Corporate culture, compliance and railroad operating rules

Final Report May 1997PDFTech ReportDOT-VNTSC-FRA-97-7RR728/R7201United States. Federal Railroad AdministrationCoplen, Michael K.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Human FactorsVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterA focus group was held at the 1996 Bi-annual Operating Rules Association meeting of North American railroads to discuss thegeneral issue of compliance and operating rules. Twelve operating rules officers participated, representing Class I, II, and IIIrailroads. Individual structured interviews were also conducted both prior to and following the focus group session to discussgeneral issues surrounding operating rules, and to provide follow-up information to major findings from the focus group session.Focus group participants generally reported that senior management tends to emphasize productivity over safety, suggestingsome railroads may have created an organizationalculture that unintentionally encourages operating rules violations. Follow-upinterviews with a number of industry representatives supported this view. Some interviewees suggested railroad mergers oftenresult in discordant management philosophies withinthe same organization, directly influencing corporate culture and howoperating rules officersenforce rules compliance. Findings for each of the five focus group questions are categorized by type ofresponse. Specific recommendations for structural change and follow-on work are also discussed