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 reflected in the TSB mission statement:
We conduct independent safety investigations and communicate risks in the transportation system.
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This strategic outcome is aligned with the broader Government of Canada outcome of "safe and secure
communities."
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, pipeline, rail 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.
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, pipeline, rail 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.
Financial Resources ($ thousands)
Key Service Areas |
2006-2007 |
2007-2008 |
2008-2009 |
Marine |
6,995 |
6,976 |
6,939 |
Pipeline |
758 |
634 |
631 |
Rail |
6,189 |
6,025 |
5,992 |
Air |
18,372 |
18,076 |
17,977 |
Total |
32,314 |
31,711 |
31,539 |
Human Resources (FTE)
Key Service Areas |
2006-2007 |
2007-2008 |
2008-2009 |
Marine |
58 |
58 |
58 |
Pipeline |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Rail |
52 |
52 |
52 |
Air |
125 |
125 |
125 |
Total |
240 |
240 |
240 |
Activities carried out in all four key service areas are basically the same. Dedicated personnel collect information on
occurrences, conduct investigations and analyses, identify safety deficiencies, draft investigation reports and communicate
key safety information to stakeholders. Other specialized personnel, such as engineering, human performance, corporate
services and communications staff, provide a full range of support services to all four key service areas.
2.4 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 website and the National Energy
Board website.
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 information or support
services. More details on the investigation process
are available on the Transportation Safety Board of Canada Web Site.
The TSB is one of many Canadian and foreign organizations involved in improving transportation safety nationally and
internationally. Because it has no formal authority to regulate, direct or enforce specific actions, the TSB can only
succeed in fulfilling its strategic outcome through the actions of others. Operating at arm's length from other federal
departments involved in the transportation field, the Board must present its findings and recommendations in such a manner
that others feel compelled to act. This implies ongoing dialogue, information sharing and strategic coordination with
organizations such as Transport Canada, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Coast Guard. The TSB must engage industry
and foreign regulatory organizations in a similar fashion. 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 (for example, 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 Transport Canada, the
Department of National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Coast Guard, Human Resources and Social
Development Canada, and the National Research Council. Similarly, the TSB has established strategic cooperation alliances
with provincial and territorial coroners and with certain provincial government agencies (primarily in the rail area).
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, analysis and animation of flight recorder data, is being used in more than 10 countries
to aid in safety investigations. Recently, the RAPS software was commercialized by a Canadian company and renamed Insight,
which expanded its worldwide use even further. 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.
2.5 Risks and Challenges
The TSB faces many risks and challenges that have a potentially significant impact on the organization's ability to
achieve its mandate. Managers are aware of these risks and challenges and are expected to take appropriate action to
mitigate the risks while ensuring the delivery of their mandate. The most important challenges for 2006-2007 are described
in the following paragraphs.
2.5.1 Prioritizing and Managing the Workload
The TSB is facing a number of internal and external demands not only to sustain existing activities but also to undertake
new initiatives to meet government change requirements, such as human resources modernization and procurement reform, and to
mitigate risks in areas such as information technology security and business continuity planning. The challenge lies in
achieving all of this within a limited resource base. The TSB must therefore find the right balance between the level of
activity to be undertaken and the capacity of available human and financial resources. This implies an ongoing review of
products, services and processes to ensure that resources are applied in the best possible way to achieve optimum results.
2.5.2
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Maintaining a Knowledgeable and Professional Workforce
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The TSB, like many organizations, faces a specific challenge with respect to its workforce. Many positions are
"one deep" - meaning that there is only one person responsible for a specific task or function. Over the
next few years, the TSB must continue to operate while many of its key employees move into retirement. The TSB must
also contend with a high turnover rate in some of the functional support areas of Corporate Services due to the high
demand for such specialists across the Public Service. The TSB must ensure that it is adequately prepared to fill any
gaps and to secure the proper transfer of knowledge to new employees. The 2005 Public Service Employee Survey will
provide the TSB with a current assessment of employee satisfaction and concerns. Sustained efforts will then be
required to respond to any employee concerns, including any issues related to career development and job
classification.
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2.5.3
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Implementing and Sustaining the Transportation Investigation Information Management System (TIIMS)
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The TSB has invested substantial resources, time and effort in the development of an internal information system to
better manage its business while meeting government requirements with respect to information management and
technology. As the rollout of TIIMS is undertaken, the TSB will encounter specific challenges with respect to change
management and temporarily increased workloads for some employees. These challenges will need to be addressed through
training and ongoing reviews and monitoring of the operation of the system. Furthermore, significant work remains to
be done to complete the development of the full functionality required. This residual work will have to be done in
parallel with the initial rollout. In order to make the implementation and sustainability of TIIMS a success, the
management team must ensure that full employee buy-in and participation is achieved. Sustained investments will also
be required to operate and maintain the new TIIMS work environment. Not meeting these challenges would result in the
loss of resources invested to date and would have a significant impact on the delivery of products and services, given
that the TSB has made a conscious decision not to revert to old tools and systems. Anything less than full adoption
and use of TIIMS would result in a loss of productivity and create inefficiencies in work processes.
