President & General Manager 2020 Q3 Report December 2020 Translink
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PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER 2020 Q3 REPORT DECEMBER 2020 TRANSLINK BOARD MEETING This quarter BCRTC continued to deliver its maintenance and rail services despite the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. BCRTC’s Q3 business plan activities and accomplishments reflect the company’s commitment to our employees and customers. We continue to focus on the rail priorities of delivering a Just Culture, inclusive leadership, high performance, and supporting the rail expansion projects contained in the Mayors’ Vision. TransLink Strategic Priority: Implement the Mayors’ Vision Fleet and Infrastructure Phase 2 Mark III status update: In Q3, Mark III testing and commissioning continued at our Burnaby maintenance facility and on our network. All 14 Mark IIIs that make up this phase of the fleet expansion are in BCRTC’s possession, with 10 trains fully commissioned, and the remaining four trains in various stages of revenue service testing. It is anticipated that these remaining trains will be fully commission early in Q4, bringing our total Mark III fleet to 21 trains, which represents 84 cars. Modernize infrastructure to increase capacity and accommodate growth With future network expansion on the horizon and the long-term ridership growth that SkyTrain is likely to experience with it, it remains vital to modernize the system’s infrastructure to ensure resiliency and reliability of the transit service BCRTC provides. • In Q3, the 2020 running rail replacement project work began in the area between 22nd Street to New West Station. The project was able to replace 6,500 rail pads on the inbound track between the two stations. Rail pads are used to fasten, and support running rail to the guideway and help to reduce shock and vibration on the system. Running rail and rail pad replacement work is critical to the resiliency and reliability of SkyTrain’s rail infrastructure. • Work continues for a new Operations Control Centre (OCC) with the 90% design submission anticipated by mid-November. The building permit application to the City of Burnaby follows the receipt of the 90% submission package. Elevating Devices The Expo Line Escalator Replacement program progressed successfully in Q3. When finished this project will replace 37 escalators at 13 Expo Line stations by the end of 2023. Replacing escalators on the Expo Line is critical maintenance to accommodate the four-fold increase in ridership since these devices were installed over 30 years ago. These new, heavier-duty escalators will be able to accommodate higher passenger volumes and improve the device’s safety and reliability. This critical investment in the system will enhance the customer experience well into the future. • Granville Station escalator replacement project was completed in Q3. This project replaces six elevating devices at this station including three of the longest escalators in Metro Vancouver. • Work to replace Escalator #3 at Waterfront Station began in September. While ridership is low, we’ve been fortunate to have been able to work on multiple escalators at once, thus expediting the overall project schedule and trying to keep customer impacts minimal. This replacement work was originally planned for 2021. • Other stations where escalator replacement work occurred in Q3 include: . Columbia: One “up” escalator Page 1 of 8 . Commercial–Broadway: One new “up” and one new “down” escalator in the south stationhouse . Gateway: One “up” escalator leading from street level to ticketing level . Waterfront: Two escalators (one up, one down) at the east end of the platform, one of two escalators at the Howe Street station entrance, one (up) escalator between the Expo Line platform and Howe Street escalators . Nanaimo - One “up” escalator . King George - One “up” escalator Fleet expansion and management • Bid evaluation for our fleet expansion RFP continued in Q3. BCRTC and Thales also started an Early Works Study to investigate changes required on guideway elements in order to accommodate 5-Car Train operations. • With this work complete, action plans are being created to ensure that the cars can be delivered and commissioned on time. Implementation of McNeil recommendations • The OMC1 power system upgrade project continued in Q3 with completion of the building construction phase and successful energizing of the second BC Hydro feed. This project reduces the risk of service disruptions by upgrading BCRTC’s aging power equipment, while also improving resiliency and system continuity redundancies for critical system elements. This project is a key recommendation within the McNeil report. • Work to improve the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system to reduce occurrences of