14. TSB Cheat Sheet - SMS History and Stats

Transportation Safety Board (TSB) Cheat Sheet as of May 5, 2021

Since the TSB’s September 2020 Scorecard, 11 recommendations have been closed (5 Air, 3 Marine and 3 Rail), bringing the total number of outstanding recommendations for Transport Canada to 73 (50 Active and 23 Dormant).

In fall 2020, Transport Canada took concrete action to address specific TSB recommendations by publishing the following regulations:

• Regulations Amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (Emergency Locator Transmitters): 2 air recommendations were closed.
• Navigation Safety Regulations: 3 marine recommendations were closed.
• Locomotive voice and video recorders (LVVR) Regulations: 2 rail recommendation were closed.

Of note, the TSB has closed three outstanding recommendations against Transport Canada’s Rail Safety Program including:

• Recommendations R03-02 and R13-02 that directed Transport Canada to implement on-board cab voice recording and video recording, respectively. These recommendations were closed following the publication of the final Locomotive Voice and Video Recorder Regulations; and
• Recommendation R 17-01 that directed Transport Canada to conduct a study on the factors affecting the severity of derailments involving dangerous goods. This recommendation was closed following completion of the study. A copy is available on request from Transport Canada.

Previously, in 2018, Transport Canada published a new edition of a tank car standard consolidating both requirements for the Class 117 tank car for flammable liquids, and re-affirming requirements for enhanced Class 111 cars for the remaining non-pressure liquid dangerous goods. This new edition of the standard took effect in the TDG Regulations in July 2019. This resulted in the closure of a longstanding recommendation: “The Department of Transport extend the safety provisions of the construction standards applicable to 286 000-pound cars to all new non-pressurized tank cars carrying dangerous goods. (Watchlist 2018 issue:  slow progress)

Current assessment of all recommendations (as of May 5, 2021):

• Satisfactory intent (29%)
• Satisfactory In-part (34%)
• Unsatisfactory (25%)
• Unable to assess (12%)
• Not yet assessed (0%)

Watchlist-associated recommendations

In October 2020, the TSB released the 6th edition of its Watchlist with eight safety issues associated with 26 TC-related recommendations. On the last Scorecard, 5 recommendations were added to the Watchlist (3 Air and 1 Marine for Regulatory surveillance and 1 for Commercial fishing safety) and 3 were closed (2 Marine and 1 Rail). The following table provides an overview of recommendations associated with Watchlist issues:

Some recommendations fall under more than one Watchlist issue * 1 recommendation is now dormant.

Upcoming regulatory publications:

TC plans pre-publication or publication or a number of regulatory proposals in the next year, which should address 19 Transportation Safety Board recommendations and their associated Watchlist issues:

Watchlist 2020 Safety Issues:

• Safety Management (multimodal): Some transportation operators are not managing their safety risks effectively, do not have formal safety management processes in place and/or cannot demonstrate that it is working and producing the expected safety improvements.
• Regulatory Surveillance (multimodal): Regulatory surveillance has not always proven effective at verifying whether operators are, or have become, compliant with regulations and able to manage the safety of their operations.
• Fatigue Management (multimodal): In the transportation industry, crews often work long and irregular. Fatigue poses a risk because of its potential to degrade several aspects of human performance.
• Runway Overruns (Aviation): An aircraft can sometimes depart from the end of the runway surface during landings or rejected takeoffs, therefore posing a risk to people, property, and the environment.
• Risk of Collisions from Runway Incursions (Aviation): Despite millions of successful takeoffs and landing on Canadian runways, an accident can occur when an aircraft or vehicle incurs upon a runway surface that is actively in use.
• Commercial Fishing Safety (Marine): Every year, safety deficiencies on board fishing vessels continue to put at risk the lives of thousands of Canadian fish harvesters and the livelihoods of their families and communities.
• Following Railway Signal Indications (Rail): Train crews may not consistently recognize and follow railway signals. This poses a risk of train collisions or derailments, which can have catastrophic consequences.
• Unplanned/Uncontrolled Movement of Rail Equipment (Rail): Unplanned/uncontrolled movements of rail equipment create high-risk situations that may have catastrophic consequences.