ARCHIVED - Transportation Safety Board of Canada - Report

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Chair’s Message

For over 20 years, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has responded to the needs of Canadians, investigating thousands of occurrences and always with the same goal: to advance transportation safety by uncovering safety lessons and then communicating those lessons to the public.

Now, as we enter our third decade, we are able to look back on 20 years of successes —many of which have helped change operating practices, equipment or the laws governing the transportation industry.

However, real safety also involves looking forward, and at the TSB, we always try to keep the bigger picture in mind. Whether it be painstakingly putting back together the broken pieces of a shattered airliner or computer modeling the inside of a lifeboat locking mechanism, our analysts are constantly using the latest technology and investigative techniques to compare occurrences and identify pervasive problems in the transportation system. In addition to publishing investigation reports in all four modes, we released a Safety Watchlist at the end of last fiscal year. This document identifies the nine key safety issues posing the greatest risk to Canadians — issues that have proven stubbornly resistant to change.

For the most part, we’ve been very successful. Since its release, the Watchlist has helped us raise awareness and stimulate action. We’ve held numerous meetings with industry and regulators and we’ve seen improvements in the various transportation modes.

More, though, remains to be done. Not all of our recommendations have been implemented and some risks still remain. Going forward, this will be our challenge; to help us get there, we’ve set an ambitious target: within the next five years, we aspire to have 80% of our recommendations fully implemented — that’s 80% of the 538 issued since the TSB’s inception in 1990. Successful action on all outstanding recommendations related to the Watchlist will go a long way to helping us reach that target. Five years from now, we want these nine issues — every single one — to be eliminated.

We therefore pledge to continue to push for the changes that need to be made, to do the work that has established Canada as a world leader in independent accident investigation and to provide regular updates so that all Canadians can follow our progress and remain informed about the issues.

A safe transportation system is vital to our country’s society and economy. From St. John’s to Victoria, from Windsor to Inuvik, and all points in between, the TSB is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of all Canadians: on our waterways, along our pipelines and railways, and in our skies.

Section 1: Overview

1.1    Summary Information

Raison d’être and Responsibilities

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 to ensure that there are no real or perceived conflicts of interest. The TSB’s sole objective is to advance transportation safety. This mandate is fulfilled by conducting independent investigations into selected transportation occurrences. The purpose of these investigations is to identify the causes and contributing factors and the safety deficiencies evidenced by an occurrence. The TSB then makes recommendations to improve safety and reduce or eliminate risks to people, property and the environment.

The jurisdiction of the TSB includes all aviation, marine, rail and pipeline transportation occurrences ¹ in or over Canada that fall under federal jurisdiction. The TSB may also represent Canadian interests in foreign investigations of transportation accidents involving Canadian registered, licensed or manufactured aircraft, ships or railway rolling stock. 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).

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.

For more details on the TSB investigation process or the links between the TSB and other federal organizations visit the TSB website at http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/index.asp.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture

The chart below illustrates the program activities framework that contributes to progress toward the TSB strategic outcome.

 

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1.2    Planning Summary

Resources

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

Financial Resources ($ thousands)

2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
30,626	30,128	30,128

Human Resources (FTEs^*)

2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
235	235	235

* Full-time equivalents

The following table shows the contribution of the departmental strategic outcome to the government-wide results. It also lists the key performance indicators for the TSB strategic outcome. Finally, it provides the program activities’ expected results as well as the planned spending for each one of them over the next three years. The TSB’s baseline funding, as shown in the Main Estimates, is approximately 30 million dollars. It is expected to remain stable over the next three fiscal years.

Link to the Government of Canada Outcome:	A safe and secure Canada (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ppg-cpr/framework-cadre-eng.aspx?Rt=1037)
TSB Strategic Outcome:	The mitigation of risks to the safety of the transportation system through independent accident investigations
Performance Indicators:	Number of transportation occurrences Number of investigations started, in progress, completed Number of safety communications issued Results of Board assessments of responses to recommendations
Expected results of each of the four key program activities:	Increased productivity while conducting investigations and increased effectiveness of safety communications

Program Activities*	Forecast Spending** ($ thousands)	Planned Spending** ($ thousands)
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
Marine Investigations	5,641	5,428	5,380	5,380
Pipeline Investigations	550	530	525	525
Rail Investigations	4,969	4,778	4,736	4,736
Air Investigations	13,597	13,291	13,057	13,057
Total Planned Spending	24,757	24,027	23,698	23,698

The following table shows the planned spending for the Internal Services program activity, which supports the needs of the four program activities outlined in the previous table.

Program Activity*	Forecast Spending** ($ thousands)	Planned Spending** ($ thousands)
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
Internal Services	6,903	6,599	6,430	6,430

^*   For a description of the program activities, see section 2.
^** Refer to the paragraph after the Expenditure Profile in this document for an analysis of the spending trend.

