Short Line Safety Institute unveils interactive training

The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has presented interactive workshops and training programs to dozens of participants in recent months.

The institute developed the sessions to help teach short lines and regionals how to build a strong safety culture at railroads, SLSI officials said in a press release.

SLSI's presentations have included sessions at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's (ASLRRA) 2017 Connections Convention in Grapevine, Texas, and the Outback Railroad Association's annual meeting in Deadwood, S.D.

"This program reviewed some of the actions that may occur on a railroad that either inhibit, or promote a strong safety culture," said Patrick Volmer, director of terminal operations at Alaska Railroad Corp. "The SLSI provided many ideas to take back to share with my safety teams to ensure that our railroad is continuing to raise the bar on safety performance.”

Volmer attended the presentation at the Connections Convention, where SLSI Safety Programs Manager Michele Malski and SLSI Acting Director Mike Long moderated day-long training sessions. The sessions included a review of the "10 Core Elements of Safety Culture," a real-time text-in safety awareness survey.

The program also presented a hypothetical scenario that put the participants in the shoes of a safety culture assessor while conducting field observations at a sample railroad site.