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WMSC presses MetroRail for program-level fixes as roadway-worker protection audit finds persistent gaps
Summary
WMSC investigators and commissioners highlighted recurring roadway-worker protection (RWP) failures, the agency’s July 31 RWP audit with 13 findings, and the development of CAPs by MetroRail; commissioners urged strategic, program-level remedies beyond retraining to reduce fatal risk to workers.
WMSC presenters told commissioners that roadway-worker protection remains a high-risk program area and that recent investigations demonstrate persistent deficiencies in setup, flagging, communication and supervision.
Investigations Whiskey0332–0336 recount events from March 2023 through July 2023 in which advanced mobile flaggers (AMFs) lacked required equipment or positioning, crews entered roadways without protection, or students and supervisors failed to coordinate station briefings. The investigations named contributing factors common to earlier reports—noncompliance with written rules, poor radio transmission quality, lack of situational awareness and insufficient supervisory oversight.
WMSC published an RWP audit on July 31 that found MetroRail had policies, training and oversight but that deficiencies persisted; MetroRail has proposed corrective action plans addressing the audit’s 13 findings, which WMSC staff are reviewing. Several commissioners pressed for program-level change rather than case-by-case fixes. Vice Chair Lobby said retraining and bulletins have not been adequate and urged stronger supervisory compliance monitoring and CAPs that require measurable, positive results. Chair Hart and others urged including frontline workers in developing remedies.
WMSC staff acknowledged the need to look beyond reactive investigation recommendations and said caps created in response to the RWP audit are an opportunity to design strategic program changes. The commission said it will use oversight tools to monitor CAP development and implementation and seek CAP deliverables that provide measurable compliance monitoring (for example, efficiency testing or supervisor observation protocols) rather than only additional training or communications.
What happens next: WMSC is reviewing MetroRail’s proposed CAPs to address the 13 RWP audit findings and will incorporate program-level oversight in upcoming audits and inspections. Commissioners asked staff to return with concrete suggestions for CAP language that includes compliance-monitoring tools.
