WMATA to develop plan to correct internal safety issues

The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, which oversees safety at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, yesterday issued three findings following an audit of the transit agency’s internal safety review program.

WMATA is required to develop corrective action plans to address the three findings from the audit, commission officials said in a press release. Those plans will bring WMATA’s safety training and practices into compliance with the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan program administered by the Federal Transit Administration.

The findings are:

• Findings from the internal safety review program are not yet systemically incorporated into WMATA’s safety management system, which prevents WMATA from ensuring an integrated, consistent and long-term approach to effectively address identified hazards;
• WMATA has not yet implemented training requirements in system safety, hazard management and safety management systems training for personnel responsible for internal safety reviews; and
• WMATA does not have a process for — and has not conducted or scheduled — a triennial internal safety review of its internal safety review program.

The audit also noted that WMATA's Quality Assurance, Internal Compliance and Oversight Department had several vacancies, which may have led to the need to prioritize or reduce the frequency of some safety review activities, commission officials said.

WMATA is required to propose corrective action plans for each finding within 30 days of the audit’s issuance Jan. 4.