Publications

Transportation Safety Board of Canada

2005-2006

A Report on Plans and Priorities

Charles H. Simpson Acting Chairperson Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Lucienne Robillard President Queen's Privy Council for Canada

Table of Contents

Chairperson's Message

Section 1 - Overview

1.1 Raison d'être

1.2 Planning Context

  1.2.1 Risks and Challenges

1.3 Departmental Plans and Priorities

  1.3.1 Detailed Priorities for 2005-2006

     1.3.1.1 Continuous Improvement of Products and Services

     1.3.1.2 Sustainable Human Resources

     1.3.1.3 Organizational Continuous Improvement Process

     1.3.1.4 Awareness of the TSB and its Activities

     1.3.1.5 Developing Partnerships

Section 2 - Analysis of Program Activity

2.1 Strategic Outcome

2.2 Program Activity

2.3 Key Service Areas

2.4 Other Services

Section 3 - Supplementary Information

3.1 Management Representation Statement

3.2 Organizational Information

3.3 Financial Information

     Table 1: Departmental Planned Spending and Full-Time Equivalents

     Table 2: Program by Activity

     Table 3: Voted and Statutory Items Listed in Main Estimates

     Table 4: Net Cost of Department

3.4 Additional Information

Chairperson's Message

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) continues to enjoy a solid reputation, nationally and internationally, as a technically skilled and professional investigative organization. As one of only a few multi-modal safety investigation agencies in the world, the TSB pursues its mandate within a framework of independence that makes it a global leader in that regard.

Nevertheless, the TSB is not well known to the average Canadian. I believe it is important for Canadians to understand the role we play in advancing transportation safety. We have therefore undertaken initiatives to build public awareness about the TSB, its activities and the contribution it makes to transportation safety. Over the past year, we have also developed a strategic communications plan that will guide our future efforts in this regard.

The TSB is a knowledge-based organization. We collect and analyze information, transform it into knowledge and communicate what we know in order to influence positive changes to transportation safety. The TSB must therefore have efficient and effective information management practices. In April 2003, we initiated a major project to modernize our information management practices and the enabling technology used by investigators. Significant progress was made over the past two years. However, much work remains to be done in order to complete this project and to implement the new tool sets. This project will therefore continue to be a major area of focus for the coming year.

For the past few years, the TSB has expended considerable effort seeking input from its stakeholders, reviewing and updating its products and services, addressing its backlog of work in progress, and addressing issues of timeliness and quality in investigations. Over the coming year, our management team will now be turning its attention towards the development of continuous improvement processes. These processes will help ensure that our products and services, as well as our business activities, remain effective and efficient for the delivery of our mandate.

This year, we will continue our efforts to implement the various provisions of the Public Service Modernization Act. This will help us strengthen the management of our human resources. We will also undertake a review of our existing partnership arrangements and explore the feasibility of expanding such arrangements in other areas in order to optimize the benefits and leverage our limited resources.

The TSB faces an ambitious agenda in 2005-2006. However, we are committed to sustaining our efforts and continuing to make a significant contribution to transportation safety in Canada and abroad.

Section 1 - Overview

1.1 Raison d'être

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is an independent agency created in 1990 by an Act of Parliament (Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act). It operates at arm's length from other government departments and agencies such as Transport Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the National Energy Board to ensure that there are no real or perceived conflicts of interest. Under the legislation, the TSB's only object is the advancement of transportation safety in the federally regulated elements of the marine, rail, pipeline and air transportation systems. This mandate is fulfilled by conducting independent investigations including, if necessary, public inquiries into transportation occurrences. The purpose of these investigations and inquiries is to make findings as to the causes and contributing factors of the occurrences and to identify safety deficiencies. As a result, recommendations may be made to improve safety and reduce or eliminate risks to people, to property and to the environment. The TSB has the exclusive authority to make findings as to causes and contributing factors when it investigates a transportation occurrence.

The jurisdiction of the TSB includes all transportation occurrences in or over Canada. The TSB may also represent Canadian interests in foreign investigations of transportation accidents involving Canadian registered, licensed or manufactured ships, railway rolling stock or aircraft. In addition, the TSB carries out some of Canada's obligations related to transportation safety at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

A transportation occurrence is any accident or incident associated with the operation of an aircraft, ship, railway rolling stock, or pipeline. It also includes any hazard that could, in the Board's judgement, induce an accident or incident if left unattended.

