Compliance, audits and reporting

The annual Rail Safety Compliance Audit was conducted by the Office of Rail Safety (ORS) in November 2011, and the report issued in January. The audit identified three non-compliances and six observations. All issues identified during the audit were closed out in April 2012.

Throughout 2011-12, health and safety representatives in each operating division continued to conduct regular workplace inspections, in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act (1984).

A comprehensive quarterly health, safety and environment (HSE) performance report is provided to the PTA’s Executive HSE Management Committee. The committee meets to discuss the report and to identify potential strategies for continuous safety improvement.

The PTA also prepares an annual rail safety performance report which is submitted to the ORS as part of rail accreditation requirements.

Notifiable occurrences

Under the Rail Safety Act (2010), certain railway safety incidents must be reported to the ORS. These “Notifiable Occurrences” are defined in the Rail Safety Regulations (2011) as Category A (serious injury, death, or significant damage) or Category B (incidents that may have the potential to cause a serious accident). They do not cover non-rail operations. The benchmark targets for Category A and Category B incidents are calculated using estimates of passenger boardings and train kilometres travelled. There were 15 Category A incidents in 2011-12, up from 11 in 2010-11.

Excluding incidents beyond the PTA’s control (such as those considered to be suicides or attempted suicides), it is encouraging that there was a drop, from eight in 2010-11 to six, and no adverse trends were identified.

In March 2011, the PTA, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist (Department of Health), examined the characteristics and patterns of suicide events on the rail system with a view to developing effective intervention-prevention measures.

A report was submitted with the dataset from the Health Department’s Data Linkage Branch, (which is also linked to the Hospital Morbidity, Mental Health and Death databases), and will be analysed by PTA to develop a plan with the supporting services to reduce the risk of suicide incidents on PTA’s railway network.

In another commitment to improving rail safety, the PTA engaged Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC) in May to conduct a study on non-compliance at PTA pedestrian level crossing gates.

C-MARC provided a report in August 2011. A workshop by the researchers and representatives of the PTA addressed the findings, and strategies were developed to further reduce the risk of pedestrian behaviour and compliance at rail-road level crossings, including infrastructure countermeasures and safety campaigns.

Category B incidents rose 15 per cent from 2010-11’s 392, to 450. This was attributed to a review of Notifiable Occurrences against the Rail Safety Regulation (2011) where additional reporting requirements were identified for compliance.

Health and safety

The PTA’s Health and Safety Policy describes the overarching framework for the management of injuries and safety and health throughout the organisation. Commitment to this policy is shown by the signature of the policy owner, the Chief Executive Officer. PTA continued to enhance the understanding of safety management across the organisation through initiatives which included rollout of the Manager and Supervisor Safety Responsibility Training program, further development of the Keeping Rail on Track Safety Culture Project and continued progress of the Train Driver Workload Fatigue Study.

It is now mandatory for all managers and supervisors to attend an accredited safety responsibility training program. Upon successful completion of the program the participants will have achieved five units of a Cert IV in Occupational Health and Safety and support is provided to complete the full qualification.

Consultation with employees regarding health and safety matters is evidenced by the HSE Committee Procedure. The purpose of the Committee is to focus upon directing and communicating workplace health, safety and environmental activities by positively influencing cultural change, as is necessary for the PTA to achieve its management and corporate governance objectives. The frequency and outcomes from these committee meetings is reported to the Executive HSE Committee every quarter.

During the year, the PTA continued its focus on Fatigue Management and in order to support an increased understanding of fatigue across the organisation, held a series of Fatigue Masterclass run by Professor Drew Dawson from the Central Queensland University for Sleep Research. These Masterclasses have provided an opportunity for employees, including managers, safety representatives and operational employees, to gain knowledge of the most recent research and technology available for the management of fatigue.

The PTA is introducing railway level crossing improvements with built-in safety features including consistent signage definitions and outlines through painting and the use of high-visibility material. This will improve the interface between vehicles using the crossing and train movements with an expected reduction in near-miss incidents.

The PTA is trialing a standardised pedestrian-crossings model with inbuilt safety features including consistent signage, clearly-designated routes, and layouts to reduce pedestrian confusion.

To ensure continuous improvement in our program of reinforcing a positive safety culture, the PTA has completed a survey of staff views about our current safety culture, and identify areas for review and improvement. The outcomes of this survey were reviewed at a strategic safety planning day and will form the cornerstone of further reform across the organisation.

The PTA has also introduced proactive initiatives to promote safety and value its people (EG a flu vaccination program and mole check clinics).

