WASHINGTON — Metro tunnel ventilation fan maintenance and inspection documents were not intentionally falsified, but documentation was sloppy, a Metro investigation found.
The after-action review provided to WTOP outlined the findings of an investigation that was recommended after an internal Quality Assurance, Internal Compliance & Oversight office report found signs that inspection and maintenance documents had been modified.
That report recommended this follow-up investigation, which found underlying issues “in documentation practices.” But it “determined that maintenance records had not been intentionally falsified by maintenance technicians or supervision.”
Work that the initial report suggested may not have been completed had in fact been done, but it was not tracked in the way it should have been, the investigation found.
Further checks also revealed that transcription errors and other technology issues in the field caused some of the issues that were initially deemed suspicious, according to the after-action summary, which was dated this month.
The investigation recommended — and steps have been taken to institute — better rules for retaining old records and standardizing forms and better controls to ensure the correct versions of each form are provided to maintenance teams.
Metro’s largest union made similar claims about separate track inspection documentation that was used as the basis of firing or otherwise disciplining nearly half of the track inspection department last year.
