MITRE and WMATA announce partnership to strengthen safety management system

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is working with MITRE to strengthen WMATA’s Safety Management System (SMS). 

Over the course of a three-year contract, MITRE will work with WMATA to assess its safety culture, develop a plan to improve safety data analytics and deploy a secure Voluntary Safety Reporting Program (VSRP). The VSRP will produce data that can be integrated with other WMATA safety information to continuously improve its data-driven safety risk management. Once implemented, the VSRP will lower barriers to safety and hazard reporting and elevate WMATA’s safety protocols. 

“MITRE is leveraging our decades of experience in aviation safety to increase safety in all forms of transportation, from the roads to space,” said Christopher Hill, director of surface transportation at MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development. “Our collaboration with Metro will lead to a stronger safety culture and increase safety for riders throughout the region.” 

Establishing WMATA’s safety culture baseline will formalize leadership’s understanding of where the agency is and where it needs to go in terms of maturing their safety culture. The reporting program will provide WMATA employees with the ability to report safety hazards voluntarily and confidentially. The data captured from those reports will be analyzed, enabling proactive, data-driven identification and management of safety hazards, leading to a safer transit experience for Metrorail, Metrobus and paratransit riders. 

“Metro’s vision is to become the industry leader in safety, and we intend to realize this vision by developing a world-class SMS,” said Theresa Impastato, executive vice president and chief safety officer, WMATA. “This partnership with MITRE is a cornerstone of our safety strategy, and we look forward to bringing MITRE’s subject matter expertise to the transit industry.”