1.2 Planning Context

The TSB is primarily funded by Parliament through an operating expenditures vote and, as a departmental corporation, it has authority to spend revenues received during the year. The TSB operates within the context of Canada's very large, complex, dynamic and ever-changing transportation system. For more details on the operating context, see the Transport Canada web site and the National Energy Board web site.

Many individuals and groups cooperate with the TSB in the fulfillment of its mandate. During the course of an investigation, the TSB interacts directly with:

• individuals, such as survivors, witnesses and next-of-kin;



• operators;



• other organizations and agencies, such as coroners, police, manufacturers, owners and insurance companies; and



• other federal government departments and agencies.

Their cooperation is essential to the conduct of the TSB's business, whether they contribute as providers of information or of support services. For more details on the investigation process, visit the TSB web site.

The TSB is one of many Canadian and foreign organizations involved in improving transportation safety nationally and internationally. While it operates at arm's length from other federal departments involved in the transportation field, it can only succeed in fulfilling its strategic outcome through the actions of others. The TSB presents findings and makes recommendations that compel others to act, but has no formal authority to regulate, direct or enforce specific actions. This implies ongoing dialogue, information sharing and strategic coordination with organizations such as Transport Canada, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Coast Guard. Similarly, the TSB must engage in ongoing dialogue and information sharing with industry and foreign regulatory organizations. Through various means, the TSB must present compelling arguments that will convince these "agents of change" to take action in response to identified safety deficiencies.

The TSB has established memorandums of understanding with a number of federal government departments for the coordination of activities and the provision of support services. These agreements provide the TSB with access to a range of support services that can rapidly supplement internal resources (e.g. assistance in the recovery of wreckage, the documentation of evidence, and the examination or testing of components). The agreements also define operating practices to ensure good coordination of activities and to avoid potential conflicts that could arise from the simultaneous implementation of various organizational mandates. Such agreements are currently in place with National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Coast Guard, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and the National Research Council. Similarly, the TSB has established strategic cooperation alliances with provincial and territorial coroners.

Further alliances have been established with the TSB's counterpart agencies in other countries, such as the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, France and the United Kingdom. The TSB cooperates on a reciprocal basis with foreign safety investigation agencies through the ad hoc exchange of specialized services or the provision of assistance as a means of coping with capacity gaps. As one of the world leaders in its field, the TSB regularly shares its investigation techniques, methodologies and tools. For example, the Recorder Analysis and Playback System (RAPS), originally developed by the TSB for decoding and analysis of flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders, is now being used in more than 10 countries to aid in safety investigations. Similarly, the TSB has contributed to the training of safety investigators from numerous countries either by integrating foreign investigators into its in-house training programs or by sending senior staff to teach abroad. The TSB also shares data and reports with sister organizations and participates in international working groups and studies to advance transportation safety.

1.2.1 Risks and Challenges

The TSB faces many risks and challenges that could have a potentially significant impact on the organization's ability to achieve its mandate. TSB managers are aware of these risks and challenges and are expected to take appropriate actions to mitigate the risks while ensuring the delivery of their mandate. The most important challenges are described in the following paragraphs.

1.2.1.1 Managing External Expectations

The TSB has a variety of stakeholders and clients with diverse information needs. Regulators and industry want information in order to fulfill their responsibilities in improving transportation safety. Next-of-kin want information about what happened to their loved ones in order to bring closure. Others want information from a business perspective. However, all agree that they would like safety information to be made available earlier and more effectively. Furthermore, stakeholders and the public would like the TSB to undertake more safety investigations than what is currently done. The TSB is therefore challenged to find the right balance between the level of activity to be undertaken, potential safety findings and the resources available. This implies an ongoing review of products, services and processes to ensure that resources are invested in the best possible way to achieve the optimum results. The TSB must also communicate effectively with its stakeholders and the public in order to convey its priorities and its limited capacity. The TSB must ensure that reasonable expectations are set through appropriate communication.

1.2.1.2 Maintaining Operational Capability

The success of the TSB and its credibility as an organization depends largely on the expertise, professionalism and competence of its employees. Rapid technological changes in the transportation industry, along with the development of new materials, are making the task of investigation and safety analysis increasingly complex and specialized. The TSB must not only maintain an appropriate capital asset infrastructure, but must also keep up its technical expertise and knowledge base in order to maintain credibility within the industry. In recent years, the TSB has made a concentrated effort to "catch up" on essential training for employees and managers to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to meet mandatory job requirements. However, the challenge of retaining technical currency requires ongoing attention backed by adequate financial resources.

