Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
JULY 18, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: STAFFING REQUEST FOR METRO CENTER
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to amend the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Budget and add 27 positions as shown below:
A. ADD five non-contract positions for the System Security and Law Enforcement, Information and Technology Services, and the Operations department to manage/perform the day-to-day emergency, security, physical security, and cyber security operations, as well as manage facilities staff to support maintenance/custodial activities within the facility; and
B. ADD 22 contract positions for the System Security and Law Enforcement, Information and Technology Services, and Operations departments to manage calls for security service systemwide, as well as provide technical support of computers, software, and data center for a critical facility, supervise/perform ongoing building maintenance, safety and security, daily cleaning, and custodial work in support of a 24-hour daily operation.
Issue
ISSUE
Metro Center is a new Security facility scheduled to open in December 2024. Preparing for this new facility requires technical, maintenance, and auxiliary staff across three departments. Metro must begin recruiting technical operations staff before opening the facility to ensure adequate training and qualification requirements can be met. These positions will be onboarded using a phased approach throughout FY25, and recruitment will be aligned with critical path activities.
Background
BACKGROUND
As an essential unified command center, the Metro Center can continuously operate for 72 hours during a catastrophe, even with the loss of water, power, gas, and sewer. Its state-of-the-art operations theaters has built-in scalability to accommodate Metro’s future transit system up to 2070. The Metro Center serves as a transportation function for the region’s response services by enhancing coordination and communication with regional partners to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from major incidents, serious hazards, or terrorist attacks. The co-location of the EOC and SOC provides 24/7 support to System Security and Law Enforcement coordination for bus and rail incidents, protection of Metro facilities/infrastructure, and daily operational connectivity to all bus and rail systems. Metro Center will also align with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Incident Management System, a system of national guidelines/principles for businesses to prepare, mitigate, respond, manage, and recover from incidents.
Metro Center is a one-story, 26,000-square-foot building that can house up to 200 employees, with 53 parking spaces, and 10 electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, this space will consist of an IT office space, media room, training room, wellness room, and staff rest area. It consolidates and co-locates Metro’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Security Operations Center (SOC), currently located at Gateway Headquarters and One Santa Fe. The various operational aspects housed within the facility include Emergency Management, Physical Security, Data Analytics, Cyber Security collaboration, SOC activity to support bus and rail operations, as well as the EOC for agency-wide/regional incidents and major special events. While providing 24-hour, seven days a week (24/7) operational support, the center will also manage major transit emergencies, special events, and System Security and Law Enforcement response.
The Metro Board approved construction of the Metro Center facility in Fall 2020, and the Board-approved Life of Project budget is $144 million.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The Metro Center is scheduled to be substantially completed this month. It is expected to be fully functional and open for business by December 2024. This agency-wide request for increased staffing in FY25 supports personnel needs for the operation/maintenance of the facility and adjunct departments.
The requested resources represent three departments, each important for successfully implementing daily and emergency activities.
Operations
Operations is responsible for maintaining all communication and fire/life safety systems. As an emergency facility, the communication systems must be well maintained with ongoing support to minimize any possible downtime with dedicated communication staff. Additionally, Operations will provide general upkeep and ongoing maintenance of the facility and its systems to eventually execute necessary state-of-good repair programs. The Facilities Maintenance department will also provide custodial and janitorial services. In order to develop the staffing plan for this facility, Operations used the Rail and Bus Control Centers (ROC/BOC) as a model for the quantity of positions and job classifications. The 15 positions requested by Operations are as follows:
• Infrastructure Maintenance & Engineering (4 FTEs)
o 2 Rail Electronic Communications Inspectors to maintain the Video Management system (VMS) head-end system for CCTV at this location, radio base station, and other critical communication and fire/life safety systems. Similar to coverage at the Rail Control Center (ROC), there will be single staff coverage at this facility on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts, Monday through Friday, with weekend coverage augmented by existing staff.
o 2 System Electronic Communication Technicians (SECT) to maintain the Gateway server (Telephone System) and two video walls for the 24x7 center. There will be 1 SECT staffed to support the MCP for each shift, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Monday through Friday. For the weekends, the coverage will be augmented by the existing staff.
