Carriers prepare for new pre-employment screening era and more

Updated May 3, 2010

The full picture

Carriers prepare for new pre-employment screening era

By Aaron Huff


Carriers soon will be able to access a driver’s crash and inspection history from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is making this data available for its new pre-employment screening program (PSP).

This news may not seem revolutionary since fleets already can access this data on their own drivers through FMCSA’s Compass portal. But now the entire motor carrier industry will be able to access this data to assess individual drivers when making hiring decisions. The PSP reports will include five years of U.S. Department of Transportation-recordable crash data and up to three years of roadside inspection violation information.


CSA 2010 will force fleets to be more selective in hiring.


Obtaining driver crash and inspection history through PSP reports is not required by law, but anytime Congress mandates FMCSA to make information available, it “behooves motor carriers to use the data,” says Kent Ferguson, director of transportation solutions at HireRight, a provider of pre-employment screening services.

As an optional program, the PSP reports will not supplant any existing documents carriers must obtain as part of their pre-employment screening process. DOT still requires motor carriers to obtain Motor Vehicle Records, employment history and drug and alcohol tests on all drivers.

NIC Technologies is administering the PSP program for FMCSA. To ensure the security and integrity of the data, NIC will not allow third parties such as HireRight to have direct access to the data, Ferguson says.

While PSP reports only are available from NIC, some third parties – including HireRight – have an arrangement with NIC whereby carriers can go through them to order PSP reports along with other pre-employment reports and services such as MVRs, employment history, criminal records and drug and alcohol tests.

HireRight will send its customers a URL from NIC for a driver PSP report. Through this arrangement, NIC will waive the $100 annual fee carriers would have to pay by going direct. Carriers will pay HireRight $10 per report – the same as ordering direct – along with an additional service fee, Ferguson says.

First Advantage, which provides background screening services, plans to offer PSP reports so that carriers can get one invoice for all background screening services. Carriers that purchase the reports directly from NIC will be required to use an ACH debit system. “Our customers would much prefer being billed for it,” says Greg Conklin, executive director of sales and business development for First Advantage’s transportation services division.

For more information on the PSP program and to enroll, go to www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/default.aspx.


CSA 2010 implications

FMCSA soon will phase in a new compliance program, Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, which will require carriers to be even more vigilant when hiring drivers. In the past, carriers would evaluate and hire drivers based on their tickets. With CSA 2010, the actions of individual drivers – as recorded by enforcement officers during roadside inspections – also will determine a motor carrier’s safety fitness level.

To help fleets incorporate this new data into the hiring process, First Advantage has developed a scorecard system based on CSA 2010’s points system. Carriers are using the scorecard not only to evaluate drivers before hiring them but also throughout their employment. Some fleets also are keeping the scorecard in their driver qualification files, Conklin says.

Under CSA 2010, the MVR will not be replaced by crash and roadside inspection data, says Jim Stanley, product development manager for iiX, a company that provides MVRs and other background screening reports to carriers.

Four out of the seven CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) tie directly to MVR information, Stanley says. To help carriers manage MVR information proactively, iiX has developed a Web-based driver risk management platform.

Rair, a provider of compliance and safety services for the trucking industry, is providing carriers with free monthly CSA 2010 scorecards, which include percentile rankings against their peers, in response to FMCSA’s change in the timeline for implementing CSA 2010. “We don’t charge for something that’s free,” says JJ Singh, Rair president and chief executive officer. “We only charge for the value we add.”

Singh says Rair also can help carriers determine the underlying causes of their violations and provide daily assistance in improving their safety scores. “Our goal is to help ensure that our clients are never subject to an intervention,” Singh says. “That’s how we add value.”

As carriers continue to use more information in the hiring process, the demand for new technology and services to manage their safety rating and risk will become more vital.



Rand McNally launches IntelliRoute TND 700


Rand McNally says many of the new, improved features of the IntelliRoute TND 700 GPS device were developed as a direct result of feedback from professional truck drivers.Rand McNally says many of the new, improved features of the IntelliRoute TND 700 GPS device were developed as a direct result of feedback from professional truck drivers.


Rand McNally launched the IntelliRoute TND 700, a new truck GPS device with a 7-inch high-definition screen and enhanced software features. The company says the new device provides greater mapping detail at each zoom level, a larger viewing screen, additional Trucker Business Tools, enhanced features and 363,000 data updates since the release of its TND 500 device last year.

Rand McNally says the IntelliRoute TND 700 was developed from the ground up for professional truck drivers. The device includes louder-than-normal speakers, custom-designed mounting features such as an oversized suction cup and extra-long cable, and a suite of specialized Trucker Business Tools to assist drivers in managing the business aspects of trucking.

The IntelliRoute TND 700 has a suggested retail price of $499. For more information, go to www.randmcnally.com/truckgps.



In brief


* TransCore (www.transcore.com) added new carrier tools, including a driver pay management feature, to its Logistics Software 4.0 broker transportation management software.

* McLeod Software’s (www.mcleodsoftware.com) updated PowerBroker II software features a Brokerage Performance Command tool that permits brokers to see how their business is performing today and over the next few days if the trend continues.

* Arsenault Associates (www.arsenault.biz) released Dossier Version 5.1, the latest edition of its fleet asset maintenance management software that now includes analysis and automation tools to help make business decisions, eliminate duplicated efforts, enhance productivity and lower costs.

* PeopleNet (www.peoplenetonline.com) was chosen by Frozen Food Express as its over-the-road mobile communications provider.

* Maptuit (www.maptuit.com) has added more than 200 new fleets – including Schneider, J.B. Hunt, WalMart, Transport America, Baylor Trucking and Covenant – as clients for its truck-specific connected navigation product, NaviGo.

* Getloaded.com launched iGetloaded, an Apple iPhone and iPod application that allows members to move freight from a touchscreen mobile handheld device.

* Trinium Technologies’ (www.triniumtech.com) transportation management system was selected by Tennessee Commercial Warehouse – Tennessee Express, a Nashville-based warehousing and transportation company.



Randall-Reilly debuts truckstop coupon iPhone app

Randall-Reilly, a business media and information company and publisher of CCJ, debuted Truck Stop Coupons, an iPhone app that lets truckers and other motorists locate, clip, print and share coupons from more than 5,000 truckstops across America. Developed in conjunction with Salebug.com and ProMiles, the app is downloadable for free in the iTunes App Store. Versions for Blackberry and Android will be available in upcoming months.

Truckstops can update an unlimited number of coupons daily on the app’s parent site www.TruckStopCoupons.com. Powered by TruckStopGuide.com, the app also can locate truckstops within a 50-mile radius of the phone, show available coupons at all locations within that radius and also provide detailed route and turn-by-turn driving directions to any of the 5,000 truckstops in the database.

“In these tough economic times, we’re proud to offer a tool that can help travelers save money, while helping truckstops promote the vast array of products and services they offer truckers and other motorists,” says Robert Lake, Randall-Reilly senior vice president of acquisitions and business development. n