1.2.1.3 Increasing Awareness to Influence Positive Changes

To achieve its mandate and to influence stakeholders to take actions that lead to positive changes in transportation safety, the TSB must present compelling arguments for change in its reports and other communication products. This requires a solid understanding amongst stakeholders and the public about who we are, what we do and how we contribute to transportation safety. We believe that improving awareness about the TSB and its work will better position the TSB to influence key change agents. To that end, the TSB has recently approved a three-year Corporate Communications Plan, which is essentially a road map of how we want to improve communications. The Plan represents a more active approach to publicizing key safety messages to influence positive changes.

1.2.1.4 Implementing Government-wide Initiatives

Over the past year the Government has launched a number of government-wide initiatives and reviews that have had, and will continue to have, an impact on the TSB. For example, initiatives such as the proactive disclosure of information on travel and hospitality, position reclassifications and contracts have resulted in new work for the TSB with no additional resources being provided. The series of Government Operations Reviews (e.g. shared corporate services, IT services, procurement, institutional governance) has also had a significant impact on workload. As these reviews now come to conclusion and decisions are made, and as the TSB proceeds with the implementation of the required changes, further impacts are expected. The implementation of Human Resources Management Modernization will also directly affect TSB resources over the next two years. The challenge for the TSB is to continue to incorporate these cumulative requirements into daily activities within the resource envelope available, while maintaining a suitable balance between the fulfillment of the TSB's mandate and the implementation of the Government's overall agenda.

1.2.1.5 Balancing Resources and Results

The TSB, like all other government departments and agencies, must operate with a fixed resource base. Over time this base is eroded by numerous external factors such as inflation, new service fees and general price increases. The TSB must therefore contend with diminishing resources as time passes. Furthermore, the Government has directed that new requirements be funded through reallocation rather than the provision of incremental funding. This results in a challenge for the TSB: to maintain an appropriate balance in the level of operational activity in a context of increasing demand for services and diminishing resources.

For some time now, the TSB has been struggling with the issue of performance measurement. Progress has been made on the development of meaningful performance indicators. However, more work is required in this regard and particularly with respect to linking resources to results. Given that no two investigations are identical, and that some investigations lead to safety changes whereas others do not, it is very difficult to establish the return on investment in safety investigations. The direct and positive impact of TSB investigation activities can be readily demonstrated; conveying the value for money using traditional financial measures is much more challenging.

1.3 Departmental Plans and Priorities

The TSB is committed to providing Canadians with advancements in transportation safety through independent, objective and timely investigations and resulting analysis of safety failures in the federally regulated transportation system.

The two tables below show information on planned spending on financial and human resources over the coming three-year period.

The following table summarizes the five departmental priorities for 2005-2006 and the planned spending for each one.

1.3.1 Detailed Priorities for 2005-2006

Based on the risks identified and on input received from managers and staff, five priorities have been identified for 2005-2006. 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 five priorities are described briefly in the following subsections.

The TSB has developed a Business Plan that describes its 2005-2006 priorities in greater detail. Resources are allocated to specific initiatives, responsibilities are clearly defined and timelines established. A copy of the Business Plan can be found on the TSB web site.

Progress against the Business Plan will be regularly monitored and reported to the TSB Executive Committee on an ongoing basis. Senior managers also provide regular updates on the projects for which they are responsible. Progress will be measured in a comprehensive manner at year-end, and results will be reported in the Departmental Performance Report.

1.3.1.1 Continuous Improvement of Products and Services

The TSB is committed to the continuous improvement of its products and services mix. The stakeholder needs analysis conducted in 2002-2003 provided important insights into how TSB products and services are perceived. In reviewing this information, TSB management identified improvements to products and services, established priorities and initiated changes in order to better respond to the needs of stakeholders. The TSB must now turn its attention to the development and implementation of a framework for the ongoing assessment and refinement of its products and services to ensure that they remain relevant to changing stakeholder needs in the years to come.

