HOS Compliance March 26, 2013
The Safety Management Cycle (SMC) is a resource for carriers and drivers as well as enforcement to help identify and address the root cause for safety and compliance issues. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently released a series of SMCs tailored to each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC), with the end goal of helping carriers find ways to reduce or eliminate violations by establishing and improving their safety management controls.
The SMC for the Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance BASIC provides potential actions carriers can take to improve their HOS compliance. These actions are divided into six key process areas: roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures, qualification and hiring, training and communication, monitoring and tracking, and meaningful action. For example, during the hiring process, a carrier should make sure a driver has the necessary skills for the job, including sufficient planning skills to know when to drive and when to stop, basic mathematical skills to calculate their hours and miles, and good organizational skills to keep each Record of Duty Status up-to-date.
Explore these and other important tips in the SMC for the HOS Compliance BASIC available from the CSA Website’s SMC webpage. Also, make sure you review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to ensure you operate in full compliance of all current safety standards.
HM Compliance March 8, 2013
This week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is drawing attention to the Safety Management Cycle (SMC) that helps identify and address safety and compliance issues related to the Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC).
The SMC for the HM BASIC suggests actions that carriers can take to identify the root cause of safety issues, establish and improve their safety management controls, and reduce or eliminate violations. For instance, new hire and refresher trainings are effective ways to communicate company policy and expectations about how to safely transport HM cargo. Also, implementing a disciplinary policy where high-consequence incidents result in stringent disciplinary action can help provide incentive to make every effort to follow company policy.
These and other important tips are available in the SMC for the HM BASIC. Download it today from the CSA Website’s SMC webpage http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/About/SMC_Overview.aspx. Also, make sure you review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulationshttp://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrguide.aspx to ensure you operate in full compliance of all current safety standards.
New Documents Released Feb. 28, 2013
Last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a set of documents that detail the Agency’s signature investigative tool: the Safety Management Cycle (SMC). With an SMC tailored to each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC), these resources provide carriers and drivers with a tool to help them evaluate their safety practices and identify and address safety and compliance issues.
There are two SMC resources dedicated to the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC: one that focuses on cargo securement and another focusing on inspection, repair, and maintenance. By examining the six Safety Management Processes that make up the SMC—from defining policies and procedures and clarifying roles and responsibilities to taking meaningful action—carriers and drivers can gain a better understanding of the potential gaps in current safety practices and identify ways to improve.
For example, who is responsible for informing a manager or mechanic if a safety-related problem is discovered or repairs are necessary before operating a vehicle? And, does the company have a system to ensure this communication happens and vehicles are repaired before being driven? Explore the Vehicle Maintenance SMC resources on the CSA Website’s SMC webpage to make sure you and your company have addressed these and many other important questions to ensure every vehicle is safe before it hits the road. Also make sure you review the safety regulations at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrguide.aspx.