Carriers leverage new technology to stay ahead of CSA compliance
Prior to Dec. 13, 2010, many small firms were used to seeing their SafeStat scores remain fairly static. Only a fatality or a series of out-of-service violations might have led to an onsite compliance review. Otherwise, U.S. Department of Transportation auditors tended to focus resources on larger carriers and deeper pockets.
That day, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration replaced its SafeStat formula for evaluating motor carrier safety with the Safety Measurement System. The agency’s ultimate goal for SMS is to calculate monthly safety scores based on live data from roadside inspections.
SMS falls under the Compliance Safety Accountability program, FMCSA’s focal point for fleet safety and compliance. In sizing up CSA, many fleet executives and managers realized that to keep their SMS scores low, they would need to standardize processes and execute them consistently – and use technology to achieve those goals.
“We would rather have information first and know how our drivers are performing,” says Courtney Waller, project manager for Waller Truck Co. Inc., a 220-truck nationwide truckload carrier. “The least we can do is know our own information and be prepared.”
Waller Truck purchased a new driver management system from EBE Technologies in February 2010. The Excelsior Springs, Mo.-based company previously had been using various applications for managing recruiting, driver files, logbooks and vehicle/engine data. Soon, the company will manage everything related to CSA from a single automated platform.
CSA impacts all levels of an organization.
CSA impacts all levels of an organization, not just the safety department and drivers, and technology that helps fleets remain compliant is capable of extending beyond the bounds of safety to reach all of a company’s human resources. CSA is the focal point, but the sharing of information and monitoring compliance with company policies and directives is a natural extension.
Through the gate
In the new CSA regime, speed and consistency in recruiting qualified drivers has taken on more importance. Fleets say that CSA, still in its infancy, already has caused a shortage of qualified drivers.
When Waller Truck purchased its EBE driver management system, recruiting was the first phase to be implemented. Previously, recruiters were looking through paper files and Post-it notes to track drivers’ progress through the hiring process.
Drivers now apply at Waller Truck through the company’s website. EBE’s online application prompts drivers to complete all fields, and once information is collected, the recruiting module orders pre-employment background reports, verifies past employment and screens drivers based on company requirements.