1.3.1.2 Sustainable Human Resources

The TSB must be able to recruit on a timely basis, retain competent and dedicated employees and provide them with a work environment conducive to their learning and development. Therefore, a continued focus must be placed on the strategic management of human resources. The TSB is committed to achieving a sustainable workforce by implementing the various human resources components of the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA), which entails implementing effective human resources planning, a more flexible and responsive resourcing system, and accrued departmental staffing delegation and accountability. The PSMA also delegates direct accountability to the TSB for areas such as learning, discipline and employee performance management. Its labour relations component promotes harmonious union-management relations via collaboration and consultation, resolving issues at an early stage and redefining the TSB requirements to maintain essential services during strikes. The PSMA implementation is key to having a sustainable and a productive workforce within the federal Public Service context.

1.3.1.3 Organizational Continuous Improvement Process

Over the past few years, the TSB has made significant progress towards becoming a better managed and more innovative agency. Efforts in this area must continue and become an integral part of day-to-day management. The forthcoming implementation of the new Transportation Investigation Information Management System will provide a solid basis for the establishment of a continuous improvement process. As the TSB moves forward, management must ensure that a culture of continuous improvement is developed and ingrained throughout the organization. Managers and employees must incorporate ongoing review and streamlining of processes and practices, as well as resource optimization, in their daily activities.

1.3.1.4 Awareness of the TSB and its Activities

Despite the excellent work of the TSB, most Canadians do not readily recognize the TSB or its contributions to transportation safety. The TSB must therefore strengthen its investment in public awareness activities so that its contribution to the advancement of transportation safety is better known and understood by Canadians. Furthermore, internal communication efforts must be sustained to ensure that all employees are fully informed about the TSB's products and services and the results achieved for Canadians.

1.3.1.5 Developing Partnerships

The TSB currently collaborates with many other organizations in the course of its operational and administrative activities. However, to date the TSB has not looked upon partnerships from a strategic perspective. In light of the changing environment, the TSB must now review the risks and the benefits of various forms of partnerships as a means to leveraging its limited resources and efficiently fulfilling its mandate. This review will involve a reassessment of potential barriers to partnerships such as the need for independence and avoidance of conflict of interest. The TSB must consider the extent to which expertise and capacity are required permanently and in-house. Where the TSB is "one deep" (there is only one employee performing a specific type of work), it must determine how it will cope with peaks in activity levels. There are numerous other related questions that must also be answered. The TSB must explore potential opportunities, and ultimately the TSB must reinforce its existing partnerships and seek to establish new ones where appropriate.

Section 2 - Analysis of Program Activity

2.1 Strategic Outcome

The TSB has one strategic outcome: to advance transportation safety, thereby reducing risks to people, property and the environment. This strategic outcome is captured by the TSB mission statement:

2.2 Program Activity

The TSB also has only one program activity: safety investigations. The TSB conducts independent safety investigations into transportation occurrences in the federally regulated elements of the marine, rail, pipeline and air transportation systems to identify causes and contributing factors, formulates recommendations to improve safety, publishes investigation reports, and communicates safety information to stakeholders.

The expected results of safety investigations are:

• the timely implementation of safety actions by stakeholders to improve transportation safety for Canadians; and



• increased awareness of safety issues and a strengthened safety culture on the part of governments, industry and the public.

All five priorities identified in section 1 are aimed at supporting and enhancing the TSB's ability to conduct safety investigations and to communicate safety information.

The two tables below show information on planned spending on financial and human resources over the coming three-year period.

2.3 Key Service Areas

In order to optimize the use of resources and to effectively respond to its stakeholders, the TSB has defined four key service areas based on the four transportation modes included in its mandate: marine, rail, pipeline and air. This approach enables alignment with the transportation industry and the way it operates. Resources are therefore allocated and managed separately for each of these key service areas.

Activities carried out in all four key service areas are basically the same. Dedicated personnel collect information on occurrences, conduct investigations, identify safety deficiencies, draft investigation reports and communicate key safety information to stakeholders.

The TSB has developed a balanced scorecard that will be used to measure organizational performance. This scorecard will provide performance information from four different perspectives: financial; client/stakeholder; internal business processes; and learning and growth.

The financial perspective makes linkages between operational and financial results. Financial analysis will be used to evaluate the cost of investigations. Financial results will be benchmarked between modes and with other safety investigation organizations.

The client/stakeholder perspective will measure TSB's performance through stakeholder feedback and stakeholder action. First, stakeholder awareness and satisfaction will be measured through formal and informal processes. Then, stakeholder action based on the TSB's work will be measured by tracking responses to TSB recommendations and safety actions taken. Finally, the TSB will continue to measure transportation occurrence rates as an ultimate measure of achievement of its strategic outcome.

