Publications

Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Table of Contents

Introduction

The 2004-2005 TSB Business Plan marks a significant milestone in the agency's planning activities. No longer is our business plan a "work in progress" as described in previous business plan introductions, but a mature framework. The agency's business planning cycle has been fully developed and articulated and, more importantly, has been used for the first time to determine priorities and activities. Obviously, our ability to apply this planning structure will evolve over time and there will be learning points along the way.

The TSB's capacity to identify, quantify and prioritize activities with respect to areas of risk has matured greatly over the past year. The Senior Management Committee has developed a formal corporate risk profile and there was a broader engagement of the management team in determining areas that require priority attention in the forthcoming year. The key risks are outlined in the following pages and the priorities for next year flow from those risks. This focus marks a significant step in our ability to concentrate our energy and resources on those areas that pose the greatest challenge to the achievement of our strategic objectives. While we have consequently had to relegate other important issues to subsequent years and while such decisions are often difficult, we have learned from experience during the past two years that our planning in this regard must be realistic.

The benefits of a formal business planning process are becoming increasingly apparent. Form is being given to areas of concern. Coherency is being provided through a sustained plan of action. Results can be demonstrated in substantial ways. These are the elements of good planning and prerequisites to the consistent and efficient application of time, energy and resources. We will continue to seek and implement improvements in our planning process and business activities. Ongoing improvement is a touchstone for TSB and a fundamental expectation of the Canadian public with regard to the management of public resources.

Risks and Challenges

The TSB faces many risks and challenges which could, over the next few years, have an impact on our ability to fulfil our mandate. Recent announcements regarding government expenditure controls and the new expenditure review process will require TSB managers to be flexible and able to manage in an environment where accountability and management demands are evolving. Managers at all levels will be expected to manage risks by applying established management principles. These ongoing resource challenges require the TSB to find the balance needed to continue its core programs while addressing the specific challenges noted above.

Following are some of the risks identified by SMC members for the coming year.

Providing Information in a Timely Manner

The TSB has a variety of stakeholders and clients with diverse information needs. The stakeholder needs analysis conducted in 2002-2003 provided important insights. Initial stakeholder feedback indicated a preference for shorter, more timely reports. Stakeholders also said they believed that safety information could be made available to them earlier and more effectively. Our challenge is to respond to these needs within available resources. Our ability to provide the information required by our stakeholders, the industry and the public, when they need it, is key to the successful delivery of our mandate.

Maintaining a Discernible Edge in our Investigative and Technical Knowledge and Skills

The success of the TSB and its credibility as an organization depend in large part on the expertise, professionalism and competence of our employees. The rapid technological changes in the transportation industry and the development of new materials make the tasks of investigation and safety analysis increasingly complex and specialized. Not only must the TSB maintain an appropriate capital asset infrastructure, but our employees must also keep up their technical expertise and knowledge base in order to maintain credibility within the industry. In the past few years, the TSB has made concentrated efforts to "catch up" on essential training to ensure that the knowledge and skills of our employees and managers meet the mandatory job requirements. However, the challenge of retaining technical currency requires ongoing attention.

Maintaining a Healthy, Representative and Motivated Workforce

To be successful, the TSB must recruit, train, develop and retain highly motivated and competent people. As a federal government organization, the TSB must also strive to recruit and retain a diverse workforce representative of the Canadian population. However, we have had a significant staff turnover and more staff members are expected to leave due to retirement or other career opportunities. Heavy workload, limited career development and limited advancement opportunities are among the reasons cited for staff departures. Our challenge is to make the TSB as responsive as possible to employee career needs and aspirations, thereby encouraging people to remain with the organization for longer periods. Many of these issues were reinforced in the 2002 Public Service Employee Survey.

