Re: Blame the Employees
Author: OPRRMS
Date: 12-07-2008 - 16:23
John Bruce Wrote:
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> Here's a question on supervision. The other day I
> watched a Metrolink leave Glendale with the
> engineer in the F59PH. I could see the engineer
> clearly through the cab window. His posture
> indicated he was paying attention and observing
> the track ahead, including signal indications.
>
> But if he'd been texting, it seems to me that
> would have been very clear, too. People who text
> are focused on the cell phone keyboard. He would
> have had the cell phone visible, and he would have
> been punching on the keyboard in front of him.
> Especially in an F59PH, this would be very visible
> from lineside.
>
> This would have been several rule violations at
> once, including use of a personal cell phone, not
> focusing on the job, not following the safe
> course. One nickname for railroad supervisor is
> "weed weasel". Sanchez was in the habit of
> texting the teenage groupies for some weeks, and
> he did it many times a day. So where was the
> supervisor who should have seen pretty clearly,
> over a period of weeks at least, what Sanchez was
> doing?
If that's you question, you should direct it to Metrolink. Here's the contact information:
Administrative Office
Phone: (213) 452-0200
Address:
Metrolink
700 South Flower Street, Suite 2600
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Fax: (213) 452-0429
> It seems to me that OPRRMS is concentrating on an
> NTSB view of the accident, but there are other
> views, especially from a reasonable person's
> non-rail perspective
Exactly! I have no idea what line of work you're in, but it's likely I have no expertise in it. Therefore, I wouldn't dream of making statements about how you and others in your profession should conduct youselves.
> certainly, in fact, there
> will be lawsuits against Metrolink and Veolia for
> "failure to supervise".
Your "failure to supervise" angle is interesting. Never heard that one before. I encourage you to initiate such a lawsuit, and let us know how it goes.