Adapting Clear Signal for Action: An Early Risk Identification and Removal Process

Clear Signal for Action (CSA) is a safety process that seeks to change safety culture through the organizational hierarchy. It is a non-regulatory, proactive risk reduction method for improving safety and safety culture, which integrates safety leadership development (SLD), peer-to-peer feedback (PPF) and coaching, and continuous improvement (CI). The CSA project aimed to develop/customize and provide low-cost, comprehensive training and software materials to implement and sustain the CSA safety method for all crafts in passenger railroad operations, specifically related to high-speed and intercity passenger railroads. From January 2012 to January 2020, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) contracted with a company experienced in applying CSA principles to the railroad industry to adapt the technology from freight operations to high-speed intercity passenger and commuter operations. This included developing the CSA documentation and accompanying software. Volpe created a stakeholder review panel to work with both Volpe and the contractor to adapt the materials in a way that would meet the needs of the passenger railroads and leverage lessons learned from the three Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) -sponsored evaluations of CSA.