Innovative Ways to Perform Exemplary Contractor Oversight Two Case Studies – METRO & SMART FTA National Training, Little Rock, AR - April 16 – 17, 2014

Innovative Ways to Perform Exemplary Contractor Oversight Case Study # 1

FTA Drug and Alcohol Conference Contractor Oversight and Compliance

The Metropolitan Council is the regional policy-making body, planning agency, and provider of essential services for the Twin Cities metropolitan region.

The Council’s essential services enhance the region’s quality of life and economic competitiveness. We: Operate Metro Transit, serving 81 million bus and rail passengers in 2012 with award-winning, energy-efficient fleets. Our strategic investments support a growing network of bus, rail and transit ways, and transit oriented development Collect and treat wastewater at rates 40% lower than peer regions, while winning national awards for excellence. Work to ensure adequate clean water for the future, through our water supply planning and lake and river monitoring programs. Plan for future growth in partnership with communities and the public. Plan, acquire and develop a world-class regional parks and trail system. Provide affordable housing for qualifying low-income residents.

Metro Transit Major Transit Provider for Twin Cities Metropolitan Region 2013 Provided 81,368,750 rides Fleet of 1000+ Vehicles including Bus, Light Rail and Commuter Rail 2,800+ Employees 2,540 Safety Sensitive Employees 1,700+ Drug or Alcohol Tests

Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS) Service Owner 8 Service Contractors(1 subcontractor) 5 Paratransit Services (Metro Mobility) 4 Dial a Ride Services (Transit Link) 3 Local Services 2 Express Services 2013 5,454,963 Rides 800+ Vehicles

MTS Oversight Responsibility for: 6 Service owners 9 Contractors 6 Local Services 6 Express Services 2 Dial a Ride Services 2013 5,168,656 Rides

Drug and Alcohol Program Metro Transit HR Manager for Occupational Health (FTE .5) HR Assistant for Occupational Health (FTE .5) MTS Project Manager (FTE .3) Two Graduate School Interns

MTS D & A Program Manager Review provider policies and provide feedback and assistance with revisions if necessary -Notify providers of annual MIS reporting deadline (written notice) -Review all MIS reports in DAMIS prior to submission deadline -Review random testing charts semi-annually -Perform on-site audits (post accident and random testing, etc) at least once per year -Ongoing resource for regional providers

Graduate School Interns Recruited from Public Policy Graduate Programs Full time in the summer and part time during school year Hired to perform portions of sub-recipient oversight of MTS Contractors and Suburban Transit Providers Conduct mock collections at both collections sites and at transit garages for Metro Transit

Intern Duties Review 1/3 of contractors and sub-recipients annually Research changes in regulations Use triennial workbook as a base for review Initially conduct a desk review Conduct onsite review Develop findings and recommendations Follow up is done by MTS

Desk Review Policies MIS Form Training Materials Service Agents Service Agent and contractor oversight plan and/or documentation of monitoring activities for Collection Site, Laboratory, MRO, SAP, BAT and STT Monitoring activities for contractors and safety sensitive employees Summary of consortium pool the employer is in

On-Site Review Testing logs Test results Decision making processes Follow-up on positives Records of inspection, maintenance and calibration of EBT Credentials of lab, MRO, SAP Contracts and agreements with service agents Training attendance lists Anything that previously required corrective action

Results Recent FTA Review Metro Transit and 4 Subcontractors Reviewed Findings Policy Manual 37 DAPM 20 Records 21 BAT 3 Urine Collection 9 MRO 5 SAP 1 Total 96

FTA Drug and Alcohol Conference

Oversight Discussion Case Study # 1 Innovative Ways to Perform Exemplary Contractor Oversight Case Study # 1 Oversight Discussion What are your similarities to this structure? What ways are you able to adopt some of METRO’s methods? What techniques are you unable to adopt? Why? What oversight techniques could you recommend?

