Communiqué

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has released the proceedings of the Transportation Safety Summit it held this spring. The Summit opened an unprecedented conversation on key safety issues with 70 industry and government leaders from the marine, pipeline, rail, and aviation sectors.

“We all gained insights from sharing our vision of how a robust safety culture and effective information flows can help improve safety management proactively,” said TSB Chair Kathy Fox. “It was refreshing to hear from companies that are doing it.”

The TSB chose “information flow” as the theme of the Summit after a number of its recent investigations revealed risks that had not been addressed because information had not been transmitted effectively or acted upon by the operator. “The importance of actively involving people at all levels of an organization in its safety processes was highlighted throughout the Summit,” added Chair Fox.

Senior officials discussed ways to capture and use data proactively for safety purposes; how effective safety culture and safety management can help to improve safety proactively; potential obstacles including the importance of trust in changing safety culture; and the potential for wider use of voice and video recordings for improving safety.

“It was paramount to have a frank and honest appraisal of the current culture, and combine it with practical ideas and solutions,” the TSB Chair said.

The Summit featured presentations, expert panels, and facilitated working groups. Many of the presentations are available on the TSB's website.