Safety Board Accident Report Case Study Analysis Land
Transportation Management
Safety is an increasingly important consideration for transportation professionals across all modes.
A minor freight train derailment carries a $500,000 price tag, and most derailments cost at least double that amount. According to the FMCSA, the average cost of a fatal truck accident involving one semi pulling a single trailer is over $7.2 million. Crude oil pipeline leaks can cost carriers upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars. Besides the monetary costs, accidents often carry additional costs such as unwanted media attention, unsatisfied customers, more difficulty attracting new customers, lowered employee morale, time required for investigation, potential for civil litigation, et cetera. Avoiding injuries and accidents is vital to the continued success of any transportation enterprise.
Safety is not just an issue for transportation companies. Disabling workplace injuries cost businesses across the U.S. more than $58 billion per year. https://viewpoint.libertymutualgroup.com/article/2018-workplace-safety-index/. Clearly, making safety a priority is good business.
Safety Board Accident Report Case Study Analysis Assignment Objectives
After graduating from UW-Superior, as a transportation/logistics professional you will have the opportunity to make decisions which can promote an effective safety culture within your company and, by extension, across the industry. This NTSB case study analysis assignments are designed to:
Introduce you to the key safety-related issues for the motor carrier, railroad, and pipeline industries,
Provide you with the opportunity to analyze one specific NTSB accident report case study,
Prompt you to identify the root cause(s) leading to the accident in your assigned case study, and
Encourage you to thoughtfully consider what steps you as a manager would take to address the root cause(s) which led to the accident in your assigned case study.
NTSB Accident Reports
The United States Congress has charged the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent Federal agency, with “investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in the other modes of transportation — railroad, highway, marine and pipeline — and issuing safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents.” NTSB reports offer insights into the circumstances and probable causes of transportation accidents. NTSB accident reports are useful case study documents for learning about issues surrounding transportation safety.
Safety Board Accident Report Case Study Analysis Essay Paper Assignment
(Case Study Analysis Paper Assignment)
After reading the assigned NTSB report, each student will write an analysis of the accident using the report as a case study document. The analysis paper is to be formatted with 1” margins, double spaced, and 11 point Arial or New Times Roman font with a clear introduction, body and conclusion. At least three (3) additional newspaper/magazine/scholarly articles are to be cited in the case study analysis paper. Excluding a bibliography/works cited page, the accident case study should be approximately four (4) pages in length:
One (1) page summarizing the accident and identifying what the NTSB determined to have caused it (DO NOT PLAGERIZE FROM THE REPORT!),
One (1) page examining the consequences of the accident (i.e., lessons learned, equipment design changes, procedure changes, laws passed, etc.),
One (1) page specifying concrete steps the student would take as a member of the carrier’s management team to address the root cause(s) that led to this accident, and a
One (1) page conclusion specifying the expected outcome(s) from taking these recommended steps, as well as what unintended consequence(s) might result.
Railroad Collision, NM:
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/RAB1804.pdf
