Did you know that the seventh most dangerous job in America according to a fatal occupational injury census is truck driving? We should not be entirely surprised by this considering trucking and transportation accidents are the number one cause of on-the-job fatalities. In normal years, 500+ truck drivers will sadly perish while on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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With that in mind, it should be the duty of employers within\nthe transportation sector to take every possible step to ensure the safety of\ntheir truck drivers. Conducting suitable risk assessments, ensuring that\nvehicles are fit for purpose, work-related journeys are safe, and vehicle\noperators are equipped with all the tools they need to operate their vehicles\nsafely, come recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A practical way of achieving this is through telematics. A\nfully integrated telematics solution facilitates the collection of valuable\nvehicle and driver information which, in turn, can be used to analyze vehicle\nperformance, driver behavior, crash data and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Equally as important is putting policies and procedures in\nplace to guide employees through the company\u2019s expectations of safe road use,\nthe risks involved, the consequences of those risks, and the requirement to\nmanage and reduce those risks and consequences. That is why today we will explore\nthe essential elements that should be included in such a policy and the\nbenefits thereof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, it is one thing to invest in a technology for the\nsake of doing so, but it is another thing to have policies and procedures in\nplace to help guide the use of that technology. New things for the sake of new\nthings is not always effective without a plan in place to utilize them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who Is Using Telematics?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to the ELD mandate, nearly all trucking fleets today\nuse telematics in one way or another. With fleets more readily and frequently\nadopting telematics, telematics policies have become very important since they\nhelp establish clear and defined expectations for any employee that makes use\nof the company\u2019s telematics devices and its supporting systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where telematics is in place but no policy currently exists, it\u2019s crucial to draw up suitable policies and set a deadline by which all drivers are required to review and sign it before they are allowed to drive a company vehicle. Also, newly appointed drivers should be asked to review, sign and date a telematics policy as soon as they begin employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The essential elements a good telematics vender has will\nhelp fleets prepare for a smooth transition. Motor carriers should find a\npartner who has extensive experience in preparing telematics policies for many\nfleets around the world. Based on this experience, we have found that the\nfollowing elements should always be included in a telematics policy for U.S.\nfleets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to Create Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n First, you must define the purpose. Determine the reason\nyour company is implementing telematics. Explain why telematics is important\nand how it will benefit not just the company but also the drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the most common reasons include compliance with the\nFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration\u2019s (FMCSA) final ruling, which\nrequires the use of ELDs for drivers of commercial motor vehicles to record\ntheir Hours of Service (HOS), and the improvement of the fleet\u2019s safety and\nefficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then you want to make sure you properly outline roles and\nresponsibilities. Various stakeholders are involved in the successful rollout\nof a telematics policy, and it\u2019s important that these roles are clearly\ndefined. The last thing you want to do is sow confusion with a new procedure\nthat is meant to clear things up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Senior leadership should be responsible for establishing\nclear expectations and accountability to ensure that all employees understand\nand adhere to the requirements of this policy. When people are looking to the leadership\nteam for guidance, the men and women in charge need to be able to give it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Line management or supervisors should review the policy\nalongside all applicable employees to ensure that they understand what is\nexpected of them and the potential consequences if violations were to occur. In\nsome ways, these members of management are the most important part of the\nprocess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, employees need to understand and adhere to the\nexpectations as outlined in the policy. Your front-line employees represent the\nvanguard of your efforts. If they are not ready, then things fall apart before\nit even reaches management\u2019s ears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Position the ELD Mandate and HOS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If it is relevant to your fleet, it\u2019s important to explain\nthe ELD Mandate, its purpose and key provisions. Many fleets also include the\nHOS provisions here as well. Consider that the ELD Mandate is law of the land.\nIf your people don\u2019t know it inside and out, you are going to get caught\nflat-footed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, this is an opportunity to communicate how important\ncompliance is and the benefits it provides to truck drivers and the fleet. Truck\ndriver safety is, after all, the main objective of the ELD Mandate and HOS\nrules. Even as they change and evolve with the times, their core function is to\nensure safety in the trucking and transportation sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is critical that fleet managers clearly explain who must\ncomply. Describe who must comply with the policy so that everyone is clear on\ntheir role. Employee truck drivers, contracted truck drivers and temporary\ntruck drivers should all be expected to comply. The types of vehicles that must\ncomply (both inter- and intrastate) should also be made clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also make sure you enforce proper recording of time. Educate\ndrivers about the language and terms used in your telematics system so that\nthey understand what each type of time means. This is the language they will\nneed to speak to enforcement officers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Look for a telematics solution that delivers on the\nfollowing factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each factor should be clearly defined with no overlap or\nambiguity so that truck drivers know how to accurately record their time in the\ntelematics system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Telematics System Access and Use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As is the case with roles and responsibilities, it\u2019s\nimportant to define key fob types. It must be determined who receives the key\nfobs, what the charges are for lost key fobs, and who the system administrators\nare. Sharing of key fobs or admin logins should be prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure you also clearly explain system use. Truck drivers\nneed to know how to log in and out of the system, and what information is\nrecorded while the system is in use. Motor carriers using in-cab video should\nalso consider including details on what is recorded and how the data is used.\nThere is more than just privacy and performance at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many fleets implementing in-cab video are including longer,\nmore detailed sections in their telematics policies to put drivers\u2019 minds at\nease about the use of in-cab video and what it is recording. Make it clear to truck\ndrivers that managers are not monitoring live video from inside vehicles, but\nonly reviewing recorded video when a driving\nevent is triggered<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While in-cab video has proved to be extremely valuable,\nsuccess relies heavily on truck driver acceptance of the concept. Since many\ndrivers perceive in-cab video as an invasion of privacy, taking the approach\ndescribed above is essential to gaining driver acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, drivers own their logs and must approve any\nedits made by supervisors. So, it is critical to define the process of how logs\ncan be edited \u2013 including how and when it is appropriate to over-ride the\nautomatic collection and recording of data. The chain of command and proper\ndata hand-off procedures should be clearly outlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Final Thoughts on Implementation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, you\u2019ve got to emphasize compliance. A key\nprovision here is: \u201cThe use of this telematics system in vehicles so equipped\nis not optional.\u201d Explain here again why compliance is important, and why the\ncompany has decided to implement telematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This section should also include a list of\ncompliance-related items that drivers need to keep in their vehicles, such as\nblank paper logs in the event of a system failure, and a procedural document\nshowing what to do in the case of a roadside inspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also make sure to define system administrators. Clarify\nupfront who the system admins are according to role and not name. This will\nprovide drivers with reassurance about who has access to their information and\nwho they can contact if required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, as always, be transparent about truck driver performance. Explain how driver performance data will be used. Typically, fleets explain that the data assists with counselling drivers on safe driving behaviors and techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The objective of a telematics policy is to ensure that\ndrivers understand why the fleet is implementing the system, how the system\nworks, and why they must use it. Ideally, this is only one step in a long and\nongoing communications process with drivers. The first time they hear about\nyour fleet\u2019s new telematics system should not be when they are handed the policy\nfor review and signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, driver buy-in is essential to the success of any\ntelematics initiative. Look at the development and implementation of your new\ntelematics policy as an opportunity to convey to drivers that the company\u2019s top\npriority is to keep them safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"