Publications

Transportation Safety Board of Canada
2005-2006 Business Plan

Table of Contents

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 RISKS AND CHALLENGES

2.1 Managing External Expectations

2.2 Maintaining Operational Capability

2.3 Increasing Awareness to Influence Positive Changes

2.4 Implementing Government-wide Initiatives

2.5 Balancing Resources and Results

3.0 CORPORATE PRIORITIES

Group 1 - Ongoing Priorities

    1) Continuous Improvement of Products and Services

    2) Sustainable Human Resources

    3) Organizational Continuous Improvement Process

Group 2 - Emerging Priorities

    4) Awareness of the TSB and its Activities

    5) Developing Partnerships

4.0 DETAILED ACTION PLANS FOR 2005-2006

5.0 BRANCH/DIVISION PRIORITIES

5.1 Executive

5.1.1 Executive Director

5.1.2 Communications

5.2 Investigation Operations

5.2.1 Air

5.2.2 Marine

5.2.3 Rail/Pipeline

5.2.4 Engineering

5.2.5 Report Production

5.2.6 Macro-Analysis

5.2.7 Human Performance

5.3 Corporate Services

5.3.1 Finance and Administration

5.3.2 Human Resources

5.3.3 Information Management

5.3.4 Informatics

5.3.5 Corporate Planning and Reporting

6.0 2005-2006 RESOURCE ALLOCATION

7.0 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

7.1 Balanced Scorecard

7.2 Results Chain

7.3 Performance Information Table

©  Minister of Public Works and Government Services 2005
    TU1-7/2005
    0-662-68916-X

1.0 Introduction

Consistent with previous years, the 2005-2006 TSB Business Plan defines our corporate priorities for the coming year and identifies key initiatives in support of these priorities. This Business Plan, however, takes us one step further in the implementation of a comprehensive performance planning and management framework. Two new sections have been added: Branch/Division Priorities and Performance Measurement. Both sections define linkages to our day-to-day activities and establish a framework to help us measure our performance and results. The Performance Measurement section will also help us establish greater linkages with the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report that we submit to Parliament.

Once again this year, difficult choices had to be made in order to balance the level of activity to be undertaken with the financial and human resources available. This challenge was complicated by the sunsetting of the short-term resource pressure funding we had received from Parliament. Furthermore, even though significant progress has been made on the Transportation Investigation Information Management System (TIIMS), a considerable investment of time and money is required to complete this project and achieve the expected benefits. The senior management team has therefore made a decision to limit the number of new initiatives and projects to be undertaken over the coming year. Managers have also been asked to implement transitory measures to facilitate the return to operations within the base budget funding level. However, good planning and ongoing attention to resource management should enable us to face this challenge and successfully deliver on our mandate.

2.0 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. Our 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 are described in the following paragraphs.

2.1 Managing External Expectations

We have 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 us to undertake more safety investigations. The TSB must therefore find the right balance between the level of activity to be undertaken 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. We must also communicate effectively with our stakeholders and the public in order to convey our priorities and our limited capacity. We must ensure that reasonable expectations are set through appropriate communication.

2.2 Maintaining Operational Capability

The success of our organization and its credibility depend largely on the expertise, professionalism and competence of our 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. We must not only maintain an appropriate capital asset infrastructure, but must also keep up our technical expertise and knowledge base in order to maintain credibility within the industry. In recent years, we have 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.

2.3 Increasing Awareness to Influence Positive Changes

To achieve our mandate and to influence stakeholders to take actions that lead to positive changes in transportation safety, we must present compelling arguments for change in 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 us to influence key change agents. To that end, senior management recently approved a three-year Corporate Communications Plan, which is essentially a road map for how we want to improve communications. The Plan represents a more active approach to publicizing key safety messages to influence positive changes.

2.4 Implementing Government-wide Initiatives

Over the past year, the Government of Canada 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 us with no additional resources being provided. The series of Government Operations Reviews (shared corporate services, IT services, procurement, institutional governance, etc.) 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 (HRM) modernization will also directly affect our resources over the next two years. The challenge for the TSB is to continue to incorporate these cumulative requirements into our daily activities, within the resource envelope available, while maintaining a suitable balance between the fulfillment of our mandate and the implementation of the government's overall agenda.