Managing Information

The TSB's primary products are information and knowledge. The effectiveness and value of the TSB is its ability to collect and analyse factual information, and to communicate new information and knowledge to agents of change and the Canadian public in order to bring about safety improvements. It is crucial that we manage information in a responsive and timely way. The TSB is still struggling with the storage, retrieval, analysis and sharing of the information used to support our business processes. With special funding received for the renewal of our information management systems, it is expected that the TSB will start to have better tools to control where the information is gathered, created and stored. By making better use of current applications and technologies, we will be better positioned to provide more effective and integrated tools to our investigators and to implement a more efficient process for producing investigation reports.

Improving Communications

An important preoccupation for the TSB is communication at all levels. Our employees and stakeholders have told us that the organization needs to become better at communicating both internally and externally. Internal communications have become more important in recent years as the TSB continues to manage its change agenda. At a minimum, managers at all levels are expected to communicate with employees in an open and collaborative manner in order to implement organizational goals and objectives. Employees, in turn, are expected and encouraged to provide managers with suggestions and feedback, and to share important information within the organization. With respect to external communications, the absence of a comprehensive communications strategy has presented a significant challenge. A comprehensive, corporate communications plan will significantly increase the impact of TSB communications endeavours in terms of providing consistent messages and reaching key stakeholders. Sustained effort is required to complete and implement a strategic communications plan.

Ongoing Priorities

The TSB is committed to continuing to implement changes to its products and services mix. The stakeholder needs analysis conducted in 2002-2003 provided important insights into how our products and services are perceived. In reviewing this information, we identified improvements to our products and services in order to better respond to the needs of our stakeholders. Based on this feedback, special funding was received to address concerns about the timeliness and availability of TSB messages. We are also examining, re-aligning and standardizing our business processes to address stakeholder concerns about consistency in the application of our procedures across the country.

In terms of improving organizational effectiveness, the TSB has made significant progress towards becoming a better managed and innovative agency. We must continue our efforts in order to sustain these changes and to further develop and refine our management practices and controls. In future, the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) will be used to provide TSB management with the assurance that the elements of sound management are being addressed and that appropriate results are being achieved. (TSB employees are invited to see their manager or visit www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ maf-crg/index_e.asp for more information on the MAF.)

We will also continue to advance the three major initiatives outlined below for which supplementary funding from Parliament has been received.

a) Capital Asset Replacement

The TSB has been struggling with a significant capital asset "rust-out" as budget cuts and other resource pressures over the past decade have significantly reduced investments in capital renewal. The funding received has allowed TSB to develop a multi-year asset replacement plan that is in line with normal asset life cycles and we are now implementing this plan.

b) Reducing Investigation Backlog

Short-term funding was received to reduce the backlog of investigations in process, without further reducing the intake of new investigations. This investment will allow the TSB to decrease the number of investigations in process to a more manageable number as well as to invest in various initiatives to reduce the average time required to complete investigations. The funds are also being used to translate a backlog of Class 3 reports and publish them on the website.

c) Modernizing Information Management

Funding has also been received to document and develop an integrated information management solution that supports business requirements and provides for electronic records management. A plan has been put in place to redesign the current applications to make better use of technologies and to permit better management of electronic information in all forms (e.g., images, sound recordings and documents). This will allow us to provide more effective and integrated tools for investigators, a more efficient process for producing investigation reports and better long-term sustainability of information systems.

Priorities for 2004-2005

Based on the risks identified and on input received at the Managers' Conference in October 2003, the SMC has identified four priorities for 2004-2005. All are strategic investments aimed at finding ways to enhance the TSB's relevance and contribution to transportation safety in Canada and internationally and to strengthen the organization from within. The first two priorities are directly linked to our external products: Improving Service Delivery and Improving Communications. The second two, Sustainable Human Resources and Information and Technology Management, will advance internal performance. The four priorities are described briefly in the following paragraphs. Greater detail is presented in subsequent sections.

1. Improving Service Delivery

Improving service delivery is a priority for 2004-2005. Through better definition or redesign of our products and services and the reduction of the investigation backlog, it is expected that the TSB will be able to offer better service to the public and to our stakeholders.