Estimates by Vote

For information on TSB voted and statutory items, please consult the 2011-12 Main Estimates publication at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20112012/me-bpd/info/info-eng.asp.

Departmental Spending Trend

The figure below illustrates TSB’s spending trend from 2007-08 to 2013-14.

Expenditure Profile from 2007-08 to 2013-14

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For the 2007-08 to 2010-11 fiscal years, the total spending includes all Parliamentary appropriations and revenue sources: Main Estimates, Supplementary Estimates, transfers from Treasury Board Votes 10, 15 and 30 and respendable revenues. It also includes carry forward adjustments (Vote 25) of the previous year’s lapsed funds. For fiscal year 2011‑12, the total spending includes the Main Estimates planned spending, an estimate of the funding carry-forward from 2010-11 and anticipated funding through Supplementary Estimates for signed collective agreements.

For the 2012-13 to 2013-14 periods, the total spending corresponds only to the Main Estimates planned spending because Treasury Board adjustments and the lapse carry forward are unknown at this time. In real terms, TSB funding has remained virtually the same since 2007‑08.

Risk Analysis

The TSB operates within the context of Canada’s very large, complex, dynamic and ever‑changing transportation system. The following are the key external and internal factors that could have an impact on the organization’s operations and management and the risks they represent.

From an External Point of View

Periods of Financial Restraint and Uncertainty

In Budget 2010, the Government announced restraints on departmental spending that require the TSB to closely manage it resources in order to continue to deliver on its mandate.  For fiscal years 2010-11 to 2012-13, departments are to fund within their existing budgets any wage and salary increases resulting from collective agreements. Additionally, expenditures in the areas of travel, conferences and hospitality continue to be capped up to and including fiscal year 2012-13. Given the government’s budgetary deficit, there is an elevated risk that the department could face additional financial restraints. This context will make it increasingly difficult to continue delivering on the TSB’s mandate within available resources.

From an Internal Point of View

Maintenance of a Knowledgeable and Professional Workforce

The success of the TSB and its credibility depend largely on the expertise, the professionalism and the competence of its employees. In addition to challenges in recruiting experienced and qualified personnel, the TSB’s demographic profile and anticipated number of retirements over the next four years increase the risk of corporate memory loss and insufficient human capacity to fulfill its mandate. TSB may also continue to experience a high turnover rate in some of the functional support areas due to high demand for such specialists across the public service and limited internal opportunities for advancement. The TSB must effectively plan and manage its human resources in order to address this risk.   

Information and Data Management

The TSB’s work is fundamentally reliant on the collection, retention and management of information.  A challenge facing the TSB is ensuring that the information is current, appropriately stored and readily accessible to employees who need it.  Additionally, Treasury Board Secretariat has issued new policies and directives that impose additional expectations with respect to information management on departments.  To this end, the TSB must continue to enhance the processes and tools in support of the management of paper and electronic records and investigation data.

Contribution of the Priorities to the Strategic Outcome

After examining the TSB’s environment, senior management has identified four priorities for 2011-12 that will contribute to the achievement of the TSB’s strategic outcome.  These priorities are consistent with those identified in 2010-11; the projects described under each priority generally build on existing initiatives.

Priorities	Type	Description
Strategic Communication of TSB’s mandate, investigative work and safety accomplishments	Previously committed	In 2011-12, the TSB will continue to : Raise awareness, stimulate discussion and push for uptake of Watchlist recommendations by change agents. It will continue to report publicly on progress through targeted outreach and media events. Leverage technology and improve its website to communicate more effectively, maximize the reach of all its safety messages and increase the uptake of its recommendations.
Strategic Human Resources Management	Previously committed	The departmental initiatives that will be implemented to close gaps identified with regards to human resources management are: strengthen human resources planning processes update the investigator training program; finalize the standby review and implement the retained recommendations; complete the review and update of obsolete work descriptions.
Product Improvements	Previously committed	The TSB will continue efforts aimed at improving its ability to offer, in a timely manner, products most likely to promote changes leading to the reduction of transportation safety risks. This year, the  focus will be on the following projects: update the technology behind the  investigation databases in order to improve the TSB’s ability to collect, analyze and share data on accidents and incidents; develop an improved modal forecasting and management accountability tool; streamline the Publishing and Linguistic Services Division and its processes; finalize the plan to permanently clear the TSB report backlog and maintain TSB website up to date; implement any changes that may arise from the stakeholders consultation.
Management Framework	Previously committed	The TSB will dedicate resources to: implement an electronic records management system on a pilot basis; update on an ongoing basis our policies, directives, procedures and manuals; implement the corrective measures stemming from Treasury Board Secretariat’s Management Accountability Framework assessment; implement a new strategic resource management approach to effectively manage the department’s budget.

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