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Risk within a fleet operation is inevitable but maintaining a safe environment is something to always strive for and improve. Managing fleet risk is crucial to reduce accidents, save time, money, and even lives. Maintaining a solid risk management and safety program is also needed to control liability issues; consider regulations and the best practices driven by those regulations. Then you can assess how to fit risk management into the operation and company culture. These policies must be functional and practical within your trucking industry operation.
Use Task-Driven Policies
Your written trucking industry policies should be easy to understand, avoiding wordiness. Your policy should relate to your operations, exposures, and hazards. It is helpful to incorporate the following issues in the policy:
- Administration
- Delegation and accountability
- Driver selection
- Driver rewards and consequences
- Training
- Accident reporting, investigation, and review
- Drug and alcohol testing requirements
- Vehicle maintenance and use
Stay True to Accountability
Everyone plays an important role in safety, from executives to drivers. Accountability is critical and should be monitored. It is important to define who does what, when, and how with given titles, locations, and process detail. This will help provide the knowledge needed to reach goals.
Good Drivers
What about driver selection and review? How you identify that individual is specific to your fleet and operation with standards based on your business. Considering driver performance, training, and experience. The driver selection and review policy should cover prevention of negligence, valid driver license checks, assessment of acceptable driving records, and a safety performance history check. Assess the processes that are already established to determine if they are genuinely working.
Are you implementing proper drug and alcohol testing? If drivers do not comply, how will the company respond? How you treat drug and alcohol testing is very impactful on company culture. It is vital to have a clear and consistent method to your drug and alcohol testing policy, addressing the following areas:
- Pre-employment checks
- Zero tolerance versus second chance
- Drug and alcohol training
- Management training
- Proper recordkeeping
Strong Training & Discipline
Are your drivers properly qualified and trained? Determine what driver training is required, such as hazmat, corporate responsibility, or vehicle inspections. Training should be conducted regularly to keep drivers up to date and keep safety on top of mind. Drivers must remain aware and focused, and program type will vary based on circumstances such as union status and driver availability. Discipline should be stated in the policy, but first, modify driver behavior with retraining and mentoring.
Handling Issues
Accidents can easily lead to litigation, so adequate reporting and investigation is a must. Every accident should be investigated to determine the root cause and learn how to improve the safety program. Review your policy bi-annually to evaluate current methods for collecting data.
Supervisors should train drivers on every aspect post-accident, considering frequency, category of event, location, date and time, and root cause. The trucking industry is prone to accidents, and reporting and investigating them is critical to their success and improvement.
Vehicle Maintenance
Vehicle maintenance should be a priority to avoid many other risks. Implement daily pre and post-trip inspections with recordkeeping by qualified personnel. Determine how drivers will note if a repair is needed and how those repairs will be taken care of. Ensure that any vehicle issues are handled promptly.
How Can You Improve?
A pivotal element to risk management is documentation and reassessing the safety policy. There should be a systematic approach to how you assess records so that the process can go more smoothly. Benchmarking is needed to know where you started and learn the return on investment. Look at your current safety program and consider where you need to be each quarter. Sometimes the numbers themselves are easier to analyze than the practices. High levels of risk are inherent in this industry. When all else fails, you can always fall back on your Texas trucking insurance.
About Transparity Insurance Services
Transparity Insurance Services was founded for the purpose of helping clients to ensure their property and assets with no hassle. We are committed to providing a simple, easy, efficient, and positive experience to all of our clients, and prioritize open and transparent communication with our clients. Through our excellent customer service and technology, we can help you to find the right insurance program at a competitive price. Contact us today at (855) 889-2037 to learn more about what we can do for you.