Background
In July 2008, FTA Administrator James Simpson called the CEO Safety Summit to facilitate discussion regarding critical safety issues in the rail transit industry.  Administrator Simpson was aware that recent accidents had highlighted weaknesses in programs designed to protect workers, to ensure the integrity of critical infrastructure, and to facilitate rapid and effective evacuations from tunnels and vehicles under smoke conditions. The Administrator also understood that, in some agencies, chief executive officers or executive directors might not be fully aware of the challenges faced in safety departments.
Approach
FTA and BCG developed a program of activities for this Safety Summit designed to: enhance CEO awareness regarding emerging safety trends that place workers, passengers, and infrastructure at risk; to share effective practices developed by some of the Nation’s CEOs; to reverse negative safety trends; and to provide an opportunity to discuss options currently being evaluated by FTA to enhance rail transit safety in the then upcoming re-authorization of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
We sent letters to selected CEOs, inviting them to serve as speakers and to share how their agencies have worked to enhance their capabilities to protect wayside workers, to ensure the integrity of track, and to address emergency response readiness for evacuations in tunnels. We also developed all summit materials, including a briefing book incorporating an attendee list, agenda, speaker biographies, menu, and participant contact information. We oversaw all accommodations and ensured premium facilitation services.
Results
69 guests attended the 1.5-day. Attendees included key FTA Headquarters personnel, top leadership from rail transit agencies, industry representatives, state oversight agency personnel, and FTA SSO program support staff. Following the summit, we developed a detailed meeting report-back, documenting discussions and an analysis of summit evaluations. We also distributed a CD-ROM of all summit materials to attendees.