As manager of policy at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Philip Plotch had a leading role developing a strategic business plan for the organization. This direction-setting blueprint established three fundamental goals — to improve safety, customer satisfaction and cost effectiveness — for the MTA’s agencies (NYC Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Bus, Bridges and Tunnels). These goals represented the most critical issues facing the organization at the time, and the business plan provided the blueprint for how the MTA would shepherd its resources to meet these goals.
Dr. Plotch helped set the goals and then the strategies and tactics to achieve these goals. His efforts were most influential in the safety area with the development of new performance measures, reporting procedures, and audits. By highlighting the need to improve safety and then tying job performance to achieving measurable safety goals, the MTA agencies were motivated to adopt new programs and procedures that reduced the injury rate to both employees and customers. This translated into millions of dollars in cost savings associated with legal settlements and reduction in the lost time due to injuries.
| Goal Area | Key Indicator |
|---|---|
| Safety | Lost Time accidents per 200,000 work hours Customer injuries per 1 million customers |
| Customer Satisfaction | Overall customer satisfaction rating On-time performance Mean distance between service interruption |
| Cost Effectiveness | Cost per passenger mile Subsidy per passenger mile |