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2.5.4 Sustaining External Communications
The TSB has improved stakeholder awareness of the agency and its work and has better positioned itself to influence key
change agents to take actions that lead to improvements in transportation safety. For this planning period, the challenge
will be to strike the best balance between enhanced external communication activities and changing stakeholder expectations.
The TSB must ensure that external communication products and services are available, up-to-date and of a high quality in
order to retain the levels of integrity and credibility required to fully achieve its mandate.
2.6 Departmental Plans and Priorities
The TSB is committed to providing Canadians with advancements in transportation safety through independent, objective and
timely investigations and subsequent identification and analysis of safety failures in the federally regulated
transportation system.
Based on the risks identified and on input received from managers and staff, five priority categories have been
identified for 2006-2007. All require strategic investments aimed at enhancing the TSB's contribution to transportation
safety in Canada and internationally and strengthening the organization from within. The five priorities are described
briefly in the following paragraphs.
The TSB has developed a Business Plan that describes its 2006-2007 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 Transportation Safety Board of Canada Web Site.
2.6.1 Continuous Improvement of Internal Processes and Practices
The Transportation Investigation Information Management System (TIIMS) was designed to leverage knowledge, capabilities
and capacity; eliminate disparate processes and systems; and provide staff with a central and integrated repository of key
information and tools. As the rollout of TIIMS modules proceeds, the TSB will ensure that a robust change management
strategy is in place to support users in the new way of conducting their business. The TSB will also foster a culture of
continuous improvement through the development of a long-term sustainability strategy for its operational processes, tools
and systems. This strategy will include end-user support, training and ongoing reviews. At the same time, work will continue
on the development of outstanding modules. This year, the development emphasis will be on the Report Production and
Corporate Management modules.
2.6.2 Continuous Improvement of Human Resources Management
The TSB will continue to focus on the strategic management of human resources. Management is committed to finalizing the
implementation of Human Resources Modernization initiatives in order to meet the TSB's human resources obligations under the
Public
Service Modernization Act. This includes implementing effective human resources planning, a more flexible and
responsive resourcing system, and increased delegation and accountability. The TSB will also develop and implement an
integrated system for human resources planning that is in line with the existing business planning cycle, and that will
support capacity, retention, development, knowledge transfer, succession and staffing activities for the coming years. All
TSB managers will be expected to take ownership of the human resources planning activities.
2.6.3 Sustainable Communication Services and Products
In the past few years, the TSB has raised public awareness of the TSB's mission and mandate through the development of
internal and external communication products and services such as expanded use of the Internet, the TSB corporate video, an
outreach program and a speakers' bureau. For this planning cycle, the priority will be to ensure the currency, visibility
and availability of communication products and services while developing a long-term sustainability strategy for the
management of the tools. The TSB will also continue to develop its stakeholder outreach program, thereby capitalizing on
opportunities for Board members and senior staff to meet with stakeholders and discuss key safety messages.
2.6.4 Business Continuity Planning
The TSB has made significant improvements to its management processes, tools and systems over the past few years. The TSB
must protect its investments by ensuring it is able to deliver its products and services without disruption. Starting from a
revised corporate risk profile, essential services and assets will be identified. Threat and risk assessments will be
conducted, and plans will be developed to mitigate the risks identified. Although a significant focus will be on achieving
compliance with the Management of Information Technology Security standards, work will also be done in other areas such as
materiel management and information management. The TSB's readiness to respond to major occurrences in all modes will also
be reviewed.
2.6.5 Ongoing Development of Partnerships
The TSB collaborates with many organizations in the course of its operational and administrative activities. A strategic
review of partnerships was therefore undertaken in 2005-2006 in order to develop a framework for the management of such
partnerships. Once completed, this framework will be used to review current arrangements and memorandums of understanding.
The TSB is committed to seeking potential opportunities to establish new partnerships and to reinforcing existing ones.
2.7 Performance Measurement
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 the 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 the achievement
of its strategic outcome.
Results from the internal business processes perspective will be measured 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. 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.
Perspective |
Performance Indicators |
Link to Priorities |
Financial |
Cost of investigations |
1 |
Cost of Business Plan projects |
All 5 priorities |
Client/Stakeholder |
Stakeholder awareness |
1 + 3 |
Stakeholder satisfaction (quality + timeliness) |
1 + 3 |
Responsiveness to TSB recommendations |
1 + 3 |
Timely safety actions taken per investigation |
1 + 3 |
Occurrence rates |
1 |
Safety outputs issued |
1 + 3 |
Internal Business Processes |
Number of investigations in process |
1 |
Average time in process |
1 |
Posting of reports on website |
1 + 3 |
Investigations started and completed per
investigator |
1 |
Implementation of business continuity planning |
4 |
Employee satisfaction |
2 |
Investment in training per person |
2 |
Employee attrition rates (excluding retirement) |
2 |
Effective use of partnerships |
5 |
Management Accountability Framework implementation |
1 + 2 + 4 |
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