SMS Safety Measurement System

[Rocketman]

After looking at my company's safety score, a few things stood out to me.

1. Nearly half of the unsafe driving violations were for speeding. A good portion of those were for 1-5 mph over. A good portion of them were also issued in the state of Indiana. From my experience, we don't travel in IN any more than any other state and less than some. Watching your speed is one of the first and easiest things you can do to protect your carriers SMS score for your benefit as well your carrier's.

2. Nearly half of the fatigued driving violations were for "record of duty status not current". This is also something that all it takes is a few extra minutes to get your logs caught up before you leave the parking lot. I try to never leave anywhere before getting my logs caught up. If I forget it, I will find a safe place to park asap and get it done. You never know where your going to get popped for an inspection. I have been surprised by dot cops in some very unexpected places. I learned a long time ago...have the logbook ready!

3. About 1/3 of the vehicle maintenance violations were for defective lighting. Lights canbe a pain to keep operational, but if you keep up with it (I can be very guilty here), it's not that big of a deal.

Summary, If we would keep the simple things in check, the total violations wouldn't be a problem at all. Our numbers are not stellar by any means, but we are under the threshold on all of our basics as well as the overall score. If it weren't for the rash of easily preventable violations we have, we would have a GREAT score. If I were the safety director (of course, I'm not) there would be a letter going out to the entire fleet to pay attention to these things.

 

[Monty]

I noticed that LEAM is well below requirements also, and we have about 250 units listed.

(Will be interesting to see if the "re-branding of Fedex" will affect those numbers)

Indiana and Michigan seemed to be the hotspots for our activity also.

Most seemed to be minor speed violations with a subsusqent inspection at roadside.

Seat bealts seemed to be the issue elsewhere. No where in those numbers was a van listed.

 

[ATeam]

I noticed that LEAM is well below requirements also, and we have about 250 units listed.

(Will be interesting to see if the "re-branding of Fedex" will affect those numbers)

I don't think so. Landstar does not accept new drivers with bad driving records. The safety culture, emphasis and training is far more developed at Landstar than at most other carriers.

Some violations (like a DOT preventable fender bender) that would be considered minor at some carriers will get a newbie automatically terminated at Landstar, so such a newbie would not be around to later add more SMS points to the carrier's profile.

A track record of multiple minor bumps that might be overlooked by some carriers, like hitting a post in a parking lot or driving over a tree at Walmart, has been known to get BCO's terminated too. As a woman in the safety department once shared with me, "If someone is hitting the little things, we are not going to wait around for him to hit a big thing." (words to that effect).

Equipment maintenance standards are far more stringent than at many carriers. Quarterly DOT inspections are required. If a CSA violation is found at a quarterly inspection or anywhere else, there is no grace period or looking the other way. You are put out of service until the item is repaired.

The short story is that if you wish to be a Landstar BCO, you need a good driving record and clean truck to get in. Once in, you are expected at all times to keep your record clean and truck in good repair. Many carriers will claim the same thing but the Landstar difference is the company's willingness to back up the policy with teeth (remedial actions, termination).

It does not matter which carrier you come from. To get in and stay in at Landstar, Landstar's high safety standards must be met.

Getting tagged with a CSA violation may not be the end of the world for a new Landstar BCO, but repeated violations would not be ignored or tolerated.

 

[Rocketman]

I noticed that LEAM is well below requirements also, and we have about 250 units listed.

(Will be interesting to see if the "re-branding of Fedex" will affect those numbers)

Indiana and Michigan seemed to be the hotspots for our activity also.

Most seemed to be minor speed violations with a subsusqent inspection at roadside.

Seat bealts seemed to be the issue elsewhere. No where in those numbers was a van listed.

MI was pretty high on the list for us too. I noticed several seatbelt violations also...what the heck is up with that?

I did look at Landstar's scores. They are stellar.

 

[jelliott]

Michigan and Indiana are both "cause" states and two of the highest enforcement states in the country. Michigan for example was over 60% of Load One's moving violations, but we only ran 20% of our miles here. This is another issue with CSA that needs to be corrected so that all carriers in all states have a level playing field.

 

[ATeam]

When the carrier SMS scores first became publicly available, I developed a spreadsheet to track the scores of 25 expedite carriers. At the time, I thought about doing an article on the topic. Shocked by the number of alerts the carriers had earned, I decided that the story was too ugly to tell.

The spreadsheet will be one year old in January. I have not updated it, choosing instead to let carriers adjust to the new reality of public SMS scores and do what they could to bring them down (lower is better) over a meaningful period of time.

Brief spot checks over the months have surprised me. The scores seem to be rising slightly. Until I do a proper update and research, I can form no conclusions. My guess would be that scores are rising slightly because CSA enforcement and reporting may be more stringent and widespread than it was about a year ago.

Rocketman's observations about SMS scores are spot-on. When you drill down into the reports and look at the violations, you have to wonder why so many drivers are paying so little attention to easily correctable items that can make such a big difference.

