The MassDOT Chief Safety Officer is a new position created by Healey. In this role, Lavin will report directly to the Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager and serve as the primary representative for overall safety issues relating to transportation. He will be charged with ensuring a safe and healthy environment for all employees, passengers, and the public, in all modes of transportation, including rail, bus, commuter rail, paratransit, and highway.
“Pat Lavin is a dedicated public transportation expert who shares our administration’s commitment to improving safety and reliability across our transportation system, including the MBTA,” Healey said. “We created this position to ensure we had a senior official coordinating efforts across all modes of transportation and driving strategies across the system to improve safety for riders and workers."
“Patrick Lavin is a nationally recognized expert in the field of transportation safety and has a proven track record evaluating processes and improving safety at major transit systems in the United States,” Fiandaca said. “Mr. Lavin has led collision and derailment investigations, evaluated organizations for compliance with regulations, managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and developed and implemented safety programs for public transportation systems. In addition, he has a familiarity with the MBTA having been part of an independent safety review several years ago, and he understands the sense of urgency now to identify issues and find solutions at the T."
Since May of 2019, Lavin has served as Director of Operations Safety and Investigations at K & J Safety and Security Consulting Services, where he has been responsible for performing risk-based operational safety assessments, developing agency specific incident investigation procedures, and assisting transit agencies in addressing the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) safety advisories and directives.
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In addition, Lavin managed the creation of training plans and hazard analysis for the Bay Area Rapid Transit operations, the New York State Public Transportation Board, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, the Memphis Area Transit Authority, Honolulu Rapid Transportation, and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.
Lavin previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Safety Officer for WMATA, where he implemented the Agency Safety Plan, developed organizational policy to identify vulnerabilities and inefficiencies with operations, and launched new initiatives involving fatigue management, improved employee safety via improved Personal Protective Equipment, and enhanced Roadway Worker Protection processes.
Lavin also worked at the New York City Transit for more than 30 years, ultimately serving as Senior Director of Operations in the Office of System Safety, where he conducted system-wide investigations for trains and buses, primarily for collisions, derailments, serious injuries, and fatal incidents.
Lavin is certified by the Federal Department of Transportation’s Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program and Transit Safety and Security Program. He is also certified by the World Safety Organization as a Safety and Security Director. He received his Bachelor of Science in labor studies from Empire State College and a Master of Science in transportation planning and management from Polytechnic University (presently New York University).