2.5 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. We must therefore contend with diminishing operating 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 us: 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, we have been grappling 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, 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, but conveying the value for money using traditional financial measures is much more challenging.

3.0 Corporate Priorities

At the Managers' Conference in October, participants conducted an environmental scan and identified five potential priorities for the 2005-2006 Business Pan. In a subsequent meeting, the Executive Committee recognized that, in light of the significant investment required to complete ongoing work on TIIMS and HRM modernization, there would be limited resources available to undertake new initiatives. The Executive Committee therefore decided to retain all five priorities but to categorize these priorities into two groups. The first group, Ongoing Priorities, is important for our organization; but as resources and our human capacity are limited, the Executive Committee did not call for new project proposals in these areas. Ongoing activities in these areas will be continued, and managers are encouraged to incorporate, to the extent possible, activities related to these priorities in their Operational Work Plans without incurring any new significant investments of time or money. The second group of priorities are identified as Emerging Priorities.

All priorities are strategic investments aimed at finding ways to enhance our organization's relevance and contribution to transportation safety in Canada and internationally. The objective of these priorities is to strengthen the organization from within. The five priorities are described in the following subsections.

Group 1 - Ongoing Priorities

Activities related to these priorities will be carried out without incurring any new significant investments of time and/or money.

1) Continuous Improvement of Products and Services

We are committed to the continuous improvement of our 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, established priorities and initiated selected changes to better respond to the needs of our stakeholders. We must now turn our attention to the development and implementation of a framework for the ongoing assessment and refinement of our products and services to ensure that they remain relevant to changing stakeholder expectations in the years to come.

2) Sustainable Human Resources

We 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. We are 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 increased 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 our requirements to maintain essential services during strikes. The PSMA implementation is key to having a sustainable and productive workforce within the Federal Public Service context.

3) Organizational Continuous Improvement Process

Over the past few years, we have made significant progress toward 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 TIIMS implementation will provide a solid basis for the establishment of a continuous improvement process. As we move forward, management must ensure that a culture of continuous improvement is developed and ingrained throughout the organization. Managers and employees must incorporate the ongoing review and streamlining of processes and practices, as well as resource optimization, into their daily activities.

Group 2 - Emerging Priorities

Based on the risks and challenges, as well as input from managers and staff, the following emerging priorities highlight the new areas of focus for the coming year.

4) Awareness of the TSB and its Activities

Despite the excellent work of our organization, most Canadians do not readily recognize the TSB or its contributions to transportation safety. We must strengthen our investment in public awareness activities so that our 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 our products and services and the results achieved for Canadians.

5) Developing Partnerships

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

4.0 Detailed Action Plans for 2005-2006

The Action Plans in this section provide detailed information about each corporate priority project for 2005-2006. The following summary table shows how each project links to our corporate priorities.

5.0 Branch/Division Priorities

In addition to corporate priorities, individual DGs, Directors and managers have established Branch and Division priorities for their areas of responsibility. This section outlines the priorities for each Branch and Division. These priorities are extracted from the Operational Work Plans of each area and directly link to the individual work objectives of managers. These are not the only priorities of managers, but they are the key ones that will contribute to the achievement of our Strategic Outcome. For more details, please consult the Operational Work Plans.

5.1 Executive

5.1.1 Executive Director

During the coming year, the Executive Director will focus his attention on two key areas. Particular attention will be placed on evaluating how the new governance structure is functioning. Emphasis will also be placed on the implementation of TIIMS and the implementation of the Public Service Modernization Act while ensuring that the other critical dimensions of TSB operations are not ignored.

5.1.2 Communications

During fiscal year 2004-2005, a Corporate Communications Strategy was approved that is essentially a road map for how the Communications Division, in collaboration with its modal and corporate clients, will improve the communications functions at the TSB over the next three years. Our priorities include making the media relations function more proactive and using the media to make the TSB's contribution to transportation safety more visible to the Canadian public. To this end, we will issue approximately 35 news releases related to investigation operations. We will strengthen the government relations function and formalize its process, and continue to build on the success of our Public Awareness Program by participating in approximately 10 events with a focus on industry change agents. Priorities also include the development and introduction of a TSB Speakers Bureau to assist managers and employees who have been invited by our stakeholders to speak on behalf of the TSB, and the completion of a new corporate video.

