System - Austin, TX
City of Columbus, Columbus Transit Department - Columbus, IN
Altoona Metro Transit - Altoona, PA
Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority - Bridgeport, CT
Delmarva Community Services, Inc., Delmarva Community Transit - Cambridge, MD
Rural Office of Community Services - Lake Andes, SD
The City of Mitchell/Palace Transit - Mitchell, SD
Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority d.b.a. Coast RTA - Conway, SC
St. Joseph Transit - St. Joseph, MO
Fresno County Rural Transit Agency - Fresno, CA
Bend Area Transit - Bend, OR
Bluefield Area Transit - Blue Field, WV
Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation - Dover, NH
Coast Transit Authority - Gulfport, MS
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Onsite Review Map
Region 5
Chicago, IL
Region 8
Denver, CO
Region 10
Seattle, WA
Region 1
Cambridge, MA
Region 7
Kansas City, MO
Region 2
New York, NY
Region 3
Philadelphia, PA
Region 9
San Francisco, CA
Region 4
Atlanta, GA
Onsite Review Volunteer Agency
Region 6
Fort Worth, TX
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Program Diversity
 Not a “One Size Fits All” program, must recognize
diversity in community
 Varied Participants
 Geographic diversity/climate and environment
 Ridership and service demands
 Agency and fleet size/type
 Volunteer agencies have had as few as 9 and up to 213
vehicles in service
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Volunteer Agency Fleet Size
Fleet Size
Less than 30 vehicles
Between 30 and 100 vehicles
Over 100 vehicles
Volunteer
Agencies
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Recommendations
 Average of 56 recommendations made to a volunteer
agency
 The FTA Review Team has made as few as 41 and as
many as 89 recommendations
 All recommendations are made in one of the six program
elements:
Management
Equipment/System
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Human Resources
Safety Activities
Security Activities
All-Hazards/
Emergency Mgt.
Recommendations by Program
Element
Program Element
Average Number of
Recommendations
Average Number of
Technical Assistance
Materials Provided
Human Resources
13.3
2.47
Equipment Systems
11.7
2.75
All Hazards /
Emergency
Management
11.7
8.40
Security Activities
9.6
2.05
Management
4.8
3.50
Safety Activities
4.6
2.53
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Most Commonly Provided
Technical Assistance Materials
 Los Lunas, NM Oxygen Tank Policy document (16)
 New Mexico Driver Handbook (11)
 Release of Sensitive Information (10)
 Reacting to Bomb Threats and Suspicious Mail (9)
 The New Mexico Safety, Security, and Emergency
Preparedness Plan template (6)
 Complaint Commendation Card (5)
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Observations and
Recommendations
 Onsite review team identifies areas in program
documentation and implementation that could be
strengthened
 Observations of practice are documented and show both
strengths and weaknesses
 Effective practices are called out and materials
requested
 Recommendations are made and technical assistance
materials are provided via CD-ROM with Final Report
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Common Recommendations for
Management
 Create, maintain, and or update System Safety Security
and Emergency preparedness plans (10 recommendations)
 The FTA review team provides safety and security plan
templates as well as plans from different agencies (with
approval) to assist in this activity
 Consider developing specific goals and objectives that
focus on safety and security concerns
(11 recommendations)
 Determine as soon as possible the status of insurance
coverage on any vehicles that might be used for emergency
community evacuation purposes (14 recommendations)
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Common Recommendations
Equipment / Systems
 Consider a decal for all vehicle roofs with a number at
least one foot high and provide vehicle numbers to local
law enforcement for use in identifying vehicles from the air
(19 recommendations)
 Consider a formal policy for onboard use and storage of
passenger oxygen tanks (18 recommendations)
 The FTA review team provided a model policy
 Develop a hazardous material plan and employee training
program, maintain MSDS sheets on hazardous materials,
and formalize hazardous material disposal procedures
(13 recommendations)
 The FTA review team is providing a model of a hazardous
materials plan
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Common Recommendations for
Human Resources
 Consider providing bio-hazard refresher training to all bus
operators, dispatchers, supervisors and maintenance staff,
including bus cleaners (12 recommendations)
 Utilize the National Transit Institute (NTI) resources to
assist in the delivery of workplace violence training
(10 recommendations)
 Information on training offered by NTI is provided at
www.ntionline.com
 Consider developing a formal and written Customer Service
Policy and make available to all passengers
(8 recommendations)
 The FTA review team provides a bi-lingual model customer
service policy
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Common Recommendations for
Safety Activities
 Consider expanding protocols for reacting to emergency
events, training all staff on those protocols, and providing
protocols at the dispatch area to assist with immediate
response in a safety related event (9 recommendations)
 The FTA review team is providing a set of emergency response
protocols to assist in this activity
 Consider a mechanism to proactively solicit feedback from
drivers on accident/incident “near misses” and use this
information to document trends as they may occur. This
data can then be used to design training initiatives and
propose future service design changes
(6 recommendations)
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Common Recommendations for
Security Activities
 Consider conducting a Threat and Vulnerability Assessment.