disruptions and reduce time needed to recover progressed in Q3. One feature of this project is the installation of new software that minimizes downtime after a train time-out. Work performed for this project included the completion of in-house and field testing of Vehicle Control Centre (VCC) and Vehicle On-Board Computer (VOBC) software. Implementation of VCC software is approximately 85% complete. TransLink Strategic Priority: Maintain a State of Good Repair Safety, Environment and Emergency Management Employee and passenger safety on our system and in our workplace continues to be our top priority. Zero Harm and Just Culture continues to be a focus of the department with a particular focus on Just Culture, which is a values-supportive system of learning from incidents and accepting it is human nature to make mistakes, yet also holding people accountable for producing an outcome and not doing harm. • To minimize the risk of employees to injury and illness, field level hazard assessment (FLHA) program has been implemented in the power, guideway, and elevating devices departments. The FLHA program provides a consistent approach for BCRTC employees to identify and control workplace hazards putting an emphasis on planning, safety and clear communication ahead of completing any field work. The Safety department will continue to move forward with other departments during the remainder of the year. • A number of key safety programs have been identified for development to continue to support the overall Safety Management System (SMS). The programs include: updated PPE program, Hot Work, Hearing Conservation, Incident Investigation, hot/cold weather temperature protection, and accessing Automatic Train Control. All programs are in final draft stage and are currently being reviewed. The next phase will include final engagement with stakeholders for approval and sign off. • The Safety Department continues working on Zero Harm related initiatives which includes piloting the SafeStart program in 2021. The program focuses on actions and gives employees tools to think about safety before completing tasks. Page 2 of 8 • In Q3, BCRTC had no wastewater exceedances, nor reportable spills. Lost Time Incidents (LTI) In Q3 there were 12 LTI claims accepted by WorkSafeBC, compared to seven the previous quarter. Year-to- date BCRTC has recorded 29 LTI claims compared to 39 in 2019 and the rate continues to be better (4.4) than target (5.2) for this category. The Safety Department continues to work with other departments to identify high-risk tasks and create situational awareness. Part of this risk assessment process is to ensure effective controls are in place. A new safety dashboard introduced in Q2 is being used to identify trends within each department. Control measures are put in place and then measured for effectiveness. Physical assaults on employees The physical safety of our employees is the company’s top priority. The foundations for a Zero Harm workplace have been laid out for our customer-facing staff. There were no physical assaults on staff in Q3 2020, keeping the YTD total at nine. The YTD assaults per 200,000 hours worked rate of 1.36 is 34% lower than 2019's rate of 2.04 for the same period. • Physical assaults have been trending down recently. Focus and discussion are around preventative measures for a possible increase in assaults due to COVID 19 measures that are in place. Safety and Security will continue to monitor the trends. • The Safety and Security Department continue to make progress in ensuring the assault incidents are properly investigated, communicating the risks and taking steps to prevent them. Passenger Injury rate • Passenger injuries on the Expo and Millennium Lines continue to be lower than target. EM passenger injuries per million boarded passengers were down 10.4% compared to the same period in 2019. There were eight reported injuries in Q3. The injury rate of 0.66 per million boarded passengers (pmbp) for the quarter is well below the threshold of 1.0 pmbp. Reduced ridership is likely a factor in the lower injury rate this quarter. Maintenance Despite the constraints of physical distancing, the important work of maintaining and repairing trains, track, systems and infrastructure by our rolling stock and guideway teams continued in Q3. The percentage of hours allocated to preventative maintenance activities in Q3 increased from Q2 at 56%, up 1% from Q2. Railway infrastructure maintenance activities this quarter: Running rail Inspections: In Q3, the annual ultrasonic and geometry testing on our network’s running rail required by Transport Canada was completed. Geometry inspection measures the running rail gauge (width of running rail), power rail gauge (so not too tight or too far for the power collector shoes), and LIM height (not too high to hit the LIM or too low to lose motor efficiency).