Locomotive Engineers
International President
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44113-l 702
TELEPHONE: (216) 241-2630
FAX (216) 241-6516
E-Mail: hahs@ble.org
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
| Dennis R. Pierce |
GENERAL COMMITTEE OF ADJUSTMENT |
VICE
CHAIRMEN |
|
| General Chairman |
801 CHERRY ST., SUITE 1010 Unit 8 |
J.H. NELSON SECRETARY-TREASURER GALESBURG, IL 61401 |
| ALL LOCAL CHAIRMEN | August 7, 2002 |
| BNSF NORTHLINES AND MRL | File: Safety Initiatives PLEASE POST |
Dear Sir and Brother:
Attached please find copy of a letter dated July 2, 2002, from BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Carl Ice concerning safety initiatives on the BNSF property. These initiatives follow several accidents and incidents on this property in recent months and detail some of the steps being taken by BNSF to address these unfortunate events. Also included in this mailing is a copy of a letter from BLE International President Don Hahs, commenting on FRA's notice of its intentions to increase efficiency testing to prevent train collisions in which human performance is a primary contributing factor. This increase in testing will coincide with BNSF's initiatives in the same regard. Please post these documents for your memberships' review as it is crucial that they are aware of this information.
As we have previously stated, it is imperative that all employees make every effort to be fully focused on their job whenever they report for duty. This focus must include compliance with all pertinent operating rules, night and day. In the upcoming months there will be increased testing for compliance with these operating rules and it is of necessity that the test results show 100% compliance. Compliance with these core operating rules is not only the standard measurement of safe railroading, it is also the foundation of safe railroading. If we are to insure that we all go home from work to our families in the same condition as we left them, then we must insure that we work fully focused on our responsibilities. Please contact the Office if you have any questions.
Fraternally,
Dennis R. Pierce
General Chairman
cc: BLE General Chairmen
BLE Safety Coordinators, BNSF
|
BNSF Carl R. Ice |
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company |
|
2600 Lou Menk Drive Fort Worth, TX 76161 Phone 817 352-1400 Fax 817 352-7488 |
July 2, 2002
To All BNSF General Chairmen (See attached distribution list)
Gentlemen:
Given your strong interest in safety at BNSF and the tragic losses and impact on our community in significant incidents over the last several weeks, I want to update you on some new steps BNSF is taking to address the conditions that led to those incidents.
As you are aware, we have been focused on safety improvement and have been making progress. Most of our follow-up actions are built around the initiatives that have successfully reduced employee injuries on BNSF so far this year (as of May 31, 318 injures this year to date, compared with 412 through the first five months of last year). A cornerstone of our efforts has been the participation of labor leaders, safety coordinators and safety assistants.
However, recent events have us deeply concerned and we must ensure that we halt any possibility of a developing trend. We are implementing a communication plan based on individual contact with our train, yard and engine employees. It began with my personal communication with operations leaders and is followed by communications from our local leaders. We expect at least 80% of our front line employees will have face-to-face contact from our leaders that emphasizes the need for constant vigilance and compliance with safety and operating rules.
In order to support our clear expectation for safe practices, vigilance and compliance, we are re-emphasizing a number of our rules in mountain grade and dark territories. We will increase operations testing, with extra focus on factors we believe led to the recent incidents. In particular, our general managers will evaluate each of their areas to identify and address any territories that are below expectations. We are also working with the FRA to evaluate our testing and increase its level in the short term. Finally, we are evaluating an independent assessment of our overall safety program. We appreciate your support in the safety process and, of course, look forward to local safety coordinators' involvement in our communication efforts. We are confident their participation will be very beneficial for all.
From a dispatching perspective, we have issued instructions to limit the use of Box 7 ("following arrival of") on track warrants, and to issue warrants with Box 7 checked only to trains that are stopped. In the longer term, we will assess non-signaled territory to determine whether the addition of signals will improve safety. We will install signalized islands of CTC on six sidings between Estelline (M.P. 237) and Amarillo (M.P. 335), TX. This work will be completed by year's end.
As previously mentioned, we believe we have made improvements that can be built upon. Based on our experience so far this year, we believe that personal contact, an emphasis on safe production, and high safety expectations are making BNSF a safer place to work. We will not minimize the significance of recent incidents, but we do believe that our present actions will ensure they do not represent a trend.
Your experience with BNSF and our safety programs has, I hope, provided evidence of our commitment to safety. I, along with Craig, Greg, John, and Dave, continue to value your interest in and support of our safety programs, especially during this trying time for the BNSF community.