Solicit external emergency management assistance with
this process (15 recommendations)
 The FTA review team provides materials such as information
from the SSEPP template
 Encourage drivers to report and document incidents of an
aggressive or potentially threatening nature that did not
result in an actual security event. This information will
allow some level of trend analysis (10 recommendations)
 Consider requiring employees to display photo
identification badges at all times while on duty (7
recommendations)
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Common Recommendations for
All-Hazards / Emergency Mgt.
 Consider developing a comprehensive Safety, Security and
Emergency Preparedness Plan (SSEPP)
(13 recommendations)
 The FTA review team provides templates of plans
 Consider having the Executive Director, Supervisor of
Operations, Maintenance Manager, and Office Manager
become NIMS certified in IS-100, IS-700, and IS-800.
(13 recommendations)
 Information for obtaining this certification online can be
found at www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/
 Pursue a working relationship with emergency
management, law enforcement and fire first responders
(10 recommendations)
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Onsite Review Evaluations
 Capture feedback regarding review effectiveness
 Internet based survey tool
 Team follows-up with review representatives to urge
evaluation completion
 Review representatives complete online evaluation
 Data is collected and analyzed
Agencies who have completed the
online evaluation
JAUNT, Inc.
Rural Office of Community Services
Reno County Public Transportation Dept.
St. Joseph Transit
Pender Adult Services, Inc
Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority
Santa Fe Trails
Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority
d.b.a. Coast RTA
Altoona Metro Transit
The City of Mitchell/Palace Transit
Capital Area Rural Transportation System
Fresno County Rural Transit Agency
Special Transit
Delmarva Community Transit
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Average Rating
Evaluation Question
Rating out of 4
The On-site Review process was adequately explained prior to the reviewer's arrival.
3.57
During the initial meeting, the reviewer described the mission, goals and process of the
safety and security review including how identified transit agency best practices would
be used and how technical assistance would be provided.
3.93
Sufficient time was allotted for completing the on-site review of your transit agency.
3.57
The reviewer was knowledgeable of bus transit safety, security and emergency
preparedness issues.
4.00
The reviewer provided your transit agency with recommendations, technical
assistance, and industry best practices as was appropriate.
3.86
The review process was flexible and accommodated your agency's operational needs.
3.79
Prior to the end of the on-site visit, the reviewer verbally provided an overview of
review observations.
3.71
My agency would recommend an FTA Bus Safety and Security Program Voluntary On-site
Review to other transit agencies.
3.86
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Comments From the Agencies
We really appreciated the valuable review of our transit
operations with regard to safety and security. It gave us
many areas to examine and some valuable information
for use in improving safety in our system.
-Lynn Kiker, Reno County Public Transportation Dept.-
Ream Lazaro and Jason Sergent both proved to be
knowledgeable and articulate in conducting the FTA site
visit at our transit system. They provided an
understandable overview of how we could improve safety
and security in our operation of public transportation. The
site visit was completed with Ream Lazaro conducting a
course in "Securing Community Mobility" for seventeen
enthusiastic attendees. We would reccommend Ream
Lazaro to anyone wishing to learn how to improve safety
and reduce their security risks.
-Rene Guajardo - AGM, Safety & Security, Capital Area Rural
Transportation System-
We all found this visit very helpful to
us. We probably could have done a
better job of putting together the
information needed.
-Judy Cromer, Transportation Director,
Pender Adult Services, Inc.-
The survey process was very helpful and
allowed a beneficial dialog within our
organization among our transportation
staff. The reviewer created a positive
learning atmosphere that allowed our staff
the opportunity to view this process in a
non threatening manner. We appreciate
the reviewers' professionalism.
-Steve Blacksher, Director of Customer and
Community Services, Special Transit-
Comments From the Agencies
(contd.)
I appreciate the opportunity to take part in this
Onsite Review Initiative. I also appreciate the
technical assistance provided.
-Santo A. Grande, Pres./CEO , Delmarva Community
Services, Inc., Delmarva Community Transit-
Great asset, I would highly recommend to
all size transit agencies. Provided many
hands on suggestions, which GBTA will be
implementing.
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Ream was outstanding in his knowledge of
security and of the limitations and issues that
affect a small transit agency. He provided a
very meaningful and realistic benefit that is of
great value to the transit system in St.
Joseph.
-Andrew Clements, Asst. Director, St. Joseph
Transit-
-Roberta Yegidis - Administrative Officer,
Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority-
Ream did an excellent job, his technical
assistance with follow-up materials were
priceless for a small rural transit operator. It
turned out to be an excellent use of our time. I
would recommend to to every other transit
agency. Thank you for choosing us!
-Jeffrey D. Webster, General Manager, Fresno
County Rural Transit Agency-
It was a wonderful experience for transit staff
and the City of Mitchell staff. Ream did an
outstanding job and we will utilize his expertise
as we need him. Thank you for allowing us to do
this. We really didn't know what to expect but
the unknown was met.
-Brenda Paradis, Senior Services Director, The City of
Mitchell/Palace Transit -