5.2 Investigation Operations

In 2005-2006, in addition to ongoing management, particular attention will be paid to the following key items. The first is the effective roll-out and implementation of the tools and products developed under the TIIMS environment. This includes an Operations Manager role, funded through internal reallocation. The second is to improve the timeliness and quality of safety products (reports, advisories, communications), building on the efforts over the past two years. This will include publication of Board assessments of responses to recommendations on the Internet and through other means.

5.2.1 Air

The main priority will be to continue to strengthen the capabilities of the Air Branch to ensure that results of investigation activities satisfy the Board's objectives for professional, timely, accurate and objective reports and safety communications. Investigator and manager training is an important component of this priority, and a key indicator will be our ability to start up to 60 investigations and maintain an equivalent level of report completion.

The Branch will also develop and sustain professional relationships with other organizations within and outside the TSB. This will include development of investigation policies, standards and procedures, and establishing and exploiting informal and formal partnerships with industry, regulators and other investigative agencies.

5.2.2 Marine

The Branch will continue to implement effective management of the investigation process, particularly through Operations Managers' focus on managing and communicating workflows, communicating decisions on the scope and objective of investigations, identifying safety deficiencies, and managing the content and preparation of reports.

The Branch will consolidate Board marine recommendations, safety concerns, and national and international information in order to determine residual risks and identify safety issues that will influence future investigative decisions and priorities.

5.2.3 Rail/Pipeline

The focus of Rail/Pipeline Branch activities will continue to be on the quality and timeliness of investigation reports. Investigations will be completed as soon as possible with no investigation taking more than two years to complete. At the same time, the Branch will be working with Public Affairs to optimize communication of the safety lessons learned in each investigation.

5.2.4 Engineering

The Branch aims to improve the timeliness and quality of its products, including reducing the mean completion time of Engineering projects by 20% from the previous year, cross-training of personnel, and optimizing the use of alliances and partnerships.

The Branch will also support the identification and communication of safety deficiencies in the marine, pipeline, rail and air transportation systems by producing professional Engineering reports that are conducive to the identification of safety deficiencies, and by improving the frequency and quality of internal communications with investigators and managers.

5.2.5 Report Production

The Division will produce all TSB public documents in a timely and efficient manner and will continuously review and track performance. The team will strive to reduce the current backlog of about 60 investigation reports to a backlog of no more than 20 reports by the end of the fiscal year, while publishing approximately 100 final investigation reports.

5.2.6 Macro-Analysis

In addition to ongoing data analysis and reporting, the Division will help to ensure the implementation of the reinvigorated "safety issues investigation" activity by developing and delivering a related training program on appropriate methodologies.

The Division also manages the TSB Research Committee, and will complete up to four new research projects over the year.

5.2.7 Human Performance

In addition to identification of human factor safety deficiencies in transportation occurrences, the Division will focus on the implementation of the recurrent training plan developed in fiscal year 2004-2005. The training program will provide guidance as to what information needs to be collected in the early stages of an investigation to validate human performance factors, and will develop further skills in the conduct of interviews relating to human performance issues. The training plan will include greater opportunities for working one on one with investigators through workshops, regional visits and other activities.

5.3 Corporate Services

The Corporate Services Branch priorities for 2005-2006 will be largely driven by the Treasury Board's government-wide agenda. The impact of TB decisions on the TSB will be evaluated, and implementation plans will be developed to ensure compliance to TB directives while maintaining the continuity of operations. We will also continue to provide input into TB reviews and studies (e.g. shared services) in an attempt to influence decision-making in such a way as to minimize the impact on the TSB operations.

5.3.1 Finance and Administration

Finance and Administration will review and streamline its processes and practices for the tracking and management of departmental assets (capital assets and attractive items). The implementation of the Travel Modernization project will continue with the rollout of various tools (on-line booking, electronic authority and travel claim). This year we will also implement the government's procurement reform and the new Government of Canada Marketplace (GOCM) electronic procurement tools.

