Safety & Security

Establishing a mature safety culture takes many years; instilling a safety mindset is a key first step in shifting the culture effectively. To do so, understanding the underlying existing mindset and behaviors of our employees is critical. KCS Safety Culture Maturity Model provides a framework for measuring and improving our safety culture, using five levels of maturity to quantify progress. In this model, we are aiming to progress from a Reactive maturity level (Level 2) towards a Proactive maturity level (Level 4). Reactive organizations manage incidents after they occur, while proactive organizations aim to be preventative by identifying and resolving hazards before they lead to incidents. To get there, we will further develop policies and procedures that set the standard for safety behaviors, inspire management and field accountability around risk awareness and compliance, all while providing the training and tools necessary to facilitate sustained improvement in safety behaviors. Developing and launching our competency management system for all frontline staff who perform safety critical activities will be essential. Our journey will start with train crews in 2024 and will be expanded to other operational teams in subsequent years.

The KCS Operator Safety Compliance Plan (OSCP) is the safety structure and governance for our operations. It provides both proactive and reactive safety measures to guide employees and enhance and progress the safety culture. It is a living document, able to be updated in real-time in anticipation of, or response to, the changing safety landscape.

To raise the standard of our safety management system, KCS will set out to achieve and embed ISO 45001 certification. ISO 45001 provides a strong framework for organizations to manage risks and improve health and safety standards, utilizing the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology. Through implementation of the principles of this standard KCS will live its commitment to employee health, safety, and well-being.

We will have a renewed focus on compliance with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements that will be consistent and visible throughout this business plan cycle. KCS will also invest in technology and equipment enhancements to protect frontline employees working on the right-of-way or moving equipment. We are also aiming to enhance our communication systems and redesign our communications procedures and training to make sure that our workers are equipped and competent to the best industry standard.

In addition to the safety system upgrades for standard operations, KCS will also enhance our emergency response planning. We will shift to a tiered approach for emergency response management, implementing a model which considers the entire emergency response system’s capacity and capabilities. In this tiered approach, more KCS managers and staff will receive training to develop basic-level emergency response skills to better support frontline workers with specialized skills. Not only will this tiered approach increase our crisis response capacity, but it also enables scalability in responding to small and large emergencies.

Leading and lagging indicators to measure the impacts of KCS injury prevention systems will be put in place and that includes the creation of a Systemwide Events KPI. We will also improve and document field engagement through management site visits across all locations and facilities. Implementing these actions and metrics will provide insights on our injury prevention progress and adaptability to changing safety trends. Our end goal is to identify and mitigate risks before they materialize into incidents.

KCS risk management system is being redesigned to integrate the implementation of Federal Railroad Administration regulations outlined in 49 CFR 270. This recent regulation was developed to improve railroad safety through the design and implementation of structured, proactive processes and procedures embodied in a System Safety Program.

We have developed a new risk management system for hazard identification and risk management processes. The system features an enhanced framework for identifying hazardous environments and determining the appropriate approach for managing these situations. The development of this risk analysis process will better identify accountability for risk management and mitigation associated with hazards.

The aim is to deploy its utilization to all operational departments where the risks identified can be accounted for in planning and implementation activities. The new risk management system will provide greater visibility of risks, inspire meaningful mitigation plans, and clarify responsibilities for awareness and avoidance planning. The registers, and the way the business uses them, will be periodically reviewed for effectiveness.

Fatigue is a specific risk that we aim to manage better. By the end of 2025, KCS plans to have a fully implemented Fatigue Management Program for all operational employees. An effective fatigue management program establishes a framework that systemizes employee rest in operational planning and scheduling activities. This new framework is another tool driving continuous improvement of safety outcomes and mitigating fatigue risks. The fatigue management program will complement our existing systems managing Hours-of-Service regulations.

Recent history has made clear that cyberthreats are not just hypothetical ones; rather, such threats are real, constant and can have substantial operational, financial and/or business continuity consequences. All KCS members play a vital role in managing this risk. As we continue down a path of increasing digital transformation during this business plan cycle enabling streamlined processes and real-time data monitoring, the importance of robust cybersecurity policies, procedures, infrastructure, and training cannot be understated. In 2024, we will finalize the implementation of the recommendations from a recent risk assessment serving to enhance network and endpoint security. While these activities will improve our IT system’s ability to protect data and services from technological disruptions, we will continue to emphasize the importance of strong password management behaviors, vigilance associated with phishing and other cyberthreats and smart digital tool practices.

Expanding from cybersecurity to all other major operational risks, we will also expand and deliver improvements in business continuity planning. The business continuity plan provides a roadmap for the continued delivery of services during unexpected events. While further formalizing the components of the plan, we will also run simulation exercise that assess our continuity protocols and refine our plans based on the feedback from testing.

Through thoughtful and disciplined implementation of the action items below during this business plan cycle, KCS looks forward to making positive advancement in the maturity of its safety culture, its related processes and capabilities and to increasing its resilience.