Innovative Ways to Perform Exemplary Contractor Oversight Case Study # 2

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation FTA Drug and Alcohol Conference April 15-17, 2014

Background Established in 1967 Southeast Michigan’s only regional public transportation Fixed-Route and Connector Paratransit Services Covers 1,200 square miles Nearly 11 million rides annually As the only regional public transportation provider, SMART offering convenient, reliable and safe transportation for a three county wide area, cover 1,200 square miles. SMART’s Fixed-Route and Connector services connect seniors, students, and professions to employment, educational institutions, medical facilities, and shopping centers. SMART is supported by federal and state funding, local contributions through a transit property tax millage from opt-in communities and bus fares.  

D&A Program Administration SMART Internal Human Resources Fixed Route Connector Service External D&A Coordinator/ Ombudsman Community Partnership Maintenance Contractors Lake Erie Transit The Drug & Alcohol Program is administered as an internal program which is over-seen by the Authority’s Human Resources Department and the external program that is independently run under the Authority’s Drug & Alcohol Coordinator and Community Ombudsman program. The internal program covers the Authority’s operational services and the external program has oversight of the Community Partnership Program, Maintenance Contractors, and the transportation provider for Monroe County.  

Community Partnership Program Established in 1995 to provide vehicles and operational support to local communities Supports 75 communities and organizations CPP Transit Services are tailored to the needs of the community In 1995 SMART established a community partnership program which is the only program of its kind in the United States. We have partnerships with 75 communities and organizations throughout a 1200 sq. mile service area. Through the program SMART provides vehicles and operational support so that municipalities or service organizations can operate local bus service that meets the specific transit needs within their community as long as the use of the vehicles does not violate any state or federal regulations. The program has allowed the Authority to extend its service capability with a greater flexibility. These programs benefits seniors and people with disabilities who depend on public transit.  

Regulatory Responsibility All partnerships are operating “in the shoes” of the Authority Subject to 49 CFR §40.1(a)(b) Vehicles provided to the partnerships are Revenue Service Vehicles which are titled to the Authority Because the partnerships are Operating “in the shoes” of our Authority they are subject to 49 CFR §40.1(a)(b) The Authority has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that all the partnership and maintenance contractors meet all regulatory requirements. The vehicles purchased for this program are Revenue Service Vehicles titled to the Authority. Revenue service vehicle are considered floating and rolling stock that is available to the general public with a reasonable expectation of provided services for the following : Passengers that directly pay fares Are subsidized by public policy Provide payment through some contractual arrangement Vehicles operated in 'free fare' service are considered in revenue service

Program Oversight As the Drug and Alcohol Coordinator, I am responsible for the oversight of 76 programs which are uniquely organized and independently governed. Bottom line I am directly responsible for program effectiveness for all 76 programs

Challenges

Challenges The Partnerships are mostly municipalities or Non-profit organizations with no transit experience and have issues such as: Lack of knowledge Limited Staffing Limited Resources/Funding because these programs are mostly municipalities or Non-profit organizations, challenges such as of lack of knowledge, limited staffing, limited resources, and funding hamper their ability to effectively run an independent transportation operation.

Solutions At the Authority support for these programs are provided by a dedicated Ombudsman for each county and a Drug and Alcohol Coordinator who is directly responsible for testing oversight of each program.

Assistance The key element for both the ombudsman and the D&A Coordinator oversight is assistance. Be a regulation expert Audit Assistance Creating a standard policy Find the most efficient but economical way to maintain their programs