• Facilities Maintenance (11 FTEs)
o 4 Facilities Maintenance field positions: 1 Facilities Systems Technician, 1 Electrician, 1 Property Maintainer, and 1 Air Conditioning Technician. These positions will perform all mandated and regulatory maintenance along with facility preventative and corrective maintenance activities to keep the facility in a state of good repair. Activities also include inspecting and maintaining all fire/life and safety apparatuses, performing small-scale construction projects for the purpose of safety improvements and emergency response, and maintaining/repairing electromechanical equipment. Some equipment includes but is not limited to emergency generators, transfer switches, solar systems, fuel islands, chillers, boilers, air handlers, condenser units, heat pumps, backflows, hydrants, water heaters/pumps, and plumbing fixtures. In order to have an immediate response to critical systems and facility issues, staff will be deployed on one shift per day, Monday through Friday, and weekend coverage will be augmented by existing staff.
o 5 Custodians are to provide dedicated crews to maintain overall general cleanliness levels, including trash removal, floor care, disinfecting services, as well as dusting restrooms, locker rooms, breakrooms, and response to trouble calls. The center will have dedicated staff across 3 shifts, Monday through Friday, and weekends will be augmented with existing staff.
o 1 Facilities Maintenance Supervisor to supervise technicians and facilities maintainers.
o 1 General Services Manager to supervise dedicated cleaning crews.
Systems Security and Law Enforcement
The SOC will perform in a Unified Command structure under the Incident Command System (ICS), FEMA’s standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of incident response, providing a common operating picture and flexibility within which responders from multiple agencies or departments can be effective. The mission of the SOC is to provide reliable security practices protecting Metro’s passengers, employees, assets, critical infrastructure, and revenues throughout the system. The goals of the operation include the following:
1. Receive video management system alerts and intrusion detection system alarms simultaneously alongside the ROC and BOC, utilizing the Electronic Security Systems (ESS).
2. Coordinating with the ROC and/or BOC on day-to-day activities related to impacts on the Metro system.
3. Notifying and coordinating with law enforcement and first response agencies of events occurring across the Metro system.
4. Operating 24/7 to ensure constant surveillance and preparedness for incidents and events within a multi-layered unified virtual command.
5. Coordinating the dispatch and response of multi-layered resources to preserve the safety and security of the passengers and respond to events.
6. Operate as the Metro Command Post for significant events.
This affords a multi-layer represented presence within the SOC theater for linear situational awareness when incidents occur and is comprised of the following:
• Contracted law enforcement liaisons to support law enforcement response and collaboration with Metro for direct and indirect incident impacts to the system
• Transit Ambassador liaison to streamline information from and to the field to ensure awareness is afforded to ambassadors
• Homeless Outreach liaison for enhanced coordination and communication to support people experiencing homelessness efforts throughout the system
• Contract Security Dispatchers will deploy security field personnel for infrastructure protection services agency-wide and coordinate within the multi-layer when support is needed
• Metro Transit Security Sergeant as the SOC Floor Supervisor to guide the SCSs and ensure cohesive support amongst all represented
The 6 new FTEs are:
• 4 Security Control Specialists to coordinate with the Rail Operations Center, Bus Operations Center, external local first responders, dispatch of Metro Transit Security, and monitor the Transit Watch app when there are calls for service.
• 1 Departmental Systems Analyst to identify security technologies, analyze capabilities for usage, conduct technical studies, benefit-cost analyses, and serve as data scientists for security solutions.
• 1 Senior Emergency Management Specialist to support SOC standard operating procedures, plus continued maintenance and development of emergency plans for special events and major incidents or disasters.
