Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C\ub3RS) Lessons Learned Evaluation \u2013 Final Report

2019Final report; 2006-Aug 2017PDFTech ReportDOT/FRA/ORD-19/01RR24A2-PY430RR24A2-QY430Safety cultureRailroad safetyEmployee participationPassenger trainsFreight trainsHuman factorsDemonstration projectsConfidential Close Call Reporting SystemClose callsLessons learnedUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Railroad AdministrationRanney, Joyce M.Davey, MelindaMorell, JonathanZuschlag, MichaelKidda, StarrJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development, and TechnologyUnited States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and DevelopmentAGR-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail SafetyNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Human FactorsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Rail SafetyVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThe Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) established the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C\ub3RS) program through which \u201cclose calls\u201d can be reported confidentially and addressed by Peer Review Teams (PRT) containing representatives from labor, management, and FRA. Close call programs have shown to work in other industries, but their effectiveness in the railroad industry was an open question. To address this question, FRA implemented a rigorous lessons learned evaluation over a 12 year duration across four demonstration pilot sites. The C\ub3RS evaluation is designed to answer three major questions: (1) What conditions are necessary to implement C\ub3RS as planned in a demonstration? (2) What is the impact of C\ub3RS on safety and safety culture? (3) What factors help to sustain C\ub3RS long-term, beyond the demonstration? This report describes the final answers to the evaluation questions. In summary, implementing C\ub3RS as planned is possible within transportation departments in the railroad industry. Bottom-line impacts were achieved in the presence of C\ub3RS in areas such as reduced derailments (3 sites), injuries (1 site), discipline hearings (two sites) and improved safety culture (4 sites). C\ub3RS can be sustainable in railroad transportation when enlisting the support of local labor, management, national labor, and FRA.75