	NTSB Has Made Progress in All Management Areas, but Further Actions Are Needed to Fully Implement Some Recommendations

Overall, NTSB has fully implemented or made significant progress in  following leading management practices in all eight areas that our  recommendations addressed in 2006 and 2008—communication, strategic  planning, IT, knowledge management, organizational structure, human  capital management, training, and financial management. Figure 1 summarizes NTSB’s progress in implementing our  management recommendations. NTSB has also  taken steps to implement all three of our IT-related recommendations:    NTSB has fully implemented an IT strategic plan that addresses our  comments. The most recent  version of NTSB’s human capital plan establishes goals for recruiting,  developing, and retaining a diverse workforce, and NTSB provided  diversity training to 32 of its senior managers and office directors in May  2009. As the table shows, the percentages of NTSB’s fiscal year 2008 workforce  that were women and minorities were lower than those of the federal  government. 2). NTSB’s current workforce demographics may present the agency with an  opportunity to increase the diversity of its workforce and management. NTSB Has Made Its Selection of Accident Investigations More Efficient, but Reporting Can Be Improved

We previously made four recommendations to NTSB to improve the  efficiency of its activities related to investigating accidents, such as  identifying criteria for selecting which accidents to investigate and  tracking the status of its recommendations, and increasing its use of safety  studies (see fig. 3). 4). NTSB’s deployment of an  agencywide electronic information system based on Microsoft SharePoint  will allow NTSB to streamline and increase its use of technology in closing  out recommendations and in developing reports. NTSB officials told us they would  like to broaden the term “safety studies” to include not only the current  studies of multiple accidents, but also the research done for the other,  smaller safety-related reports and data inquiries. NTSB also developed new guidelines to address  its completion of safety studies. The agency increased use of the center’s  classroom space from 10 percent in fiscal year 2006 to 80 percent in fiscal  year 2009. The agency’s  actions to increase the center’s use also helped increase Training Center  revenues from about $635,000 in fiscal year 2005 to about $1,771,000 in  fiscal year 2009. Requested Changes in NTSB’s Authority Would Provide Statutory Authority to Investigate Incidents and Reduce Required Accident Investigations

As part of the reauthorization process, NTSB has proposed both  substantive and technical changes to its existing authorizing legislation. Other proposed substantive changes would reduce NTSB’s current  requirements for investigating maritime and rail accidents. Giving NTSB expanded investigatory discretion with the explicit authority  to investigate incidents without specific criteria, while simultaneously  limiting requirements for rail and maritime investigations, would allow the  agency to use its professional judgment to determine which investigations  would have the greatest potential to improve safety and make the most  effective use of its resources. Striking the right balance between discretionary and criteria  based investigations will be important to ensure that NTSB’s resources can  be used for the work with the greatest potential to enhance transportation  safety. National Transportation Safety Board: Progress Made in Management  Practices, Investigation Priorities, Training Center Use, and  Information Security, but These Areas Continue to Need Improvement. National Transportation Safety Board: Observations on the Draft  Business Plan for NTSB’s Training Center.
Why GAO Did This Study

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), whose reauthorization is the subject of today's hearing, plays a vital role in advancing transportation safety by investigating accidents, determining their causes, issuing safety recommendations, and conducting safety studies. To support the agency's mission, NTSB's Training Center provides training to NTSB investigators and others. NTSB's 2006 reauthorization legislation mandates an annual review by GAO, and from 2006 through 2008, GAO made 21 recommendations to NTSB that address its management, information technology (IT), accident investigation criteria, safety studies, and Training Center use. This testimony addresses NTSB's progress in implementing GAO's recommendations that it (1) follow leading management practices, (2) conduct aspects of its accident investigations and safety studies more efficiently, and (3) increase the use of its Training Center. The testimony also discusses (4) changes NTSB seeks in its 2010 reauthorization proposal. This testimony is based on GAO's assessment from July 2009 to January 2010 of plans and procedures NTSB developed to address these recommendations. NTSB provided technical comments that GAO incorporated as appropriate.

What GAO Found

NTSB has fully implemented or made significant progress in adopting leading management practices in all areas where GAO made prior recommendations. Since 2008, NTSB has revised several of its planning documents, including its agencywide strategic plan; improved information security; and obligated money to implement a full cost accounting system. NTSB has also taken steps to improve the diversity of its workforce and management. However, women and minorities were less well represented in NTSB's fiscal year 2008 workforce than in the federal government, and no minorities are among NTSB's 15 senior executives. A lack of diversity among top managers can limit the variety of perspectives and approaches to policy development and decision making at an agency. With the adoption of criteria for selecting highway and marine accidents to investigate, NTSB has established criteria for all transportation modes. NTSB is also streamlining and increasing its use of technology in closing out recommendations. NTSB has three safety studies in progress and would like to broaden the term "safety studies" to include not only its current studies of multiple accidents, but also the research it does for other, smaller safety-related reports and data inquiries. NTSB has continued to increase the use of its Training Center--from 10 percent in fiscal year 2006 to 80 percent in fiscal year 2009. As a result, revenues have increased and the center's overall deficit has declined from about $3.9 million in fiscal year 2005 to about $1.9 million in fiscal year 2009. In its 2010 reauthorization proposal, NTSB seeks substantive changes to its existing authorizing legislation, including explicit statutory authority to investigate incidents in all modes and reduced statutory requirements for investigating rail and maritime accidents. Both changes would increase NTSB's investigatory discretion. Such discretion would allow NTSB to select incidents with the greatest potential to improve safety, yet decisions based on discretion may be less transparent than those based on criteria. Striking the right balance between discretionary and criteria-based investigations will be important to ensure that NTSB's resources can be used for the work with the greatest potential to enhance transportation safety.