Today, January 26, 2012, is the two year anniversary of the completely avoidable and incredibly tragic accident that killed my former coworkers Jeff Garrard and Sung Oh.  To the best of my knowledge the NTSB _still_ hasn’t released an accident report. Ordinarily it may take the NTSB up to one year after an accident to complete a report, but they were investigating four (4) deadly accidents at Metro simultaneously so my coworkers and I expected that it might take a few months longer than usual — but two years?!

The NTSB report on the June, 2009, accident was released in July of 2010, a full year and a half ago.

At the very least, the widows, family, friends, and coworkers of Jeff and Sung have the right to expect that their deaths will be treated as seriously as any others.  The NTSB report is necessary if we are to learn anything from the accident that killed them.

If the NTSB does not release their report very soon, I would not blame the widows, family, friends, and/or former coworkers of Jeff and Sung if they began to think that there is some sort of collusion between WMATA and the NTSB — some sort of cover-up.  I have no reason to suspect that but how else to explain a two (2) year delay (and counting) between the date of the accident and the issuance of the NTSB report?

Jeff and Sung will not be forgotten by those who knew them and worked with them.  My hope is that WMATA, Local 689, and the transit industry in general will learn from the NTSB report and as a result the lives of others will be saved.

Rest in peace Jeff and Sung.

It is unclear to me why Ansaldo, ARINC, and Alstom share legal responsibility for the wreck.  I imagine that any company with deep pockets that was even remotely connected to the wreck was named in the lawsuits, but all of the publicly available information as well as what I am aware of as someone who was an Automatic Train Control (ATC) tech at the time indicates that Metro was almost entirely at fault.

As horrific as the June 22 wreck was, I’m concerned that it may be overshadowing the multiple other accidents in which only Metro employees were killed.

I’d like to know why the NTSB hasn’t released a report yet regarding the January 26, 2010, accident that killed two of my former Metro coworkers in ATC — Jeff Garrard and Sung Oh.
It is apparently common for NTSB accident reports to not be released for months after an accident, up to a year in some cases, but Mr. Garrard and Mr. Oh were killed over two (2) years ago.
Where is the coverage of the accident that killed them?
They were run over by a “hi-rail” truck that was being operated in reverse. Metro specifies that their hi-rail trucks shall have _no_ backup alarm while on the rails (the alarm is only operational when the truck is off the rails). I have yet to hear an explanation for this. Had Metro instructed the truck equipment mfr to make the alarm operational at all times, Mr. Garrard and Mr. Oh would almost certainly be alive today.
The lack of a backup alarm is only one of several issues that led to their deaths, but it is one of the most concrete and hard to refute.
Will WMATA own up to their gross negligence and liability in that accident as well?  Will the families and/or widows of the deceased Metro employees receive multi-million dollar settlements?  The answer is no.
Many people do not realize that if a worker who is covered by Worker’s Compensation (WC) insurance is killed on the job — even if it is due to gross negligence and/or recklessness on the part of their employer — their family/estate cannot sue the employer! Carrying WC insurance protects employers from lawsuits — all injuries and deaths become essentially ‘no fault’ events. If a worker is injured due to their own carelessness, WC can be beneficial — but if they are killed on the job, their family will likely receive less from WC than a person who breaks their arm on Metro property will receive in a typical lawsuit.
The families or estates of those killed in the June 22, 2009, wreck received millions of dollars, which is as it should be, but the families of Metro employees who are killed (like the train operator in the June 22 wreck, Jeanice McMillan) will be lucky to receive two (2) years worth of WC benefits, which often add up to less than $100k — then they’re on their own.  “Sorry about your dead husband/wife/son/daughter…Buh, bye now!”
Remember — by accepting employment with an employer who carries WC insurance (almost all do) you are forfeiting your right (or your family’s right) to sue if you are injured or killed on the job — even if your employer was clearly at fault.

Let’s hope that Metro admitting liability for the June 22 wreck is an indicator of how they will handle the multiple accidents in which employees were killed.  Basic fairness requires that Metro should pay the same amount regardless of whether the person the Authority killed is a passenger or employee.

I found it interesting that WMATA sees this serious safety issue as a ‘bargaining chip’:

“Metro officials have said they plan to rely on a study released last week by the Tri-State Oversight Committee on worker fatigue as leverage in the upcoming negotiations for the new contract.”

I wonder how that might play out?:

[WMATA to Local 689]: “OK, we’ll let your members work 24 hours straight if they’ll agree to pay 10% more toward their health insurance premiums…”

This is a safety related issue and should not be used as leverage in the contract negotiations.  It is management’s responsibility to do the right thing and follow the advice of the Tri-State Oversight Committee (TOC).  To do otherwise is tantamount to announcing that WMATA will raise the acceptable blood alcohol content (BAC) level if Local 689 will agree to a lower pay increase or some other concession.

