Overview
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) created a program team, internally known as the Transformation Team, to implement changes on a two-year schedule to increase safety and efficiency in operations. Benefits included new approaches for recruiting top talent, a new Conduct Review Process that provides transparency and fairness, a new standard operating procedure (SOP) and workbooks for training, and WMATA’s first Safety Management System (SMS) to identify and mitigate risk internally and proactively.
In this case study you will learn:
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How the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) realized the need for updating of the Rail Operating Control Center (ROCC) operating and safety procedures.
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How WMATA revamped their staffing plan including recruitment and retention and provided a culture of collaborative and transparent Conduct Review Processes.
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How WMATA instituted A comprehensive Safety Management System across all levels of the ROCC and wrote a new operating model, including restructuring operational leadership roles and overhauling key processes for incident management to make a safer, more efficient workplace.
Background
Like many aging transit infrastructure systems across large metropolitan service areas, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has been challenged to meet the evolving demands of its Metrorail users. WMATA’s aging technological systems and non-standardized operational procedures, in combination with a dynamic Metrorail workforce, manifested themselves through subpar system reliability, safety and service that required attention. Prior to the pandemic, WMATA served over 600,000 rail users per day. It is critical that WMATA provide safe and reliable service such that no demographic is disproportionately impacted by network disruptions.
In May 2020 and August 2020, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an independent agency that oversees WMATA’s rail system, released findings that showed the Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) did not have an effective safety culture. Findings included specifics on a lack of safety culture and emergency communications failures. In response to this audit, several Corrective Action Plans were created and a turnaround program team, internally known as the Transformation Team, was formed to implement changes on a two-year schedule.
TSMO Planning, Strategies and Deployment
The program began by executing an objective organizational assessment to identify key areas of improvement. Fundamental to this assessment was identifying key outcomes of the program centered on its newly created Mission, Vision, and Values centering on safety. Some of the key improvement areas identified were:
• Revamped staffing plan including recruitment and retention
• A collaborative and transparent Conduct Review Process
• A comprehensive Safety Management System across all levels of the ROCC
• A new operating model, including restructuring operational leadership roles and overhauling key processes for incident management
Staffing in the ROCC was difficult to manage and hard to maintain a pipeline of controllers and managers. A new staffing plan made it clear how many positions were needed to operate the ROCC at a safe level and provided guidance for recruitment and retention. The Office of Talent Acquisition partnered with the ROCC to create approaches for recruiting top talent, including updating job descriptions to improve the quality of candidates. Retention initiatives included starting one-on-meetings between managers and direct reports, strengthening performance management, formalizing recognition, and developing career pathways.
To create an environment based in Just Culture principles, the ROCC created a new Conduct Review Process that provides transparency and fairness for all ROCC staff and reflects the ROCC’s commitment to placing people at the center of what we do. At the center of this project was writing a standard operating procedure (SOP) and workbooks. Now that this project is implemented, all discipline processes are conducted in the same way by using a consistent, proven, and objective framework for assessing misconduct. Managers are trained on the process and are provided tools, and the People program manager facilitates the Conduct Review Process when a manager identifies misconduct.
The ROCC launched WMATA’s first Safety Management System (SMS) to identify and mitigate risk internally and proactively. This process was created in collaboration with WMATA’s Department of Safety & Environmental Management (SAFE). Best practices from other transportation groups were used to design a system that worked for the ROCC context. After it was designed, every ROCC staff member, including administrative staff, were trained on the process and its importance. ROCC staff members submit risks and the SMS program manager makes sure the risks are assessed, mitigated, and evaluated. This gives security that when people speak up about concerns, they are addressed.
The new operating model achieves WMATA’s goals by clearly defining operational responsibilities for managers to improve how the ROCC responds to incidents. For each shift, there is only one individual assigned to each operational role (RAIL 1, RAIL 2, and RAIL 3, Maintenance Lead, and Information Lead). SOPs for incident management were written outlining the roles and processes for responding to incidents. Starting in May 2021, the ROCC filled 30 new operational leadership positions to help lead the ROCC towards its vision of becoming a world class control center.
Communications Planning and Execution
Making these changes would have been difficult at any time – the pandemic exacerbated the difficulty most notably in the methods for communicating. At the beginning of the effort, shifts switched between two locations frequently, making it hard to meet with operational staff. The team relied on strong email campaigns and online meetings to begin this work and slowly started to meet operational staff in person in the fall of 2020. Meeting cadences were set to work with Operations Managers to relay key information, and paper notices were the crux of communicating details to operational staff.
Communicating within the agency and externally included monthly newsletters on key projects and successes and internal meetings with executive leadership on project statuses.
Outcome, Benefit and Learnings
The changes the team analyzed, recommended, and implemented help effect positive changes within WMATA’s ROCC to bring operations into a future-ready state, while also ensuring Metro remained a safe and reliable mode of transportation for the Washington metro region’s daily commuters. Outcomes included:
• Stronger recruitment pipeline with projections to hit staffing targets in February 2022
• A culture of transparency and fairness related to misconduct
• Dozens of risks identified and mitigated proactively
• Improved incident response and clarity around chain of command
Through the development and implementation of these initiatives, operating staff have been empowered to speak up about desired changes and their needs as essential Metro personnel. This has created a culture that encourages others to speak up and collaborate on solving problems together.