Integrated HSE management system

Safety and Strategy continued to monitor and review the Health, Safety and Environment system through a comprehensive strategic audit program. This is supported by the divisional audit programs using AS4801, which ensure that all aspects, from local hazard control measures to the overarching organisational HSE strategy, are working effectively to identify areas for continuous improvement. This is evidenced by the HSE Compliance Matrix. Identified corrective actions are tracked and regularly monitored through the PTA’s STAR Reporting System.

Improved access to safety procedures has now been achieved by the introduction of a Safety Hub hot key on the safety tab of the intranet home page which provides quick access to safety procedures and links.

The PTA’s safety management system also extends to our direct contractor stakeholders who contribute significantly to our overall service delivery provision. This ensures that our contractors understand PTA safety management requirements, and reinforces the organisation’s overall commitment to safety.

School Bus Service contracts are held by a wide variety of individuals and companies with varying degrees of safety expertise and competence. Through auditing and a close working relationship with contractors, we identified the need to help the industry achieve safety competence by creating Safety Management Plan documentation that can be adapted to meet the demands of any contractor.

The associated guidance notes contain a self-assessment checklist to enable the contractor to perform a gap analysis, identifying where they are now, where they need to be and how to get there. Example forms for topics such as hazard reporting and risk assessments are provided, and hyperlinks to safety legislation and helpful websites are included throughout the document.

Rail safety accreditation

A number of workshops were held to ensure our personnel stay focussed on rail safety management changes:

• Human factors workshops recognise the inevitability of human error and encourage honest reporting, while establishing clear accountability for remedial actions.
• A driver workload/fatigue study is being carried out by the Centre for Sleep Research at the University of South Australia to assess potential workload and fatigue management issues among railcar drivers. A number of workshops have been held to communicate information regarding this study.
• Workshops were also held with ORS officers to develop a Memorandum of Understanding on reporting Notifiable Occurrences.
• Two Fatigue Master Classes were held under the guidance of Professor Drew Dawson, an acknowledged fatigue expert, to help the PTA’s operational divisions reinforce the shift/roster organisational arrangements, to reduce the risk of fatigue.

Reporting systems

The STAR Reporting System enables the efficient reporting, storage and analysis of hazards, near-misses, incidents, injuries and Workers’ Compensation claim data.

The PTA’s rail safety reporting system, IFRIS, enables the reporting and storage of rail-related incidents, in particular, Notifiable Occurrences. This system is compliant with national reporting requirements defined in ONS-1(WA) 2008 and is updated as required.

The information collated by PTA’s reporting systems is used to identify trends which may indicate where corrective actions and other improvements may be required. A report consisting of lead and lag indicators for the organisation as a whole, as well as individual divisions, is tabled at a quarterly meeting of the Executive HSE management committee. Summaries of the key outcomes of this report are regularly communicated through the PTA intranet.

A recent improvement to the report is the introduction of an action register for investigation outcomes. The register lists actions against specific managers and includes deadlines for completion thereby monitoring performance against corporate KPIs. Further improvement to this divisional reporting process has continued throughout the year with new reporting parameters including traffic infringements and security incidents being reported and analysed for trends.

Injury management

Injury prevention and injury management continue to be a focus for the PTA. We met the 10 per cent improvement target for the LTI (lost-time injury) rate in 2011-12, recording 4.65, down 29 per cent from 2010-11. While there were no fatalities among PTA employees, an employee under contractor control was fatally injured at the Perth City Link project.

Analysis identified that transit officers have the highest incidence of LTIs - the rate in this workgroup dropped from 16.88 in 2010-11, to 8.94.

Employees who are injured are supported by the PTA’s injury management team in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act (1981). The PTA’s injury management system works on the principle of early intervention/rehabilitation and includes return-to-work programs developed in accordance with the Act.

Return-to-work programs are provided to all injured employees who are deemed fit to do light duties to support their timely return to their pre-injury role. Despite the reduction in LTI numbers this year, the LTI severity rate increased 14.7 per cent from 26.04 in 2010-11, to 29.89. Of the closed Worker’s Compensation claims, 91 per cent were closed within 26 weeks.

Health assessment standards

During the year, the PTA, in conjunction with our health assessment provider, undertook a review of the draft updated national road health assessment standards to assess their potential impact on the PTA. The rail health assessment standards are due for release later this year and will also be reviewed by the PTA. The PTA will continue to monitor the outcomes of these draft standards and, when they are finalised, will work in conjunction with our health provider to ensure PTA processes are compliant.

Testing for drugs and alcohol

As part of the PTA’s focus on continuous improvement of our testing methodology, we continued random and blanket drug and alcohol testing during the year to support our existing drug and alcohol management program. We also introduced proactive testing for synthetic cannabinoids, into the testing regime.

No illicit positive results were recorded for post-incident tests. Of the 234 random tests, six positive results due to illicit substances were recorded. Five of the illicit positives were for PTA employees; one was for a contractor. One test result for a transit officer was recorded as positive for synthetic cannabinoids.