With the special short-term funding received from Parliament, we are implementing a plan to reduce the backlog of investigations in progress. As 2004-2005 is the last year in which we will be receiving funds for this initiative, a plan must be developed to ensure the sustainability of our program within its approved resource base. Given that there is a high level of public interest in and demand for investigations, the TSB must strive to balance the workload it undertakes with the capacity it has to deliver on its commitments.

2. Improving Communications

Communications with our employees, stakeholders and the public must be well coordinated, effectively managed and responsive to the diverse information needs of recipients. To this end, a corporate communications strategy has been developed and will be implemented. The corporate strategy includes both internal and external components.

We will improve the TSB's external communications and increase public awareness of the TSB mission and mandate by implementing and communicating the redesigned communications products and through a proactive outreach program at all levels.

We will improve our internal communications by ensuring that communication efforts with employees are meaningful. Managers and staff both have responsibilities with regard to internal communications. Managers must keep staff informed, and employees are responsible for providing managers with feedback. Ensuring that employees have the means by which to voice their ideas, concerns and suggestions is as important as keeping them informed about goals, priorities, developments, initiatives and other changes affecting their work. As the TSB advances its change agenda and the renewal of its management practices, it will be important that messages from the management table reach employees and that all are informed of issues relating to the TSB's agenda and direction.

Although the Business Plan does not identify specific projects or activities to address internal communications, several initiatives that promote stronger internal communications (for example, newsletters and regional visits) are currently underway. As well, this year the TSB will complete an audit of its internal communications activities which will provide management with valuable insight to guide future internal communications plans.

3. Sustainable Human Resources

The TSB must be able to recruit on a timely basis and retain competent, dedicated employees. This increasingly requires a work environment conducive to learning and professional development for all staff and managers. A renewed focus will be placed on a more strategic management of human resources through the development of HR plans, the development of a revised performance management and evaluation system, and the implementation of a succession planning process.

The organization will need to put in place programs, directives and activities to meet the employer obligations under the new Public Service Modernization Act with regard to staffing, labour relations and learning provisions. In cooperation with central agencies and with the involvement of our management team, we will develop a transition plan, including the change management required to efficiently implement the various components of the Human Resources Management modernization initiative.

Employees need to see the TSB as a place where they are encouraged to develop, grow and improve their skills. Every manager and employee will be given the opportunity to develop a learning plan based on the competency profiles and learning standards developed in the past two years and to have their performance assessed annually, providing valuable information for training and personal development. Special attention will be placed on ensuring that managers have the required core competency management training to manage these initiatives effectively. Managers will also be provided with the knowledge and skills required to enable them to effectively assume their delegated responsibilities for human, financial and materiel resource management.

4. Information and Technology Management

The TSB has a need for an integrated information management solution to support its business. The implementation of the new library services model, the upgrade of the departmental records management system for both paper and electronic records, and the review of the InfoNet as a knowledge transfer tool will improve information management and better support the investigations.

The Transportation Investigation Information Management System (TIIMS) project will continue for the coming fiscal year, further defining the architecture and design of the prototype, including tools, working procedures, training, etc. TIIMS will make better use of new technologies; provide integrated tools for investigators and a more efficient process for producing reports; and, ensure the long-term sustainability of our information systems.

2004-2005 Resource Allocation

Budgets for fiscal year 2004-2005 were approved by the Senior Management Committee on February 18, 2004. Approved allocations are shown in the following table.

1. RC - Responsibility Centre
2. O + M - Operations and Maintenance

Funding from the 2004-2005 TSB base budget has been specifically set aside for the various projects described in this year's Business Plan. Approved allocations for Business Plan priorities and key initiatives are shown in the following table.

Detailed Action Plans for 2004-2005

Priority 1: Improving Service Delivery

Priority 2: Improving Communications

Priority 3: Sustainable Human Resources

Priority 4: Information and Technology Management