The article said, “The report found that some employees occasionally work 16 hours or more in a day, as The Washington Examiner first reported in May.”

Occasionally?!  In Automatic Train Control (ATC) and other departments it is _routine_ for employees to work a double (16 hours straight).  Frequently employees will work two or more doubles in a row.

It goes on to say, “The transit agency now says it is planning to phase in a 14-hour limit by April 2014.”

There is no reason that it must take almost 2 1/2 years for the changes to be made.  That’s ridiculous.  In previous posts I’ve suggested that employees be limited to no more than 12 hours in any 24 hour period, and/or that they be allowed to work 16 hours as long as that’s followed by an 8 hour break _and_ either a regular 8 hour shift or a day off.

8, 12, or 16 hour shifts make the most sense logistically.  They either divide evenly into 24 hours or add up to 24 (8 + 16).  14 hours is an odd amount of time.  I suppose employees could be routinely scheduled for 12 hour OT shifts (either all OT or 8 regular + 4 OT) and then held over up to no more than 14 hours when absolutely necessary.

This should be interesting to watch.  My guess is that neither the union nor WMATA want to cut OT hours.  The union because there are many members who have come to rely upon OT — to pay their bills and/or to boost their ‘High 4′ (to increase their pension benefit).  WMATA because it is cheaper to pay OT than to hire additional employees.  I doubt either side will be able to fool the other.  Both would like to maintain the status quo.

In the news lately is a story that suggests the Tri-State Oversight Committee (TOC) is finally beginning to acknowledge the issue.  Quote:

“One employee in Metro’s automated train control division said he was “constantly fixing mistakes” made by his colleagues and “attributed the poor work quality,” in part, to fatigue.”

Quote:

““Unlike [sic] somebody who might be intoxicated, people don’t realize they reach a point where they’re fatigued and their judgment is clouded,” Downey said.”

I’m sure Downey meant to say, “_Like_ somebody who…”.

Quote:

“In 2004, a train rolled back and hit a parked train at Woodley Park. Some passengers suffered minor injuries. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed the operator was fatigued and had “likely fallen asleep at the controls.””

Quote:

“The study revealed that workers in Metro’s automated train control division, which is responsible for inspecting and running the signal system that moves trains, “expressed some of the highest degrees of concern about fatigue.”

The employees said the system’s regular maintenance and the push for repairs were “disproportionate to the available personnel resources,” noting that their department has 212 employees with 30 vacancies as of Sept. 30.”

Needless to say, I hope something comes from this but I’m not holding my breath.

I’ve suggested that one compromise might be to limit consecutive OT shifts to 12 hours, and allow 16 hour shifts followed by no more than a regular 8 hour shift the following day.  So for example, an employee could work 12 hours/day, 7 days/week, or they could work 16/8/16/8/16/8/16.  That would allow either 84 hours/week or 88 hours/week.  That should be enough for all but the greediest OT hounds, while making the system safer for employees and passengers.

A member of Metro management (who I knew casually the entire 27 years I was at Metro) recently discovered that post and commented on it.  He said:

“You neglect to mention the rail clamp also has a small surface area. You also fail to mention that the frequent cause of Cembre failure is, like a rail clamp, faulty installation practices.”

In that post I wrote (in part):

“Rail clamps do break, but typically it is because the person who installed the clamp over-tightened it. There is a torque spec (maybe 50 lb-ft) but management has never issued techs torque wrenches so they are left guessing at what is the proper torque. Most people over-tighten just about everything – it seems to be human nature. If snug is good, then 200 lb-ft is better, right?”

So, we agree that “faulty installation” is a factor but I would suggest that a large portion of the blame for that rests with management.  Over the years my coworkers and I repeatedly asked for torque wrenches so that we could properly tighten rail clamp bolts and other hardware.  Our requests were ignored — for _decades_.  I imagine things haven’t changed, and techs are still expected to ‘guesstimate’ when torquing hardware.  In addition, we did not receive, nor am I aware of, any official training on the proper installation of rail clamps.  Any training was ‘OJT’ (on the job training) — often left up to technicians (not supervisors or instructors) which meant it was hit-and-miss.  I wrote about the lack of training here.

The Cembre lugs, particularly the ones that are mfrd with a 45 degree bend, tend to break:

This may be due to the copper being brittle and prone to stress cracks, it may be due to the cable being installed with tension on it (or both) but they appear to be more likely to fail than the rail clamps.

The statement, “…the rail clamp also has a small surface area” is disingenuous.  The rail clamp ‘basket’ (the part that makes contact with the rail) clearly has a much larger surface area than the two small flat washer sized areas on the Cembre connector.  See the photos in my initial post.  It’s not even close.  What that means is that when carrying high amperage, the Cembre connectors are more likely to become burnt and pitted — and fail, causing train delays and unnecessarily risking ATC techs’ lives (because anytime employees go wayside they risk injury or death) when they could be performing other duties.

