The Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority on Tuesday selected DuPont to implement a five-year safety-improvement program.
Metro General Manager John Catoe has promised to make safety a way of life in Metro and announced plans to hire a private firm to improve Metro’s operations shortly after starting his job in January.
“We’re trying to make this a safer place to work for all Metro employees and a safer riding experience for our customers,” Catoe said Tuesday. “DuPont is one of the safest companies in the world, and they can help us be the same.”
When Catoe was the second-in-command of Los Angeles’ transit system, he hired DuPont for a similar endeavor that helped the agency cut injuries by 61 percent. He expects Metro will reduce its injuries by at least 50 percent.
DuPont, a company that became known for its advances in chemicals and plastics but has diversified in recent years, has become a leading safety consultant in recent years. The company also has worked with transit systems in Chicago, New York and several international cities. The safety-improvement program involves top-to-bottom safety evaluations of Metro facilities, analysis of Metro’s operational procedures and intensive safety training for employees.
“We go in and change the culture and change how people think and act,” DuPont spokeswoman Stephanie Jacobson said.
Metro expects the emphasis on safety to generate $8 million to $10 million in savings over the next five years by reducing its workers’ compensation costs and lost productivity. DuPont’s only compensation will be a percentage of the savings Metro realizes.
Metro employees made 1,216 workers’ compensation claims in fiscal 2006 and missed 36,284 workdays (the equivalent of 145 full-time employees).
In the past six months, Metro has had a spate of fatal accidents. Two track inspectors were struck and killed by a Yellow Line train Nov. 30. In February, three pedestrians were fatally hit by Metrobuses in one week.
