Management at the Washington, D.C., Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) fosters a toxic culture that puts customers at risk of physical harm, an audit conducted by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) says. The 50-page WMSC audit report details more than 20 safety and structural issues in the 24-hour “nerve center” for train traffic, which also handles the system’s communications and emergency responses, The Washington Post reports.
“Metrorail must address a toxic workplace culture in the ROCC that includes racial and sexual comments, harassment, and other unprofessional behavior such as attempts to manipulate safety event investigations that create unacceptable safety risks,” the audit report asserts. The organization’s culture prevents employees from investigating incidents objectively, and does not punish supervisors who engage in sexual harassment and frequently make racist and homophobic remarks.
In 2009, a crash on the Metro’s Red Line killed nine people. Smoke in the L’Enfant Plaza station killed one person in 2015. Federal officials assumed oversight of the rail system’s safety measures in October 2015, after the previous oversight panel was deemed ineffective. Officials instructed the ROCC to correct more than 51 safety issues; the Washington Post reports that these issues have not yet been addressed.
When ROCC employees try to utilize troubleshooting guides, management frequently instructs controllers to violate safety procedures. Employees who make mistakes are bullied and threatened, creating “additional layers of safety risks.” During the six-month review process for the newly issued WMSC audit, ROCC managers attempted to limit what information controllers disclosed to auditors. The Vice President of Rail Transportation told controllers to avoid speaking with the WMSC and to resist completing corrective actions.
The WMSC audit also finds that the negative workplace atmosphere contributes to staffing issues; ROCC has an annual attrition rate of 27 percent. The safety commission is giving management 45 days to begin addressing its safety and structural findings.
The Federal Transit Administration requires an audit at least once every three years, but called on the safety commission to conduct an audit earlier and shift its focus to the ROCC after an incident in December 2019 that had “striking similarities” to the deadly 2015 incident. 
Elizabeth Mullen is an editorial consultant for Internal Audit 360°.