Here is a close-up photo of two rail clamps that I took after one of the back-to-back derailments just north of the Shady Grove platform.  Hopefully there is enough detail visible to show how they are constructed.  The one on the right was damaged by the train:

Here’s another that shows the ‘basket’ around the cable better.  It is another derailment photo, the clamp was broken and the cable and basket were moved:

I’ll close the same way I did back in January:

For the safety of my former coworkers and the convenience of the passengers, I hope ATC management will do the right thing and admit that using the Cembre connectors – however well-intentioned – was and is a bad mistake.

ATC should go back to using the rail clamps (or something better).

I read through the comments and there were some that came up several times:

1) How do you deal with showering and changing clothes before work?

2) I’d like to walk/bike to work but I live too far away.

Most of those that live far away do so because they think they are saving money (rents are higher in D.C. than in the suburbs).

This got me thinking about the cost of commuting.  Most people talk in terms of how much the gasoline costs, but of course the true cost is much more than that.  I posted the following comment:

#####

*Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day next Monday! I love Labor Day. Every Memorial Day and
Veteran’s Day we set aside time to recall the folks whose service has given
us our freedom. I have long felt we need to treat Labor Day in a similar
fashion.

Please take a moment this Labor Day to remember the people who fought (and
often died) to give us child labor laws, 40 hour weeks, weekends, overtime,
vacations, the minimum wage, sick leave, parental leave, OSHA, employment
nondiscrimination, pensions, Social Security, health insurance, and so much
more.

Do not be fooled! These benefits were not GIVEN to workers by benevolent
corporations! They were earned by workers who sacrificed! It is a shame that
so many average Joes have chosen to support our corporate masters versus
supporting those whose efforts really benefit the masses.

Unions continue to provide the best protection working people can have. I
feel as though I have accomplished some good things as a member of the Board
of Supervisors. One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is
starting an employee appreciation lunch every year the week of Labor Day.
Johnson County employees deserve much more, but this is one extra
opportunity to say thank you.

Trust me – the average person has nothing to fear from unions. We all
benefit when folks have safe and healthy workplaces. We all benefit when
workers get adequate rest.  [emphasis added]. We all benefit when workers receive good
training. We all benefit when folks earn a living wage and have health
insurance. Unions help improve the quality of life for all of us.

One example of a way in which unions benefit everyone: much is made of the
automobile industry expanding into the southern US. While these are not
union plants, workers still have good wages and benefits. Some see this as
an indictment of unions. It is precisely the opposite.

Do not think for a minute that these companies pay $22 per hour because they
WANT to. They would be much happier to pay $4 per hour. And, when China’s
workforce improves in quality to the point that they can do automotive work,
the companies will move there.

Understand – big companies exists for one reason, and that is to earn a
profit. If the laws allowed slavery, companies would use it. Because it is
cheaper.

So why do they pay $22 in the southern US? Because of the threat of the
United Auto Workers (UAW). If the wages or benefits ever sink too low, UAW
could unionize those workers. The car companies don’t want that, so they pay
the lowest possible acceptable wage.

See? The UAW does not represent the workers at those plants. But they have
driven up the wages and benefits for the workers there all the same.

I am proud to be a member of Local 716 of the American Federation of
Teachers, an affiliate of the Iowa City Federation of Labor. Happy Labor
Day!

#####

Until recently at least, train movement took priority.  If there was a down track circuit during rush hour, Central Control (OCC) generally would not let us go wayside (onto the tracks) to investigate.  They were even more reluctant to do so after some employees were killed and new safety rules were implemented.  The rules stated that generally ATC techs must install slow (15 mph) speed restrictions before going wayside.  OCC knew that would delay trains even more than the down track circuit so they generally denied us permission to work during rush hour — even though if there was a quick fix (like replacing a broken clamp) delays would be minimized.

One day, there was a down track circuit on the outbound track (track #2) just north of the tunnel between White Flint (A12) and Twinbrook (A13).  My coworkers requested that Central give them permission to go wayside and OCC refused to do so until after rush hour.  When they finally were allowed to go check the wayside equipment they found a broken rail!  There was about a 2″ gap at the break and trains full of passengers had been running over it for hours!

That is just one example of what the attitude used to be, and still is to a certain extent.

I recall switch problems that could have been resolved by replacing a fuse but OCC refused to give us even one minute to locate the bad fuse and replace it.  Instead, their knee-jerk reaction was to have us go wayside and ‘block’ the track switches (literally putting a block of wood into the switch to prevent it from throwing).  As a result, thousands of passengers were unnecessarily delayed until after rush hour when we would be allowed to resolve the problem.