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Despite the amount of regulatory and liability exposure inherent in so many workplace processes, an alarmingly high number of businesses still have no systematized way to assess and prepare for risk, loss and injury. Not having these plans in place compounds the drag that issues like asset management and safety regulations place on any business.

This paper presents five critical areas where the lack of systemic regulatory compliance processes is creating major liabilities for business – and the best practices for addressing these issues.

CSA 2010’s BASICs: Preparing Your Company for Areas of Impact

CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) 2010 is an enforcement system for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that gathers data for tracking, measuring, evaluating, – and, when necessary, intervening with – motor carriers and drivers. The FMCSA hopes to increase efficiency and effectiveness for compliance and enforcement among carriers and drivers and achieve greater reduction in truck crashes, injuries and fatalities. All carriers with a U.S. DOT number and/or operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce are subject to the program.

 

Which parts of this large initiative have the most bearing on your company and drivers, and how do you prepare so as to avoid intervention activity by program officials? Intervention activities range from warning letters to on-site visits to fines and penalties.

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) and the seven BASICS Of the four major components of the CSA program, the Safety Measurement System (formerly SafeStat), driven by data from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), aims to keep a complete repository of carrier records that can be accessed by inspectors using portable devices. The results of your inspection will be added to the MCMIS.

The impact criteria for your drivers and fleet are the SMS BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories), inspection criteria that determine a score for a driver and vehicle. You can expect an inspector to test a driver and address all of the seven BASICS criteria. Some information on each of the BASICs, and how CSM can help you prepare your team to meet them, are as follows:

Indicator #1: Unsafe Driving Operation of commercial motor vehicles in a dangerous or careless manner CMS regulatory compliance tracking, asset management and employee training will have an impact on all aspects of safe driving: on-the-road training, cargo-related training, and more. With CSM your administrators will be able to spot drivers that may have problems with reckless driving, speeding, passing physicals or annual reviews, and drug testing. Online training can also help your drivers become compliant and more proficient at what they do.

Indicator 2: Fatigued Driving Too ill, fatigued or in noncompliance with hours of service; incomplete or inaccurate logbook CSM lets your administrators track and monitor a driver’s time on the road and receive alerts when logged road time has slipped out of compliance: easily track recent hours of service and days on duty, so you can stay ahead of fatigued driving incidents.

Indicator 3: Driver Fitness The operation of CMV by drivers who are unfit to operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualifications During a BASICs inspection, an inspector will request a valid CDL and a medical review certificate (physicals must be taken every two years). Having either of these documents expired or missing can be trouble. CSM helps you track all your renewals so that regular licenses and driver exams can be tracked and kept up to date.

Indicator 4: Controlled Substances Operation of CMVs by drivers who are impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and/or misuse of prescription or OTC medications Inspectors will be able to ascertain whether a driver has been drug tested, and have the authority to levy fines, make arrests, and take vehicles out of service. Every driver must have a card showing that he or she has been tested randomly on a regular basis. CSM has a complete module that helps you manage testing and monitoring, whether your company has in-house resources or uses consortiums that test your drivers in pools with other companies. In either scenario, you’ll know who needs to be tested, when, and what the results were.

Indicator 5: Vehicle Maintenance Failure to properly maintain a commercial motor vehicleExamples of this include inspection of brakes, lights, other vehicle defects, and failure to make required vehicle repairs. Under CSA2010, both carrier and driver performance will be measured. If they stop you for a brake light, an inspector can evaluate vehicle and driver for all seven BASICs and assign a score that will be submitted to the MCMIS. Vehicle maintenance is a major proficiency of CSM: you can track all preventive maintenance procedures and parts for all vehicles – you always know what’s wrong and when it got fixed. In addition, all inspection schedules (pre- and post) can be handled at one stop.

Indicator #6: Cargo Related Failure to properly prevent shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, and unsafe handling of hazardous materials Drivers must be trained on how to make sure loads are properly secured. All cargo securement training can be scheduled and tracked within CSM. Additionally, Compliance Safety Manager™ offers online training specifically related to cargo issues.

Indicator #7: Crash Indicator This is not so much an individual safety or behavior item as it is a survey of crash history to which new inspections will be added. A driver’s score on all six criteria will be compiled into the history in the MCMIS. The SMS program will evaluate scores and decide what, if any, level of intervention is required – representatives may send a warning letter, visit a site to put a corrective program in place, or even fine a company. A carrier can see its score, which is updated monthly, by entering its DOT number on a federally provided site. CMS can be configured to send you a monthly reminder to check your score; this way you can monitor and improve your performance on all the challenges of BASICs.  

These toolbox talks are safety talks. They are intended as a discussion among a group that focuses on safety for a specific type of work task or safety issue. In this case, we’ve assembled checklists of do’s and don’ts as an online reference. We’ve posted this growing set of documents for your benefit. These don’t replace a strong safety program or safety procedures, but are intended as a resource to assist your operation.  Organized as checklists, these toolbox topics are available for a variety of industries covering many different toolbox topics.

Any employer, employee, or vehicle involved in the transportation of property or passengers in interstate commerce with a vehicle of gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or combination weight rating (GCWR) of more than 10,000 lbs. is subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) and potential Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) audits.

 

What is a DOT audit? A DOT on-site audit evaluates a company’s safety performance and confirms proper and complete recordkeeping. The review also determines if the company has adequate management controls in place to ensure FMCSR compliance. A DOT review contains six inspection categories, or factors:

1. General
2. Driver
3. Operational
4. Vehicle
5. Hazardous Materials
6. Accidents

The Federal Department of Transportation uses a 3 1/2-page list of requirements when performing an audit. Here are some relevant FMCSR guidelines you need to be aware of:

Assuming that you have a good safety program in place, a Department of Transportation (DOT) audit is not something to be feared. But you must be vigilant. Check your potential liability by completing the DOT compliance checklist below. As an example, a successful DOT audit requires a “yes” response to each of the following questions. A “no” response could result in fines and/or the temporary or permanent closure of your business.

If you answer “no” to three or more of these questions, you need to click here to discover how Compliance Safety Manager™ can get your safety and risk management programs in compliance:

Here are 9 documents or records that the DOT requires:

1. MVRs
2. Approved DOT application
3. CDL license
4. Physical/medical on drivers
5. Annual driver review
6. Last 7 days on duty
7. Pre-employment check
8. Background check on drugs
9. Road test for all new CDL drivers with less than one year experience and classroom