The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), SMART United Transportation Union-Local 61 (SMART-UTU) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have signed an Implementing Memorandum of Understanding (IMOU) for FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS).
C3RS allows railroad conductors and engineers to anonymously report near misses and unsafe conditions without fear of repercussion. A safety problem or close call can be submitted online or through U.S. mail to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), who acts as an independent third party federal agency.
“Building a strong safety culture is a key organizational goal for SEPTA. We are always exploring ways to expand and enhance our programs,” said Jeffrey Knueppel, SEPTA’s general manager. “As a C3RS site, we will be made aware of situations that we might not have been previously alerted to so that we can take action to prevent accidents and protect our employees and passengers.”
“C3RS, along with PTC [Positive Train Control] implementation, which is nearly complete on SEPTA territory, will greatly improve the safety of our system,” Knueppel added.
NASA, who gathers and analyzes all data for C3RS, removes employees' names and contact information, which are required for the NASA portion of the investigation, and returns the reports to a peer review team comprised of SEPTA managers, the unions and FRA for review and action.
“We are looking for conditions or close calls other than accidents or injuries that might not otherwise be reported to the FRA,” remarked SEPTA Assistant General Manager of System Safety Scott Sauer. “We are asking employees to report events that we might not otherwise know about, the warning signs and precursors that could lead to major safety risks and accidents.”
Sauer continued, “Previously, employees may have been hesitant to report a close call, fearing disciplinary action for themselves or colleagues. When NASA returns the report to the peer review team, it is completely scrubbed of any employee information. We never know who submitted the information to NASA.”
SEPTA joins Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Metra (Chicago), MBTA/Keolis (Boston), Long Island Railroad, Metro North and Strasburg Railroad (Strasburg, Pa.) as carriers with C3RS IMOUs.