Sincerely,
Carl R. Ice
EVP & COO
Attachment
|
|
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers |
|
DON M. HAHS International President
|
1370 ONTARIO STREET CLEVELAND, OHIO 44113-l 702 TELEPHONE: (216) 241-2630 FAX (216) 241-6516 E-Mail: hahs@ble.org |
July 9, 2002
Mr. Allan Rutter
Administrator - FRA
1120 Vermont Ave., NW.
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Mr. Rutter:
This will acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 28, 2002, in which you
provided notification that the Federal Railroad Administration is conducting a
nationwide safety initiative to prevent train collisions in which human
performance is a primary contributing factor. You advised that this initiative
will be conducted over the next several months and will include enhanced
inspections and program reviews of railroad efficiency testing to insure that
safety programs are effectively sharpening the skills and awareness of train
crews. You requested the support of the BLE in connection with this safety
initiative.
The BLE has always supported efforts to improve safety in the railroad industry. We also have supported efficiency testing as long as it is conducted fairly and for the purpose of improving safety, rather than disciplining employees, We will support this safety initiative as long as the FRA will do all within its power to assure that the increased testing is conducted fairly and has the goal of increasing safety rather than disciplining employees.
By copy of this letter to all BLE general chairmen and state legislative board chairmen in the U.S., I am providing them with a copy of your letter and requesting that they make this information immediately available to the members under the jurisdiction of their respective offices.
Thanking you for providing me with this important notification, I remain
Very truly yours,
D. M. Hahs
President
cc & enc. Advisory Board
All U.S. General Chairmen
All State Legislative Board Chairmen
AFFILIATED WITH A.F.L.-C.I.O. AND C.L.C.
| U.S. Department of Transportation |
Administrator | 1120 Vermont Ave NW. Washington DC 20590 |
| Federal
Railroad Administration |
Mr. Don M. Hahs
International President 2002
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
1370 Ontario Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1702
Dear Mr. Hahs:
The purpose of this letter is to call your attention to a nationwide Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety initiative to prevent train collisions, especially train collisions in which human performance is a primary contributing factor.
During the past two months, the rail industry has experienced eight serious train collisions. Four of these incidents, involving passenger trains collisions on separate railroads, resulted in two fatalities and 258 injuries. The other four accidents exclusively involved freight trains on three railroads that resulted in one fatality and 21 injuries.
These collisions appear to be randomly distributed throughout the industry, and there were varying circumstances surrounding each event. However, one common theme in each of these accidents is that human performance appears to have been a primary causal factor. More specifically, these incidents involved trains running past stop signals or failing to comply with restricted speed requirements.
One of the railroad industry's greatest safety success stories during the past year has been the large decline in human factor caused train accidents. Human factor train accidents dropped more than twelve and a half percent in 2001 and have declined an additional seven percent in the first three months of 2002. While these statistics are encouraging, we all know that there is more to railroad safety than numbers and trend lines. Each train accident provides an opportunity to pause and re-examine our safety practices and policies to ensure that we are taking every reasonable precaution to prevent future problems.
With that thought in mind, the FRA has begun a focused effort to examine railroad efficiency testing programs. These federally mandated safety programs require railroad officers to test and observe the train crews during actual train operations to ensure that all relevant safety rules and operating procedures are being properly observed and obeyed. As you know, FRA routinely monitors efficiency testing in the railroad industry. However, we believe it is important to take a closer look at how these programs are being implemented on a system wide basis on our Nation's freight and passenger railroads. Therefore, during the next several months, FRA will conduct enhanced inspections and program reviews of railroad efficiency testing programs to ensure that railroad safety programs are effectively sharpening the skills and awareness of train crews.
As part of this focused efficiency testing initiative, FRA and State safety inspectors and safety personnel will be working with railroad officers to examine efficiency testing procedures, techniques and results. Sound efficiency testing programs--supported by an adequate number of well trained railroad officers and conducted randomly across all railroad shifts and under all types of operating conditions--ensure that the widest number of train crews are observed and tested for compliance with safe train handling procedures. Furthermore, we have directed FRA's Safety Assurance and Compliance Program personnel to reach out to railroad employees, labor representatives and front line railroad supervisors to enhance grassroots support and awareness of efficiency testing programs.
We do this as a proactive safety initiative to ensure that the recent series of train collisions do not become a trend. Deputy Administrator Betty Monro and I are asking that you and your organization actively support FRA in this most important safety initiative. Help us ensure that railroad efficiency testing is effectively focused on preventing train accidents and maximizing railroad safety. You can do this by encouraging your co-workers to pay attention to the fundamentals of safe train handling procedures.
Thank you for your cooperation in this safety endeavor. Working together, we will continue making the U.S. railroad industry one of the safest modes of transportation in the world.
Sincerely,
Allan Rutter
Administrator