Did Metrolink Spokeswoman Do Her Job?

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".....see the article by Najmedin Meshkati and James Osborn, "Rail safety's human error excuse" at http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-meshkati17-2008sep17,0,5267226.story)." - LEL of CA
The article says -
"........Rather than being the main instigators of an accident, operators tend to be the inheritors of system defects created by poor design, incorrect installation, faulty maintenance and bad management decisions. Their part is usually that of adding the final garnish to a lethal brew whose ingredients have already been long in the cooking."
At USC, 25 years of research into the safety of technological systems bears this out. It has shown that on many occasions, the error and its consequences are the result of a multitude of factors, including poor workstation and workplace designs, complicated operational processes, unreasonable mental and/or physical workloads and inadequate staffing, faulty maintenance, ineffective training, nonresponsive managerial systems, dysfunctional organizational structures and haphazard response systems.........."
"...Tyrrell said the Metrolink engineer "made the error" of passing a red light without stopping, her full statement makes it clear she was not trying to disavow Metrolink's responsibility by "blaming" the engineer. It is understandable that some people heard it that way...." - Fact checker of NJ
People heard it that way, because that's precisely the way it was intended to be interpreted. It establishes the company's favored and most optimal base line at the outset. Everything after that is background noise. Everything after that is of lesser, even insignificant consequence.
Somebody made a mistake, that's clear.
The outcome is tragic, no argument.
But how can a single mistake, within a supposedly safe system, have such shocking consequences?
The multiple causes which allow such a thing to happen need to be identified and fixed.
I have vastly more confidence in the investigation by the NTSB to determine the causes of this terrible accident, than I do in the institutional blame-shifting and finger pointing by Tyrell and Metrolink.
The question is, will Metrolink fix the systemic failures - THEIR systemic failures - or will they just keep on pretending that there aren't any?
What Tyrell did was unwise. And it was wrong.
Unwise because she allowed herself to be put in a position where Metrolink could cut her loose, and wrong because it flies in the face of the principles of natural justice.
She should have resigned in protest, rather than make such a statement.

casey of CA 8:56PM September 17, 2008

Well, to be fair, the Metrolink spokeswoman didn't make her comment until after "Higgins (Kitty Higgins, an NTSB board member) said tests at the crash site showed the signals are working properly and there were no obstructions that may have prevented the engineer from seeing the red light."

Walt of PA 7:42PM September 17, 2008

I was surprised at Tyrrell's statement and thought at the time "Wow, Metrolink is showing some backbone!" I heard her statement as one of compassion and acceptance of responsibility. I did not hear or take it to mean blame. I heard it as an admission that a mistake was made by one of our employees, we accept that responsibility.
I am a routine Metrolink rider and have been a Metrolink supporter, and I take this train just not as far as Chatsworth. It is clear to me that Metrolink is strategizing to avoid the legal issues involved with the federal law which limits total payout for any one accident to $200 million. With 26 dead and 130 injured, more than 80 of whom have serious or critical injuries, you can bet Metrolink is focused on this issue but they should be showing more concern for their customers, their relationships and their public.
Treating people with compassion and fairness is all most of us want. We are humand and we all know accidents happen. Tyrrell stepped up to the plate and did her job. Metrolink reaffirmed their behavior towards their public with their treatment of Tyrrell. You can bet Metrolink will want fix the blame elsewhere. They have started with Tyrrell and in the end it will be Metrolink who will affix the blame to the engineer. This is really a much larger failure on behalf of Metrolink. Metrolink is responsible (see the article by Najmedin Meshkati and James Osborn, "Rail safety's human error excuse" at http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-meshkati17-2008sep17,0,5267226.story).
Now, I have a decision to make. Do I continue to support Metrolink and take their trains or do I go back to driving to work, expending time, money and contributing greenhouse gases to the environment? I wouldn't be asking the question if Metrolink wasn't behaving so badly.

LEL of CA 1:49PM September 17, 2008

When I saw Denise Tyrrell standing up in front of all the cameras and making the statement she made I was speechless... The courage of both Tyrrell and the Metrolink to come forward and do what is right restored my faith in my local government and fellow citizen.
What I expected was silence which is common in our society - nobody is willing to step up and say or do what is right because they know their lawyers will prevent them from doing so. It is now obvious that the lawyers had their say and now Denise is gone.
I applaud her one more time for refusing to work another day for an institution that does not share her morals, the same morals that most Los Angelinos would expect from their fellow family members, their next door neighbor, their neighborhood peace officer, their family clergyman, their city, state, or federal government representatives.
One last note – I did not interpret her statement as placing blame on the operator but rather that is was the Metrolink train that failed to stop. She clearly removed any blame from the Union Pacific train but never stated that there was neglect on the part of Metrolink. This leaves the door open to the findings of the NTSB. First class act if you ask me!

Robert Boener of CA 2:11AM September 17, 2008

Tyrell was doing what was right. She didn't say anything that was not already evident and did not precipitate any litigation that was not already going to occur as a result of this catastrophe. Metrolink's Board "shame on Denise" approach is typical, apathetic and mediocre.
The agency would have represented it's board members aforementioned traits if it would have been less forthcoming with the situation.
Let's keep this in perspective, 26 people died because of this mistake, most by tortuously being mangled or crushed by a locomotive being swallowed by their train car. Lawsuits are warranted, hopefully the families won't pick the ambulance chasers that I see all over youtube. That is not Tyrell's fault.

TransitLivingSantaAna of CA 12:58AM September 17, 2008

It is unfortunate that people - even sincerely motivated and perhaps well intentioned insiders - should speculate, (for speculation is all that it is), as to the cause of an accident before any investigation is conducted and before any of the facts are in.
The dead engineer is an all too easy scapegoat. What about equipment failures? What about operational or procedural or training deficiencies? What about failures of management and/or supervision? What about long reported and unaddressed safety concerns?
History teaches (those who are willing to learn) that no railroad accident is ever the product of a single cause, and an insistance that it was will inevitably lead to a repeat, because in the haste to apportion blame other factors are ignored.
And, what happened to the presumption of innocence?
Or is it a case of Justice for (almost) All?
Tyrell shouldn't have been given even the minimal dignity of a hasty resignation. She should have been fired.
And so should anyone who authorized her to speak in such terms.
Contrast her's, with the professional conduct displayed by the NTSB who quite properly refused to comment while their investigation is underway.
Metrolink, above all others, have a vested interest in determining, ALL of the contributing factors before they speak out. If only they were smart enough to realize it.

J.P.Mountney 11:37PM September 16, 2008

Denise Tyrrell belongs in the Tylenol Crisis Communication "Hall of Fame" for rapidly, humanly, and transparently reporting what her agency's preliminary investigation had found -- and owning her agency's responsibility for the crash.
Even though Tyrrell said the Metrolink engineer "made the error" of passing a red light without stopping, her full statement makes it clear she was not trying to disavow Metrolink's responsibility by "blaming" the engineer. It is understandable that some people heard it that way. But it its totality, her statement is not one of blame; it is a statement of taking responsibility.
And Tyrrell was clear that Metrolink's findings were preliminary, and that NTSB had not yet determined the cause of the crash (implying that the hypothesis about the cause could, of course, change).
Kudos to this brave, forthright woman. A role model to other leaders in disasters. And where has the CEO been? Virtually invisible to date -- unlike the Tylenol CEO from that historical crisis.

Fact checker of NJ 5:23PM September 16, 2008