Through the internal business processes perspective, the TSB will measure its results with the use of productivity ratio analysis and benchmarking of results between modes, as well as with other safety investigation organizations.

Under the learning and growth perspective, the TSB will measure employee satisfaction, investments in employee training and employee attrition rates. The TSB will also assess its progress on the implementation of the Human Resources Modernization Agenda. Finally, the TSB will assess its management capacity against the Treasury Board's Management Accountability Framework (MAF).

The following table summarizes the key performance indicators included in the scorecard with appropriate links to the current year's priorities.

2.4 Other Services

Various other services are required to support the four key service areas in the delivery of the TSB mandate. These services can be grouped under two main categories: Professional and Communications Services, and Corporate Services. A cluster of small organizational units therefore provides TSB modal investigators with specialized professional and communications services such as engineering, human performance, macro analysis, communications, report production and operational office support. Members of the Board are also involved in the review and approval of investigation reports and safety recommendations. Similarly, a cluster of small organizational units provides a full range of internal corporate services.

The following tables show information on planned spending on financial and human resources over the coming three-year period for other services. These resources are included in the figures shown previously for the four key service areas in order to reflect the full cost of program delivery in each area.

Section 3 - Supplementary Information

3.1 Management Representation Statement

3.2 Organizational Information

The TSB's Program Activity Architecture identifies a single program activity: safety investigations. The TSB reports annually to Parliament on its activities, findings and recommendations through the President of the Queen's Privy Council. The Chairperson, assisted by the Executive Director, the Director General, Investigation Operations, and the Manager, Communications, is responsible for all activities associated with this program activity. The Director, Corporate Services, is responsible for the provision of the full range of corporate services in support of the departmental operations.

The Chairperson and Executive Director contribute to the advancement of transportation safety through the provision of leadership and vision, as well as the strategic management of all activities of the TSB. They also contribute by establishing strategic alliances with key stakeholders, client groups and change agents, and the communication of key safety messages through stakeholder outreach activities.

Members of the Board contribute to the advancement of transportation safety through the review, approval and public communication of occurrence reports and safety recommendations. The Board also contributes to the communication of key safety messages through stakeholder outreach activities.

The Investigation Operations Directorate contributes to the advancement of transportation safety through the investigation of occurrences. It does so by assessing all occurrences and investigating those with the greatest potential for reduction of risks. The directorate's work is focussed on the collection and analysis of information, the drafting of reports and recommendations, the tracking and assessment of safety actions taken, data and trend analysis, as well as ongoing communication with the transportation safety community. The directorate maintains a highly qualified staff of investigators who are experts in aviation, marine, rail or pipeline operations, engineering and other specialists, and investigation support staff.

The Communications Division contributes to the advancement of transportation safety by ensuring that communications are integrated into all phases of program planning, development, implementation and management. The division coordinates strategic communications and provides a full range of communication services, including public affairs, media relations, stakeholder outreach activities, TSB promotional materials and internal communications.

The Corporate Services Branch contributes to the advancement of transportation safety through the provision of sound corporate planning, financial, human resources, information management, information technology, administrative and materiel management services. The branch also contributes by promoting modern management practices and ensuring that the TSB complies with all government policies and directives.

3.3 Financial Information

The following tables provide a summary of the financial resources required by the TSB to operate. The current TSB reference levels, as stated in the Main Estimates, are approximately $27.6 million. This represents a decrease of $2.5 million compared with the previous year due to the "sunsetting" of incremental funding that was provided to address specific program integrity issues. For the past three years, short-term funding had been approved to reduce the backlog of investigations in process, catch up on information management issues and address capital asset rust-out problems. TSB funding is now expected to remain relatively stable over the coming three years.

In 2004-2005, the TSB has received approval for a number of adjustments to its Main Estimates. These adjustments include the carry forward of the previous year's surplus in the amount of $1,115,000; $704,000 in special funding for the MK Airlines accident investigation; $308,000 for collective bargaining; and $140,000 for the implementation of a project on the management of government information (MGI).

3.4 Additional Information

Additional information about the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and its activities is available on the TSB web site or by contacting us at:

Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Communications Division
Place du Centre
200 Promenade du Portage
4th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1K8

E-mail: communications@tsb.gc.ca
Telephone: (819) 994-3741
Fax: (819) 997-2239