Transport Committee on June 11th, 2015

[Brigitte Diogo]

The data system, or RSIG, is a mandatory tool for all inspectors across the country to first identify the risk areas that the inspection and audit will focus on. At the beginning of the planning year, all the data is entered into the system. There is tracking in terms of what mitigation has been put in place, either by the company or in response to an enforcement action by the department.

We track in the system whether the response by the railway company is sufficient and whether additional action is required. Then we close the system in terms of all action in risk areas having been addressed. There are two components to what we track in the system. They are the compliance-to-rules regulations and the safety concerns or safety risks that have been identified through either inspection or audit.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

So when inspection turns up a violation, it's logged in there, as well as what action was required of the railway to comply, what the railway company itself then did or didn't do, and also, if it didn't do something, what further enforcement action could be taken, for example. You literally track it from the inspection through to correction or the additional compliance to force a correction. All of those items are taken into account.

[Brigitte Diogo]

Yes.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Very good.

On recommendation 7.42, which deals with risk-based planning for oversight activities, you've indicated already that you've reviewed your planning methodology and have identified the key performance indicators and approaches. That was in January 2014.

You've now finalized the industry performance data that's required. The transportation information regulations that we talked about are complete. You have a tracking system as well, and now the information is also being used to.... You're at the point now where you're compiling, based on the regulations—or you should be receiving information in the fall of this year, I believe, or you're at the stage of receiving information from federal railway companies—that additional information through the transportation information regulations. Is that correct?

[Brigitte Diogo]

As of January.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Okay. I presume additional analyses will be done of that information and incorporated into your systems, which will help you plan subsequent inspection activities and oversight activities. Is that correct?

[Brigitte Diogo]

That's correct.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

On recommendation 7.58 about the improved inspector tools and identification and following up on deficiencies, we've already talked about the new rail safety integrated gateway system that's allowing you to track from start to finish, until issues are resolved.

In terms of your new planning and oversight methodology, have you been able to now make consistent the types of information across all of the regions in regard to what information they have to consider in their risk-based planning activities? I think the Auditor General had suggested that it was uneven. Has that now been addressed by Transport Canada?

[Brigitte Diogo]

Yes, that has been completely addressed by Transport Canada.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

So there is a comprehensive and common number of mandatory items that they must consider at one time?

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Hoang Mai]

Thank you.

[Brigitte Diogo]

Yes.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Hoang Mai]

Thank you very much, Mr. Watson.

Mr. Komarnicki, go ahead for for seven minutes.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

I'm just wondering a little bit about the railway safety management system regulations with regard to the various recommendations to improve the implementation and the effectiveness of railway safety management systems.

Do you have sort of a core baseline of what you want to see in a safety management system? Do you have a core set of circumstances you expect to see in the implementation? Can you maybe tell us about those and about what those objective standards might be in each of those cases? Can you give me a summary?

[Laureen Kinney]

Just to introduce that, perhaps I can give you a summary and Ms. Diogo could speak in more detail.

Fundamentally the regulations were designed to lay out a very much more prescriptive set of regulations than was previously the case. There are various categories of issues that must be addressed by each company, and there are also requirements in the regulations so that they can be enforced, such as the specific types of evidence that they have to provide on each of those categories.

Ms. Diogo can speak to the categories, but they are very thoroughly laid out in the regulations.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

With regard to how you want to see it implemented, do you have that set out as well?

[Brigitte Diogo]

Yes. The new regulations came into force on April 1 and laid out in much more detail the requirements of a safety management system, including the elements that class 1 federal railways need to comply with. They include things like accountability. As was mentioned earlier, for the first time the railway company is required to identify an accountable executive responsible for anything related to safety management systems who the department could communicate with. Companies are required to have a safety policy in place and to demonstrate to Transport Canada that the policy has been developed and has been communicated to employees. As well, they have to ensure that mechanisms, processes, and procedures are in place to ensure compliance with rules, regulations, and the Railway Safety Act.

They are required to analyze what is happening in their company with regard to occurrences, so for any elements related to the slowing of trains, they have to look at the reasons some of the steps were taken. They need to do an analysis and demonstrate that they are managing those types of railway occurrences

They are also required to do risk assessments. Every time the railway company makes changes to its operations, it is required to conduct a risk assessment and, upon the request of the department, it is required to submit that risk assessment to the department.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

You might carry on. I suppose when you send inspectors in, you have them trained to look for each of these with regard to whether they are there and whether they are being processed or complied with.

You might answer that and finish up what you were going to say.

[Brigitte Diogo]

During the inspection we have to see whether those elements are present, whether they are communicated to staff, whether they are implemented, and whether they are effective. The new regulations now require the department to do an assessment of the effectiveness of the SMS regime, which will be done through the audit that we'll conduct.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Okay. I don't have that much time and I'm trying to squeeze a lot in. You also want to see if there is a process specifically to encourage employees to report to the railway, without fear of reprisal, a safety hazard, or a contravention. What are you specifically looking at in that process? Have there been any examples of reports being made because of that or previously, and how do you ensure that is happening?

[Brigitte Diogo]

This will be done by the company providing us with information about what this process is and how they have implicated their employees and their unions in the development of this process. There are mechanisms in place now, especially through the Transportation Safety Board, for employees to raise safety concerns with the department.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

You have to ensure that the employees buy into this, and so does management. Have you had any indication that this has been working, or is it too early yet for that to be the case?

[Laureen Kinney]

I think in terms of that formal process, it's too early, because that's just being implemented now. But we can say that there have been reports made by employees to Transport Canada of issues that they wish to have pursued. Those reports have been made. We pursue them and follow them up. That's been quite effective.

We're quite confident that the new processes will be effective, but that will be something to be determined.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

You've set up this objective safety management system that should address the many objectives you've discussed, and there should be a process to involve the employees. I gather, then, you have in your regulation an audit on both your inspectors and the railway company to be sure that when you've gone through an inspection, it actually accomplishes what it set out to do. Maybe you can talk about that.

[Laureen Kinney]

Maybe I'll just jump in here.

I think there are two processes you're speaking about. One is that in the safety management system itself, we do audits of that process to make sure that's working. We do inspections of the actual other regulated activities of the railway company. We follow up in the SMS process as well that the companies are doing their own supervision role, if you will, in ensuring that their employees follow the rules.

In our additional area of work, we do quality assurance reviews on our own inspectors' work, which I think is what you were getting at, in terms of making sure that our inspectors are properly following the procedures for inspection.