Sustainability

The PTA continues to work with relevant external parties to identify opportunities to maximise sustainability during the development and planning of transport services. In the latest year this included:

• Transit Oriented Developments (TODs).
• Integration of infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Protection and restoration of local air, water, soils, flora and fauna.
• Services to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

During the year we:

• Continued to implement the PTA water efficiency management plan.
• Continued to implement the recommendations of the 2006 energy and water audits of the Public Transport Centre.
• Undertook energy audits of Cockburn Central Station and the Kewdale and Claisebrook depots.
• Continued using recycled water and reverse osmosis to wash railcars.
• Continued implementation of the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program including the completion of the energy assessment of Transperth buses.
• Reviewed and updated the online greenhouse gas savings calculator, which uses travel information (including the car size and distance travelled) to calculate a passenger’s greenhouse gas savings.
• Continued implementation of the environmental induction program for PTA staff.
• Submitted our Greenhouse and Energy Report to the Department of Climate Change.

Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP)

The PTA continued to improve access to public transport for people with disabilities, working through the 2007-2012 DAIP, which was released in July 2007. Achievements included:

• Continued implementation of a 12-year program to progressively replace the existing fleet with new, low-floor, accessible buses.
• Progressively increasing the number of accessible bus services.
• Continued recognition of companion cards to allow a companion to travel with a person with a permanent disability at no additional cost.
• Continued administration of the Bus Shelters Grant Scheme, which provides dollar-for-dollar funding to local councils and schools for the construction of accessible shelters at selected bus stops.
• Continued administration of the Accessible Pathways Grant Scheme, which provides dollar-for-dollar funding to local councils for the construction of accessible pathways at selected bus stops.
• Developing and managing an accessibility group via TravelEasy as a mechanism to disseminate disability-specific updates to relevant organisations.
• Completing the planning and design phase for the upgrade of Meltham and Queens Park stations, with work expected to start early in 2011-12.
• Establishing a cross-referencing process to allow a PTA infringement notice to be revoked if it has been issued to a customer who is a Transperth Unrestricted Travel Pass holder, but was not carrying the pass.
• Upgrading approximately 50 bus stops to meet the requirements of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport under the Government’s Bus Stop Accessibility Works Program, launched in January 2010, which funds the upgrade of up to 600 stops a year.
• Issuing Accessibility Bulletins to customers registered with the Transperth Accessibility Group to advise of system changes, upgrades and other Transperth news relating to accessibility issues.
• Delivering 37 in-class presentations and station tour experiences through the school-based Get On Board program for Education Support students. The program continues to work with disability organisations to deliver information and training at both the staff and client level. Train-the-trainer sessions have been delivered to organisations including Intework and Activ to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to take clients on the Transperth network and teach them how to become safe and confident travellers.
• Posting new station information on the Transperth website. This includes detailed maps of all bus/train interchanges and train stations highlighting accessible pathways into and around each facility. Each map includes a summary of such key features as ACROD parking bays, ticket machines and toilets (including disabled toilets).

Risk management

The PTA has a comprehensive risk management strategy to manage strategic and operational risks. The PTA’s Risk Register is reviewed annually to ensure that identified corrective actions are reviewed and monitored regularly. In 2011-12 a combination of internal and external audits validated compliance with the Risk Management framework and identified opportunities for improvement.

Record-keeping

The PTA continued to improve business record-keeping processes and procedures in 2011-12. A Document Management System (DMS) package was progressively implemented in 2011 and is now operational in all divisions. System management procedures and business rules, a training program and ongoing support processes are well established.

The PTA’s record-keeping efficiency has been improved with the revision of our business classification scheme. The functional retention and disposal schedule has also been revised and is awaiting endorsement by the State Records Advisory Committee.

Records management functions continue to be improved as a result of internal auditing, quality assurance monitoring and record-keeping best practice. The online Record-keeping Awareness course reflects current operational and administrative practices and processes.

To improve the management of records created for major infrastructure projects, the DMS has been integrated with an online project management system accessible to all project stakeholders.

Pricing policy

Government continued to maintain public transport fares at an affordable level by restricting the increase in Transperth standard fares to the projected rate of increase in CPI of 3.0 per cent. In accordance with government policy, concession fares were set at 40 per cent of standard fares and the student fare was left unchanged.

Transwa fares are established by Government to ensure affordability for regional West Australians. For the 2011-12 financial year, Transwa fare increases were restricted to the projected rate of increase in CPI, though the increase in Prospector fares was offset by a three per cent reduction resulting from the phased abolition of a fare loading previously applied to this service.

Transperth fare information is provided at www.transperth.wa.gov.au

Transwa fare information is provided at www.transwa.wa.gov.au