Knock At Your Door Video

Saving lives, one hour at a time
Following a series of track worker fatalities at heavy rail transit systems in the U.S.,  the FTA decided to respond by developing a variety of track worker safety training and educational initiatives. They partnered with BCG to construct track inspection refresher training, safety culture brochures and track inspection and wayside worker protection technical assistance guidelines. Additionally, FTA asked BCG to create an hour-long educational video for track inspectors, supervisors and operations control center personnel that could help to eliminate some of these fatalities.

How we did it
BCG first consulted with heavy rail representatives to identify appropriate themes and propose content for such a training video. We concluded that the video must cover essential track worker safety concepts as well as highlight common mistakes and misconceptions. For the video to have the deepest impact, we decided to frame it around the damage complacency and disregard of procedures that often results in a travesty for workers, families, and communities.

The film begins with “a knock at your door,” placing the viewer at the vantage point of a family that is about to learn that their father, a transit track worker, is not coming home. We partnered with a media firm to help develop the video script, organize shooting, and film reenactments of real-world track worker fatalities at Washington Metro and New York City Transit, two of the nation’s largest and deadliest rail venues.

The video that came as a result of our efforts premiered on April 23, 2009 at the NTSB Conference Center in Washington, D.C. The video is now seen by transit track workers across the country and will continue to influence and increase safety methods for some of the most dangerous jobs in America.