FTA Audit August 2014 Findings Polices Collection Sites Third Party Administrators One of the most recent was in August 2014 the FTA Audited the Authority The findings indicated that some corrections were required to the Authority’s program. The following items were identified and have already been corrected: Policies Both the Authority and contractors required corrections to their policies to ensure that the policies correctly outlined how each program conducted their testing. Collection Sites Both the Authority and contractors had had the following Issues: Communications require the establishment of passwords to ensure that proper transmission of information was only passed to the DAPM Numerous errors were found on several Custody Control Forms which required correction affidavits Ghosting was found on all of the CCF’s reviewed which indicated that the collector was having the subject initial the tamper seal while it was still on the form. The several CCF’s had the wrong regulatory agency marked One of contractors had an onsite collection, the auditor found that a mirror in the bathroom was a medicine cabinet and could have been used to hide items to throw the test result. Third Party Administers one of the contractors required a password to ensure that proper transmission of test results or information was only passed to the DAPM   The FTA Drug & Alcohol program is similar to my Coast Guard experience, from which many of the procedures I established helped the contractors prepare for their audit. Over the past five years I have implemented many of the procedures I will talk about during this presentation.

Key Elements Contractors who perform Safety-Sensitive functions must meet all requirements of Parts 655 & 40 and must have: Knowledgeable DAPM Compliant Policy Testing Record Keeping Training To be in compliance each contractor must have these elements.

What to Look for in an Audit Knowledgeable DAPM Compliant Policy Are they part of a consortium? Readily apparent test processes All applicable training & certifications Info for a qualified SAP DAMIS Compliance KNOWLEDGEABLE DAPM Are they in the testing pool Have they had training on how to perform their duties Do they utilize guiding forms Are they trained to perform reasonable suspicion determinations Do they have good communications and passwords with SAP MRO Collection site Do they maintain a follow-up schedule COMPLIANT POLICY Up-to-date Tailored to Meet the needs of the organization Knowledgeable DAPM Compliant policies ARE THEY PART OF A CONSORTIUM? Readily apparent test processes All applicable training & certifications Info for a qualified SAP DAMIS compliance READILY APPARENT TEST PROCESSES Pre-Employment Back ground checks Removal from the pool Random Testing Adequately Spread Minimum testing rates Post-Accident Testing Must meet FTA testing thresholds, time requirements Documentation Return-to-Duty/Follow-up Testing Testing rate, documentation Observed ALL APPLICABLE TRAINING & CERTIFICATIONS Drug and alcohol awareness Reasonable suspicion Has it been documented INFORMATION FOR A QUALIFIED SAP Do they have a contracted SAP Is the SAP Certified for Safety Sensitive programs Is the certification current Is the SAPs role clearly defined in the policy DAMIS COMPLIANCE Are they correctly reporting their testing numbers Are they listing the tests under the proper job description Are they only reporting FTA Safety Sensitive employees  

Tools DAMIS Reporting Program Policy Files/Spreadsheets Knowledge of Contractors’ Operation Comprehensive Knowledge of Regulations Audits DAMIS Reporting Each programs DAMIS report is reviewed for: Any issues that will require updates or corrective actions Random testing (are they meeting their percentages) Accidents (Check sheets, testing performed) Reasonable suspicion (Documentation) Return to duty testing /follow up testing (Direct observation, frequency) Testing percentage Program Policy Each policy should provide a detailed process of the how the contractor runs its program The policy must provide contact information for: DAPM TPA Collection site(s) SAP Knowledge of contractors operation Visit the contractor What kind of service do they perform How is it structured Are the FTA regulated employees in a pool with employees regulated by another transit administration (i.e. FMCSA, USCG) Files/Spread Sheets Create simple “go-to” binders: Contact information Correspondence Current policy   MIS reports Audit documentation /follow-up Use a basic spreadsheet to collect pertinent info and to keep consistent, accurate info about your contractor’s compliance status. Be sure to keep sensitive data secure. Comprehensive knowledge of the regulations Each of your contractors may operate under more than one regulatory agency Audits All the tools mentioned should provide good information to prepare for your audit Use the interview check list used by FTA auditors to determine compliance http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/Safety/DATesting/Audit

Oversight Discussion Case Study # 2 Innovative Ways to Perform Exemplary Contractor Oversight Case Study # 2 Oversight Discussion What are your similarities to this structure? What ways are you able to adopt some of SMART’s methods? What techniques are you unable to adopt? Why? What oversight techniques could you recommend?