Information and Technology Services (ITS)
ITS requests the following six (6) positions to provide technical, cyber security, and daily system support for the variety of technical systems housed at this facility.
• 1 Network Engineer to support current and future integrations to the technically driven public safety facility.
• 1 Information Security Officer to provide cyber security support within the SOC to collaborate with ITS, Rail ITS/SCADA Engineer for threat detection, incident response, network security, and data protection.
• 4 Digital Systems Technicians to ensure system problems and failures are mitigated on-demand (including computer and software support). Additionally, the techs will maintain the data center and align it with the Gateway Data Center for the agency, which will have the capacity to support enterprise-wide systems as well as minimize system failures within a 24/7 critical facility, such as the BOC and ROC.
Considerations
This request supports the personnel needed to perform activities at Metro Center. It incorporates the time frame required to train and recruit new personnel in conjunction with related project deliverables. In addition, this plan includes thirty-three (33) existing positions within the System Security and Law Enforcement department that have been identified to relocate to Metro Center from their current locations. To develop this request, staff analyzed several factors, including service hours, shift requirements, facility state of good repair, and current labor ratios. The authorization to add positions will allow Metro to hire and provide training for the requested personnel to meet planned deliverables.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Metro Center will support Rail Operations Control (ROC) and Bus Operations Control (BOC) daily by deploying response teams, coordinating law enforcement responses, providing real-time situational awareness, and reducing incident response time. These activities are critical to Metro’s effectiveness and transition to normal operations after an incident. During emergencies, the facility will provide physical space for staff from areas of operations, security, law enforcement, and others. The facility will house all departments to allow effective collaboration, process incoming information and threats, and collect and disseminate critical information. This will enhance the interoperability during a coordinated response with local governments, mutual aid organizations, and first responders.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY25 estimated budget impact is $6,700,000. Costs will be budgeted for Project 300018 - Emergency Security Operations Center, which will be located within various cost centers and will support funding for the recruitment and training of the added positions.
Impact to Budget
This action will be funded from Federal, State, and Local funds eligible for bus and rail Operations and Capital activities. No other funds were considered for this effort.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The additional staff requested will allow Metro to fulfill our strategic goals of helping people within the communities we serve, including Equity Focus Communities, by enhancing systemwide safety for transit riders and by providing diverse, good-paying employment opportunities with the new FTEs. The table below highlights the diverse backgrounds of existing staff within the requested job classifications.
Metro Center will improve security for systemwide transit users, who are 88% people of color and primarily low-income, with 83% of riders reporting an annual household income of $49,000 or less. The facility will support Rail Operations Control and Bus Operations Control for incident responses to minimize disruptions to revenue service, and the centralized location will utilize innovative technology to reduce response times and streamline awareness of what is happening on the system.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommendation supports strategic plan goal #5: Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the organization. Metro Center provides a central location to support daily security events such as emergency calls, agency-wide events such as fires, and regional events such as earthquakes. This allows the agency to be nimbler in coordination and response time to all situations. This responsiveness improves the agency’s effectiveness in supporting its employees and the public.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The alternative is that the Board may not approve the FTE request. This alternative is not recommended since rejecting this request would jeopardize the Agency’s ability to staff Metro Center adequately.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon approval, staff will begin recruitment activities to fill these positions and, once hired, train and deploy into available assignments.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Summary of FTE Request
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Carolyn Kreslake, Deputy Executive Officer, Operations, (213) 922-7420
Koreyne Clarke, Director, Financial & Administrative Management Services, (213) 922-2801
Aldon Bordenave, Deputy Executive Officer, Administration, (213) 617-6223
Ilyssa Esgar-Decasperis, Chief People Officer, (213) 922-3048
Kenneth Hernandez, Interim Chief Safety Officer, (213) 922-2990
Nalini Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer, (213) 922-3088
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 418-3034
