Not every fleet has the budget to spend huge amounts of money on safety initiatives. In fact, more than half of all fleets in the country are considered small-size motor carriers. So, instead of worrying about where they will come up with the necessary capital to invest in an expensive safety program, they should approach safety from a two-pronged approach.

Small fleets need to focus on the hiring and onboarding process in two ways. One, they need to create a company safety culture that promotes truck driver practices that reinforce safety. Two, they need to utilize a training system that matches the company’s needs.

Consider this: Annual truck driver turnover rate at small trucking fleets hit 80% in 2017. The fact is, small fleets have a much harder time recovering from attrition and turnover. It simply costs them more since they are working twice as hard with far less resources. This is why ensuring their workers receive adequate training, remain compliant with the organization’s safety values, and – above all – don’t quit.

If your truck drivers are compliant, yet have pride in the organization, and are passionate about what they do, it won’t be hard to ensure a great safety culture without having to invest tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and coaching.

Simplify Your Structure

Small fleets need to simplify their fleet management structure with programs that focus on safety, training, and follow-up. In many cases, fleet and/or safety managers can create simple programs, in-house, that keep these factors in mind.

One idea is to set up a safety group coupled with an in-house online training system. New truck drivers get two-to-five days of hands-on training followed up by a web-based test. This way they get the opportunity to work with a fellow truck driver, ask appropriate questions, and create a relationship they may not have with a direct manager, simply due to the chain of command.

Follow up tests would be designed to ensure the truck driver has retained the necessary information to succeed within the fleet. If for some reason they were unable to pass a basic proficiency, follow-up training can be assigned. The most important thing is to ensure that every truck driver has received the training they need to effectively, but most of all, safely, operate a commercial motor vehicle.

Consider these simple, cost-effective solutions:

• Certified truck driver training programs;
• In-house created instructional technology solutions;
• Constructive feedback documented by trainers and company stakeholders, and;
• Safety scorecards used to measure safety incidents and created by an in-house safety committee.

Compliance is important because if you have operators who are safe, but are not operating in a compliant manner, it does nothing to help the safety goals of your organization.

Inexpensive Online Solutions

Online solutions exist for small fleets who are looking for inexpensive options. Small fleet managers could employ training mechanisms that track and verify truck driver compliance and safety, all in one.

Fleets with limited resources could forego creating their own in-house programs for customized solutions and online training tools and dashboards that provide metrics and guidance. Customized online tools provide data that fleet safety managers can use to identify how operators are performing.

Even better, the National Safety Council provides an online course resource that small fleets can use at minimal cost. Whichever your fleet chooses, truck drivers feel empowered to practice safe driving behavior when they know the company they work for is investing in their future, even if that investment must be minimal.

In the end, you do not need to spend a small fortune, no matter your size, to enhance the safety culture within your organization. Find online tools or build in-house, then tap into the resource you already have: experienced truck drivers who can help train and retain.

Welcome back to Part II in our series taking a look at how you can improve your CSA scores. In our last post we examined exactly what a CSA score is and how it is weighted. This week, we will begin diving into key ways that you can ensure your CSA score remains as sparkly clean as possible.

Consider this: It takes around 20 good inspection to offset one bad inspection. There are many reasons to pay close attention to your CSA scores, but this one should really give you pause. There are essential tips every truck driver or fleet manager should know, so let’s get started.

Data Verification

Ensuring your inspection data is verified is critical to avoiding a bad inspection on your record. You need to make sure your inspection data is valid, accurate, and warranted. If you see bad inspection data, make sure to get it corrected.

You can always challenge bad information through an RDR, or request for data review process. Just bear in mind that before you do so, you will need to make sure you have clear, factual evidence for why the data is incorrect. You will also need to clearly list issues, whether they are missing records, incorrect or duplicate information.

It is also critical that you use neutral language. The review officer is very much likely a peer of the officer who made the original notation. If you have ELD records, photos, eyewitness accounts, or otherwise, all of this will be good for your cause. Also remember that you have up to two years to challenge inspection data.

When it comes to ensuring proper data trails, make sure your carrier registration is kept up-to-date. Motor carriers are required to complete an MCS-150 form at least once every two years. Ensure truck and truck driver numbers and mileage data are all up-to-date.

