Safety culture driving continuous improvement

May 29, 2026

A strong safety culture is built on engagement, accountability, and the confidence to speak up, especially in operating environments.

That’s the intent of Norfolk Southern’s Safety Walkabouts. Throughout 2025 and continuing in 2026, our railroaders across the network have come together to reinforce the behaviors that make our railroad safer and more reliable for our customers.

In the most recent systemwide Walkabout, teams centered their conversations on the “Big 3” — a clear, practical focus on the behaviors that prevent risk from stacking up and reinforce consistency in the field.

What is a Safety Walkabout?
Safety Walkabouts bring cross-functional teams — typically three to four leaders and frontline railroaders — into the field together. They observe real-time conditions and talk openly about safety, performance, and decision-making where the work happens.

The focus is practical:

Encouraging Speak Up behaviors
Reinforcing a clear, consistent standard
Learning and coaching together in operating environments

Recent Walkabouts reinforced the Big 3:

Honor our Life Critical Rules: Know them, commit to them, and execute them the same way every time
Move Safely and Be Where Your Feet Are: Staying intentionally aware while walking, mounting, dismounting, and positioning
Respect the Fundamentals of Professional Railroading: Executing the basics with discipline, including being dressed and ready, using professional communication, and protecting your body during routine tasks

How it sharpens our skills
Speaking up isn’t just a cultural expectation at NS, it’s one of the most effective layers of risk control on the railroad. It helps teams identify hazards early, prevent incidents, and make better decisions, especially when conditions are demanding.

“Our Safety Walkabouts are proactively identifying risk and sharpening our skills as professional railroaders,” said Chief Safety Officer John Fleps. “When we speak up, coach in the moment, and reinforce the standard together, that builds trust supporting safe, reliable operations.”

During Walkabouts, teams work to recognize Speak Up moments, even when they aren’t obvious, and create space for open dialogue under pressure.

One team, one standard
Safety isn’t situational. It’s a core value and the lens through which every decision is made.

Walkabout engagement reinforces:

Clear expectations across roles and skillsets
Meaningful coaching — giving and receiving feedback
How leaders model and sustain the standard in the field

Regardless of role or title, every railroader has a responsibility to uphold that standard.

Why this matters to customers and communities
A safe operation is a consistent operation, and consistency supports a strong, efficient network.

When teams operate safely and predictably, work moves smoothly through key terminals and corridors. That steady execution improves network flow, helping customers plan with confidence, keep supply chains moving, and deliver reliably to their own customers. For the communities where we operate, it means a safer railroad performing its work responsibly, every day.

The bottom line:
Safety Walkabouts are about building a stronger Speak Up culture — one where railroaders engage with one another, uphold the standard, and strengthen the safety and reliability of the railroad we operate together.

By Martin Wattenbarger, Senior Communications Manager

Martin Wattenbarger leads internal communications for Norfolk Southern Operations, with an emphasis on safety culture and performance, operational excellence, and employee engagement. He joined NS in 2020, bringing nearly 20 years of combined strategic communications experience in the private and public sectors.