SMRT Corp Ltd : Internal Investigation Team finalises composition, kick start investigation

SMRT Corporation Ltd

251 North Bridge Road

Singapore 179102

Tel : [phone]

Fax : [phone] www.smrt.com.sg

3 January 2012

INTERNAL INVESTIGATION TEAM FINALISES COMPOSITION, KICK START INVESTIGATION

The Internal Investigation Team (IIT) that was commissioned by the Board of Directors of SMRT to investigate into the MRT disruptions on 15 and 17 Dec 2011, has finalised its composition, and commenced its work officially today. The Board has invited a group of people from various backgrounds to help SMRT understand what the root causes of the disruptions were, and what organisational processes can be improved.
Terms of reference for the IIT is attached. The team comprises:
a) Mr Ong Ye Kung, formerly the CEO of the Workforce Development Agency, and currently the Deputy Secretary General of NTUC. He is an independent Board member of SMRT and will lead the Investigation Team.
b) Mr John H Birchall, Director of Safety at Keppel Land. A Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (CMIOSH) and currently serving as the Director - Districts for the Singapore branch in addition to his duties as Director of Safety at Keppel. He is well versed in several methodologies in root cause analysis, including Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP). He brings over 20 years' experience as a Safety Practitioner to the team.
c) Mr Stephen Forshaw, Communications Advisor to the team. He is the Managing Director Corporate Affairs for Temasek, and a former Vice President Public Affairs for Singapore Airlines, Communications Director for Microsoft and social media professional. Mr Forshaw has been invited by the Board to give a particular focus to public communications, especially during crisis situations.
d) Mr Vincent Lim, formerly CEO Northeast Asia of PSA International. During his 30 years with PSA, he has dealt extensively with human resource and organisational matters, including organisational processes, human resource planning, corporate restructuring, and industrial relations.
e) Mr Low Tien Sio, formerly the Executive Director of Mass Rapid Transit Corporation and Deputy CE of LTA, where he worked extensively on the MRT system. He is currently the Executive Director (Special Projects) of Sentosa Development Corporation.
f) Prof Su Guaning, formerly Director of Defence Science Organisation from 1986 to
1997, Deputy Secretary (Technology) 1997-2000, Chief Executive, Defence Science and Technology Agency 2000-2002 and President NTU 2003-2011. He is a registered Professional Engineer since 1979.
g) Mr James Tan, formerly the Commissioner of Singapore Civil Defence Force, has wide experience in emergency and crisis management. He is currently the CEO of Aetos Security.
In the course of its investigation, the IIT will be interviewing a range of personnel.
Importantly, the IIT would also like to invite members of public who were affected by the disruptions on 15 Dec and 17 Dec, to give their account of the disruptions, their observations of what went right and what went wrong, and suggestions for improvements that SMRT should make. Members of public can send their comments to the Team directly at [e-mail].
The IIT will present its findings and recommendations to the Board of SMRT. It will provide the findings and recommendations, in full, to the Land Transport Authority and the Committee of Inquiry (COI) set up by the Ministry of Transport. Any decision to release the findings and recommendations of the Investigation Team will be considered only after consultation with the COI.
"With the collective expertise of the team, we will delve into the issues, determine the root causes of the MRT service disruption, and help SMRT to improve its operations and emergency responses to better serve the public. I am confident that our findings and recommendations will also serve as an important input to the COI, in answering the questions that members of the public are asking" said Mr Ong Ye Kung.

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CRN: 200001855H

Annex A

Terms of Reference INTERNAL INVESTIGATION TEAM ON MAJOR TRAIN DISRUPTION INCIDENTS IN DEC 2011

1) To investigate the immediate and underlying causes that led to the incidents. In the latter, it should be as wide ranging as necessary to maximise lessons learned. This could cover matters such as procurement, engineering, commissioning and testing, maintenance, operations, regulatory regime, partnership with regulator and organisation culture.
2) To review the organisation's performance in the Rail Incident Management Process that was triggered, with a view to identify what worked well, what did not, so as to significantly strengthen the organisation's emergency preparedness and response capabilities. This should cover:
i) Post incident recovery operations including the rescue of trapped passengers ii) The provision of bus bridging services
iii) Crowd control at stations
iv) Communication with those affected in the stalled trains, those in the stations and the general travelling public.
3) To review the organisation's performance in the handling of Crisis Management arising from the incidents and identify lessons learned.
4) For all the above, to report on the findings of the investigation and review and to recommend remedial actions for improvement and to prevent recurrence.

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CRN: 200001855H

Annex B From left to right: Mr James Tan Chan Seng, Executive Director Aetos Security Management Pte Ltd; former Commissioner of SCDF (Team member); Mr Vincent Lim, former CEO Northeast Asia of PSA International (Team member); Mr John Birchall, Director, Health & Safety, Keppel Land International Ltd (Team member); Mr Stephen Forshaw, Managing Director Corporate Affairs, Temasek (Team member); Mr Ong Ye Kung, an independent SMRT Board member (Team Leader); Mr Low Tien Sio, Executive Director Sentosa Development Corporation; former Executive Director of Mass Rapid Transit Corporation and Deputy CE, LTA (Team member); Prof Su Guaning, President Emeritus Nanyang Technological University (NTU); former CEO Defence Science & Technology Agency & former President NTU (Team member).

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CRN: 200001855H