Ensuring Control

Does your management team have adequate safety controls in place? The Safety Management Cycle put forth by the DOT was done so to ensure there are controls in place. The operations team must establish clearly-defined roles and responsibilities, as well as hiring and training standards.

When a truck driver or other member of the team is not performing up to standard, it is on the management team to do something about it. Some fleets use a three-strike process. It might help to establish thresholds for events such as speeding, swerving, or harsh braking.

Whatever process your fleet uses, you must make sure your management controls are properly documented and make sense. Otherwise you could find yourself on the wrong end of a DOT audit.

Dispatch Limitations

Always remember that staying CSA compliant is not just the responsibility of your truck drivers. Dispatch operators and managers also have a big job to do. Consider dispatch limits as defined in regulation 395.3 of the HOS rules. These rules are not up for debate.

Dispatchers must make sure that they are not overloading the fleet truck drivers to such an extent that it forces them to violate HOS rules. If the home office is not doing a good enough job helping truck drivers stay compliant with HOS rules, you may find a CSA violation is not far behind.

With the ELD mandate here, it is far easier to eliminate what used to be one of the largest HOS violations, problem with logbooks. Have you already outfitted your fleet with electronic logging devices? If not, you may be on the unfortunate receiving end of a violation.

Join us next week in our final installment of this series!

The fact is this: Improving your CSA score can benefit you in many ways. Even more, it can benefit your truck drivers and other stakeholders who have an interest in seeing your fleet succeed. Since CSA scores are public information, motor carriers with higher scores will be preferred by clients who want to rest assured that their freight is in good hands.

Even more, fleets with better CSA scores suffer fewer DOT audits and roadside inspections. This directly translates into lower insurance premiums, which could mean thousands of dollars saved every year. And since potential recruits want to work for a company that has a good reputation, great CSA scores go a long way in ensuring you can find the best truck drivers for the job.

While staying compliant is important, the overriding factor in keeping CSA scores acceptable should be the safety of your truck drivers and others on the road, as well as providing a good working environment for your employees. Unfortunately, many motor carriers still aren’t even sure what goes into their CSA score. Smaller fleets may not feel the imperative to learn everything they need to learn about this important compliance and safety metric.

What is a CSA Score?

CSA was rolled out at the tail-end of 2010 as a way to introduce greater enforcement and compliance from information collected during roadside inspections. The Department of Transportation also wanted a way to identify “at risk” carriers, which CSA allows them to do. Scores are shown as a percentage, with the DOT choosing to investigate a motor carrier if their score falls to 80% or below.

A CSA score is a rating made up of any violations a motor carrier has racked up over a 24-month period. The rating system itself is made up of over 700 different violations, which all fit into seven different categories. These categories themselves are referred to as BASIC scores, which stands for Behavioral Analysis Safety Improvement Categories.

They are as follows:

• Unsafe Driving: Speeding, reckless driving, improper lane changes, and inattention or distraction.
• HOS Compliance: Hours of Service compliance and operating the vehicle while either ill or overly fatigued.
• Truck Driver Fitness: Failure to have a valid or appropriate CDL or being medically unqualified to operate the vehicle.
• Controlled Substances/Alcohol: Use or possession of controlled substances or alcohol.
• Vehicle Maintenance: Brakes, lights, or other mechanical defects or failures where a repair should have been completed.
• Cargo: Improper load securement, cargo retention, or hazardous material handling.
• Crash Indicators: Histories or patterns of high crashes, whether that be in frequency or severity.

Now that you are aware of what the CSA scores are made up of, we want to take you through key steps to improving them. Ensuring your CSA scores are in good shape could be the thing that makes or breaks your business. Even more, it could be the signal to proper operation and safe truck driving. What more could you ask for?

The guidelines we are going to outline for you over this two-Part series are designed to become a critical part of your motor carrier’s culture. These are not quick fixes. To ensure you get the most out of them, you must have buy-in from those within the organization who can directly impact. If you do not know your CSA score, make sure to visit the official website here and search by your carrier name or USDOT number. Be sure to join us next week as we dive into the steps required to get control over your CSA score.