5.3.2 Human Resources

For the last few years, official languages has been a federal government priority anchored in the 2003 Action Plan on Official Languages. New official languages policies concerning service to the Canadian public were also promulgated in 2004 by the PSHRMAC. This year the Human Resources Division will focus its efforts on the implementation of the new policies. Providing the best service in both official languages requires an adequate internal capacity, which begins with the proper identification of the language profile of each position.

5.3.3 Information Management

This year, the IM Division's priorities will be to continue its training and awareness activities, with particular emphasis on how employees' responsibilities will evolve with the introduction of new IM tools as part of the TIIMS project; and to continue its work on the development of updated file classification plans focussing on TSB corporate and common services related, for example, to the IM, IT and communications functions.

5.3.4 Informatics

The primary IT priority will be to develop and implement transition plans and activities to ensure effective informatics support for the operationalization of TIIMS and to prepare for the TSB's adoption of Government of Canada IT shared services. This will include defining changes in support roles, processes, organization, service levels and training requirements.

5.3.5 Corporate Planning and Reporting

This year the corporate planning and reporting section will focus on the completion and implementation of our Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard will be used to measure our organizational performance and will serve as the foundation upon which our Departmental Performance Report will be based.

6.0 2005-2006 Resource Allocation

Budgets for fiscal year 2005-2006 were approved by the Executive Committee on April 1, 2005. Approved allocations are shown in the following table.

The table below shows the allocation of resources by major organizational unit within the Investigation Operations Directorate.

Funding from the 2005-2006 base budget has been specifically set aside for the various Business Plan projects. Approved allocations for Business Plan priorities and key initiatives are shown in the following table.

7.0 Performance Measurement

For a plan to be useful it must be measurable. This is important so that feedback can be provided to decision-makers, and any necessary follow-up action can be taken to update or better manage activities. The ability to measure and communicate results focusses managers and employees on the critical drivers and enables us to align our indicators and action plans throughout the entire organization.

7.1 Balanced Scorecard

The TSB employs the Balanced Scorecard methodology to measure organizational performance and track progress in achieving our strategic outcome. This Scorecard will provide information from four different perspectives: financial; client/stakeholder; internal business processes; and learning and growth.

Financial Perspective

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.

Client/Stakeholder Perspective

The client/stakeholder perspective will measure TSB 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.

Internal Business Processes Perspective

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

Learning and Growth Perspective

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 figure below graphically illustrates the TSB's Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard helps us focus on our strategic measures and their targets. The Scorecard outlines the measures that will be used to assess our results in order to demonstrate that our program is providing value for Canadians. This realistic and logical approach is characterized by measuring progress toward the results that are sought, having the flexibility to be able to adjust our activities to better meet these expectations, and reporting on the results accomplished. This directly links what our employees are doing and their immediate products.

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

7.2 Results Chain

In order to demonstrate how our activities and outputs are expected to lead to the achievement of our strategic outcome, we have developed a basic Results Chain. The Results Chain, shown below, provides an organizational "road map" for the TSB, helping to ensure we clearly link our resources, activities and outputs to our strategic outcome. It enables us to connect our appropriations from Parliament to the ultimate result we strive to achieve as an organization.

The key elements of performance measurement are defined below to ensure a common understanding.

Activities: actions used to produce outputs and results.

Outputs: products or services provided to stakeholders.

Expected Results: accomplishments of value to Canadians.

Performance Indicators: measures of what will be tracked over time.

Performance Measures: yardsticks used to judge how well we have done (includes target, data source, frequency of measure).

7.3 Performance Information Table

By combining our approved Program Activity Architecture, the Results Chain and our Balanced Scorecard, we can build a detailed performance information table. The figure below illustrates these linkages.

The following performance information table is a work in progress. It constitutes a first attempt at structured performance measurement. Thus, as we progress we will need to evaluate whether we are measuring the right elements in the right manner, so that we can modify and adjust our indicators and measure for future cycles. For 2005-2006, this performance information table will be used as the foundation upon which performance data will be collected, consolidated and reported in the annual Departmental Performance Report. This performance information will also be used to assess progress against our Strategic Plan and to inform management decisions.

* For most indicators, targets have yet to be defined by management, given that baseline data are not readily available. Specific targets will be defined during the course of the year.