Fleet Management Best Practices Start with the FMCSA’s Safety Management Cycle and Controls

To be competitive, profitable, and provide a desirable place for drivers to work, carriers’ cultures and fleet management processes must work together to form the backbone of a safe company.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) prioritizes carriers for interventions based on the violations and crashes that are attributed to them in the Safety Measurement System (SMS). However, it is the Safety Management Cycle (SMC) that FMCSA utilizes to gauge the effectiveness of a carrier’s safety program. 

An Overview of Safety Management Controls

The SMC is a six-part model that systematically assesses a company’s safety management practices and identifies the root causes of issues. Safety management controls provide a framework for fleet management as well as a guide for FMCSA to evaluate a carrier’s performance in each of CSA’s seven Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). These controls are grounded in common sense — with a focus that ensures people know what is expected of them as well as when to take corrective action.

The Safety Management Cycle provides a cycle of accountability and requires carriers to meet their “duty to act” to avoid or resolve unsafe conditions. The FMCSA needs to see that you took meaningful action to fix a safety issue and that you have proactive processes to minimize the occurrence of risky behavior. Thoroughly documenting corrective actions and adhering to established processes are also critical to mitigating the impact of litigation and avoiding negligence.

Negligent supervision occurs when a carrier fails to properly identify, coach, and remediate high-risk drivers or office personnel, leading to poor performance — or in the worst case — a crash involving a fatality or injuries. To avoid falling prey to a charge of negligent supervision or worse, a carrier must decide which safety management controls are in greatest need of strengthening.

The FMCSA’s safety management controls are used in safety interventions as an audit checklist in each BASIC during a compliance review and can even be used in a focused audit of one or two BASIC areas. The framework provided by safety management controls is also an effective guide to reducing potential liability.

The FMCSA’s Safety Management Controls

Policies and Procedures establish guidelines for how motor carriers and their employees should act in specific situations. The policies set expectations of what must be done as well as set standards of performance. Procedures are the details on how to accomplish tasks.

Roles and Responsibilities document what each safety-related job entails as they relate to successfully reinforcing and following the policies and procedures. New hires and current employees require clear guidance on what is expected of them if you want to find and keep the best match for each role.

Qualification and Hiring ensures that due diligence is undertaken to meet company standards each time a person is hired. To build a safe, high-performing fleet, many carriers have driver hiring standards that exceed FMCSA’s minimum qualification standards. Fleet managers, safety and administrative personnel, mechanics, and leadership all participate in maintaining a safe organization, so every member must meet or exceed standards at the time of hire and throughout their tenure.

Training and Communication support new and existing associates’ understanding of policies and procedures and roles and responsibilities. Skill development and knowledge to execute all jobs in a manner that meets or exceeds expectations cannot happen without recurring training.

Monitoring and Tracking provides a feedback loop to assess the effectiveness of policies and procedures, and the clarity of job responsibilities. A system must be in place to monitor and track employee performance relative to both federal and company standards. An assessment must be made based on the data collected to determine whether corrective action is required.

Meaningful Action is the critical step of correcting or continuously improving employee behavior. This could include refresher training, a rewards program for positive behaviors, as well as disciplinary action up to and including termination in the most severe circumstances. The goal of meaningful action is to improve the fleet’s safety performance and avoid future crashes.

Fleet management is combination of following or exceeding the FMCSA’s rules, investing in the quality of your team, and balancing risk and productivity to drive profitability. Given our litigious society and the persistent shortage of qualified drivers, investing in performance management tools and training resources is imperative. Carriers are expected to efficiently detect and correct unsafe behaviors in their “duty to act.”

The use of safety management controls and the Safety Management Cycle — along with performance management tools — will assist with the execution and administration of your policies and procedures.  The J. J. Keller® FleetMentor® System has been specifically designed to align with the SMC so you can more effectively manage your operations, personnel, and safety programs. Sign up today and use FleetMentor free for 30 days!