How to be Proactive on Loss Control

This put up is a part of a sequence sponsored by IAT Insurance Group.

The most profitable fleets are those who have a proactive security tradition and do greater than what’s dictated by federal and state laws. They take full benefit of the sources out there to them, reminiscent of telematics, sprint cameras, traction management applied sciences, established driver coaching, and comply with their hiring and retention methods accordingly. In addition, they interact in business greatest practices and repeatedly search for methods to enhance security – entertaining recommendations and suggestions from others reminiscent of consultants or their insurance coverage service’s Loss Control staff.

Here are 4 case research of fleet motor carriers using out there sources to deal with security issues:

1. North Carolina-based common freight trucking firm | Fleet dimension: 33 energy models

During a routine go to to a motor service, our Loss Control Specialist discovered this motor service had 92% of their drivers employed or leased to them for multiple 12 months, which exceeded the 70% benchmark for retention charges. They additionally decided that the motor service had an accident frequency under 8% throughout the present and prior two coverage phrases. Both indicated sturdy danger administration practices and helped IAT bind their enterprise for the subsequent coverage time period.

During the coverage time period, nonetheless, retention charges and accident frequency each grew to become a priority. Retention charges dropped under 65% and their accident frequency and accident severity elevated.

An IAT Loss Control Specialist assisted the proprietor and the protection director in evaluating the causes of the problems. It was decided that the motor service had not been adhering to its personal requirements for hiring and retaining drivers.

IAT’s Loss Control staff helped this fleet reinstitute and cling to a proactive security tradition. This helped them determine driver coaching wants and corrective actions. Due to those adjustments, the motor service incurred no extra losses and driver retention charges improved.

2. Central Illinois-based common freight trucking firm | Fleet dimension: 40 tractors and drivers

This firm is seen as having a robust, proactive security tradition — one which goes above and past what’s required by the laws. They are all the time in search of other ways to advertise security with their workers. Even with this security and danger administration method in place, they needed to search for additional methods to enhance their practices.

Working with their IAT Loss Control Specialist, the freight firm developed a CMV driving ideas program just like that promoted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.^[1] To allow success, they integrated their very own in-cab digicam information for a firsthand take a look at what can go incorrect, and in some instances, what has gone incorrect, they usually mentioned methods to keep away from these issues going ahead.

Here’s how they do it: The motor service saves numerous brief video clips of their digicam information to point out their drivers close to misses, precise accidents, errors by others, and distracted driving. Drivers are then requested to contemplate what they may have completed in another way or how the state of affairs might have been averted altogether.

As a outcome, the corporate has skilled a rise in driver-initiated discussions about security and driving strategies and enhanced its security consciousness communication throughout all the operation. They proceed to search for proactive and other ways to deliver enhancements to their general security tradition.

3. St. Louis-based trucking firm | Fleet dimension: 56 tractors and drivers

Form and method violations are quite common — making up 25% of all roadside inspection violations. These violations develop if a driver fails to finish all of the required fields on their document of obligation standing on paper or digital logs. This St. Louis-based trucking firm was accumulating type and method violations far past acceptable requirements.

To deal with the difficulty, their IAT Loss Control Specialist helped them develop mock inspections on their property. When drivers got here to the yard, they had been required to finish a mock roadside inspection with imitation DOT officers who ‘pulled drivers over’ and carried out numerous ranges of inspections with the fleet of drivers and tools. They centered on the massive image of a roadside inspection, but additionally on type and method violations. Because of the preliminary success of this system, the trucking firm continues to make use of it throughout new driver orientation and can deliver again mock audits for all the fleet each six to 12 months. The success of those inspections has helped decrease their HOS Basic rating from 80% to 55%.

4. Phoenix-based trucking firm | Fleet dimension: 20 energy models

As an organization with a proactive security tradition, this motor service needed to strengthen the significance of pre-trip inspections with their drivers. So, they ready a tractor with two out-of-service violations and 6 non-out-of-service violations at their terminal. As drivers returned to the terminal after their load was full, they had been requested to carry out a pre-trip inspection on the ready tools and determine all violations.

Drivers who couldn’t discover all of the violations needed to evaluate that data with their security director to keep away from future violations that would have been found throughout a top quality pre-trip inspection. Now it’s a part of their ongoing coaching and orientation course of with new drivers. These efforts may also help the enterprise scale back prices of potential inspections, violations, and accidents, all a direct reflection of their proactive security efforts and tradition. The firm discovered success in implementing this process. It elevated driver consciousness and though early within the implementation to see noticeable CSA rating enchancment, the whole variety of violations have began to say no.

The key to stopping issues of safety

The frequent denominator amongst these 4 tales is every fleet’s willingness to simply accept and perform greatest practices to forestall issues of safety and management loss. They leverage out there sources, together with their insurance coverage service’s sources, to proactively monitor and enhance their security applications. With this method, fleet motor carriers can place themselves for better future success.

ASK A LOSS CONTROL REPRESENTATIVE

Have a query on how you can mitigate danger? Email losscontroldirect@iatinsurance.com for an opportunity to see your query answered in a future weblog.

By Nick Martin

[1] Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration “CMV Driving Tips – Overview,” February 10, 2015.

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