The Short Line Safety Institute at 5

By Michael Popke

With the singular objective of improving safety culture at short-line and regional railroads, the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) launched in September 2015. Its first initiative focused on assessing safety practices at 12 roads that transport crude oil. 

Over the ensuing five-and-a-half years, the nonprofit organization — established in partnership with the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, the Federal Railroad Administration and U.S. Congress — continues to find ways to keep railroads and their employees safer. 

“Our greatest accomplishment is that in 2021, the institute’s services are still highly sought-after by the industry,” says Tom Murta, SLSI’s executive director. “We’ve been able to systematically identify what needs to be done to help the industry move forward.”

To that end, SLSI has introduced a series of free programs and services that address safety gaps common at small railroads. Programs include safety culture assessments, hazardous materials training and leadership development training.

Tom Murta, SLSI executive director Credit: SLSI

“Short lines and regionals just might not have the resources to conduct these types of programs,” says Sam Cotton, director of safety culture programs. “A lot of great people put a lot of effort into building [these programs].” 

Approaching 100 completed safety culture assessments

Through the end of 2020, SLSI had completed 93 safety culture assessments, which are at the core of the institute’s mission. Assessments typically take one week and are conducted onsite by a team of independent professionals. Assessments comprise field observations, online employee surveys, onsite employee interviews, and reviews of safety documents. 

After each assessment, railroad management receives an evaluation based on the “Ten Core Elements of a Strong Safety Culture,” as developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation Safety Council. The institute also provides additional resources and tools to address specific issues. All assessments are voluntary, non-punitive and confidential, and the model has been deemed “the most comprehensive or robust approach” for assessing safety culture in the U.S. railroad industry by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. 

SLSI recently created the “Times 2” assessment, which re-evaluates a railroad that already has completed an SLSI assessment and measures progress against goals. In 2020, an analysis of two railroads revealed that over a two-year period, both roads showed improvements in six of the 10 “Core Elements of a Strong Safety Culture” — including clearly defined reporting systems and accountability, open and effective communication across the railroad, and employees feeling personally responsible for safety. 

“In a lot of cases, the railroads tell us, ‘If you hadn’t come out and done this, we wouldn’t have known this was an issue,’” Cotton says. 

Sam Cotton, SLSI director of safety culture programs Credit: SLSI

Some of SLSI’s other key programs and services include the following: 

Hazardous Materials Training. One of the most significant safety-related resource gaps the institute identified involves the handling of hazardous materials. Staffed by SLSI instructors with more than 600 years of combined experience in the safe transportation of hazardous materials, the one-day hazardous materials training program provides instruction, hands-on training and interactive experience-based discussions for participants. It is designed to help railroad employees become conversant in and compliant with the latest regulations regarding the transportation of hazardous materials. It also offers function-specific training and a review of emergency response procedures. 

Rolled out in 2017, the training is a “natural progression” from the safety culture assessments, says John Walsh, SLSI’s director of hazardous materials programs. Railroads had expressed the need for additional hazmat training and drills, and the institute’s programs supplement railroads’ existing hazmat programs, he says.

In late January, SLSI released two analyses of its hazmat training events held over a three-year period. They indicate the program’s effectiveness in transferring crucial safety information from instructor to participant, as measured by pre-training and post-training testing. Additionally, almost 98 percent of participants rate the program positively in feedback surveys. 

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the institute launched its first online hazardous materials training program in November 2020 with five educational videos that provide an overview of hazardous materials regulations.

Transportation Emergency Response Plan (TERP). This year, the institute is rolling out a new Transportation Emergency Response Plan (or TERP) to assist railroads in developing an all-hazard response document for any emergency situation. It will include guidelines detailing how to safely respond to a hazmat incident, computer-aided design maps indicating where emergency vehicles can access the railyard based on road widths and other obstacles, and an internal notification list identifying sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, daycare centers, nursing homes and other facilities with populations particularly susceptible to an incident. 

A pilot program was completed in 2020, and other railroads are interested in developing TERPs, Walsh says. 

Leadership Development Training. SLSI introduced its leadership development program in 2019. Designed to address soft skills in railroad management — with an emphasis on communication, mentoring and coaching — the program is based on findings from dozens of safety culture assessments. The interactive, multi-day program uses a combination of roleplaying, self-assessment and group discussion, and it is suited for both new and experienced managers.

Other accomplishments during SLSI’s first five years include the creation of “safety tips” to boost employee engagement during safety briefings, a best-practices guide, on-demand webinars and a variety of other resources ranging from attendance policies to job briefings templates. 

John Walsh, SLSI director of hazardous materials programsCredit: SLSI

All SLSI programs have continued during the pandemic, either by transitioning to online learning or via in-person training in compliance with federal recommendations and the requirements of individual railroads. But some safety culture assessments previously slated for 2020 were rescheduled. 

Meanwhile, the institute continues to evaluate data from programs and their participants to identify new gaps its can fill with educational, training and research resources. SLSI eventually will create a “Times 3” safety culture assessment to further gauge progress, Murta says. 

“There are many railroads that have taken advantage of every single opportunity we have provided,” he says, noting there are still plenty that haven’t. “The railroads understand the resources that are available, and I often wonder why some of them have a hard time saying yes. If they work with us and take advantage of these resources, I think they’ll be thankful for the opportunities, which are here for the asking.” 

Michael Popke is a Madison, Wisconsin-based freelance writer.