BNSF is the latest Class I to be evaluated in a series of Federal Railroad Administration Safety Culture Assessment Reports launched in June 2023.
In its report, released Aug. 26 (download below), FRA said that, overall, based on the Fleming Safety Culture Maturity Model, “BNSF’s safety culture is generally moving from the involving level of safety culture maturity to the cooperating level. During the assessment, FRA found several examples of practices implemented by BNSF to keep its safety culture moving toward a more mature and robust safety culture, with a focus on continually improving. Underscoring this commitment was a consistent finding that BNSF leadership cite safety as a core value of the organization.”
BNSF, FRA noted, “has created a presentation on safety that it has incorporated into all its trainings. This safety culture playbook presentation (Appendix I, found at p. 145) outlines the safety values at BNSF and empowers employees to take control of safety. Furthermore, the presentation encourages the continued development of safety culture elements. The presentation explains not only how employees can develop and grow these skills, behaviors and activities but also explains how they work to make a safer workplace and more robust safety culture. The training and brochure … is provided to all BNSF employees, as well as new hires when they attend training at their facility in Kansas City. This training is based on their ‘Approaching Others’ aspect of safety, which has been in existence for more than a decade.
“Several craft employees provided ‘free form’ comments during their structured interviews to specifically call out safety improvements made by BNSF. Responses from leaders, front-line managers and craft employees were consistent and positive when discussing how job safety briefings review potential hazards and discuss the safest way to perform a task. This practice demonstrates the priority of safety over other demands as well as an overall safety conscious work environment. Other commenters specifically mentioned good safety outcomes in their own work units or teams. Some long-term employees indicated that they have seen safety improve over the past several years. During the course of the field interviews, FRA encountered BNSF employees with railroad experience with different railroads. Several of these employees with previous experience at different railroads indicated BNSF was the safest railroad on which they had worked. Although FRA did not follow up to determine timeframes of previous employment or other railroad names, it is still noteworthy that employees of different crafts and at different locations noted BNSF’s commitment to safety.”
“It is a testament to our safety culture and the incredible men and women of BNSF that we continue to lead the industry in safety after achieving the lowest number of injuries in BNSF’s history in 2023,” the railroad noted. “Additionally, we continue to lead the industry for the ninth straight year in 2024 with the lowest number of train accidents. We have reduced main line train incidents by 63% since 2000. We will continue to make strides in our safety achievements and are committed to continuous improvement as we work to achieve our safety vision of operating a railroad free of accidents and injuries. We will review the FRA’s assessment in that spirit and look forward to continuing our strong collaboration with the FRA and our labor partners to improve safety.”