Speeding? Not wearing a seat belt? Worn tires? Not wearing required corrective lenses (glasses), log book not current? Such violations are easily avoided (slow down, wear a seat belt, buy the tires you need, put your glasses on, keep your log book current).

Come on, drivers, CSA is real. Ignore it at your peril.

See: CSA Made Easy; You are a Sitting Duck

 

[Monty]

I was refering to the fleet size, with "Fedex re-branding" ( a humor line form an old thread) ....

I seriously doubt the numbers change much anyway .... folks drop off all the time and are replaced. (Though not at a rate like other carriers)

Trust me, I know about the one year rule .. it bit me in the butt the first time I was with Landstar, in 2004 ..... 11 months, 3 weeks into my lease I had a fender bender, my fault, and I was terminated. It is a zero tolerance policy!

 

[ATeam]

Trust me, I know about the one year rule .. it bit me in the butt the first time I was with Landstar, in 2004 ..... 11 months, 3 weeks into my lease I had a fender bender, my fault, and I was terminated. It is a zero tolerance policy!

You are the Zen Master BCO from whom I learned about this rule.

 

[Rocketman]

Come on, drivers, CSA is real. Ignore it at your peril.

Maybe that should be the title and topic of your article? Write it and I'll forward it to at least one safety director

 

[ATeam]

Maybe that should be the title and topic of your article? Write it and I'll forward it to at least one safety director

A variation on the theme has already been written.

See: CSA Made Easy; You are a Sitting Duck

 

[Rocketman]

A variation yes. I see that article as an explanation of the effects of SMS on you and your carrier. The theme of this thread would make a great follow up article.... explaining some of the easily avoidable things that are driving up the SMS scores.

 

[jelliott]

A variation on the theme has already been written.

See: CSA Made Easy; You are a Sitting Duck

Nice article Phil!

 

[moose]

My carrier informed the whole fleet about every single violations.
for example, over this past weekend, a driver got a violation in NewYork state, for not U'ing the duty statue change when moving from line one to line 2.
we are also require to do the 90 day DoT inspection.
& are encourage to volunteer into a road side inspection, when ever possible, as CSA is a %tage score.

 

[nightcreacher]

lighting is a real pain,can be perfect 1 min.then a light may be out the next.try to explain that to the dot when he gives you a right up

 

[ATeam]

lighting is a real pain,can be perfect 1 min.then a light may be out the next.try to explain that to the dot when he gives you a right up

Mechanical abilities vary widely among truck drivers but the more you have, the better off you are. If you are on the low end of the mechanical ability range, a great place to begin your mechanical skills growth is in the area of truck lighting.

The ability to quickly replace a defective lamp can save you from receiving a ticket that you otherwise might receive. Lighting failures are common. The ability to make your own lighting repairs can save you a fair amount of money that you would otherwise pay to a shop.

A repair may be as simple as replacing a headlamp bulb which requires no tools at all. It may require a screwdriver to replace an older style headlamp or a marker lamp. More advanced work would require a test light and a few more tools but, all in, the tools and supplies you need to do electrical work do not cost all that much.

At a minimum, do a written bumper-to-bumper inventory of the bulbs, lamps and fuses you have on your truck, including part numbers, and carry with you replacements for each one. Carry the spares and tools where you can get to them when your load is sealed.

Get in the habit of walking around your truck often, over and above your pre-trips (pick ups, fuel stops, leaving the Walmart parking lot, etc.), to check your lights. The more often you check your lights, the less likely it will be that an officer will be the first to spot an inoperative lamp on your truck.

As far as explaining an inoperative lamp to the DOT goes, yes it is true that the light was indeed working when you checked it on your pre-trip inspection in the morning and it is now burned out when you pull across the scale in the afternoon. In that case, you are pretty much screwed.

But it is also true that you usually have opportunities to walk around your truck during the day (or night). If you spot a bad light, note it on your log book or EOBR. A bad light is not an out of service item. If asked, tell Mr. or Ms. DOT that, yes, you know you have a bad light, and you intend to get it repaired at your first opportunity. Showing the officer your notated log that you did indeed know about the light may be enough to convince him or her to let you slide.

Of course, once it is noted on your log, you are pretty much committed to fixing the lamp, but what else would you want to do? In the new CSA scoring regime, it is not a good option any more to drive a truck with an inoperative lamp. Fix it now.

 

[moose]

Don't know about you guys,
but my rig do not have any chickens lights.
just the bare minimum required by law.
@ 59Mph, this is definitely not a good idea.
i also do not drive with my lights on during the day any more.

Safety is not safe, if it's interfere with compliance.
sorry.

 

[Rocketman]

I replaced all of my visor lights with led. The originals with the bulbs were corroded and just constantly too much trouble. The led visor lights have worked out well.

So, I had the five marker lights at the top rear of the box switched over to led also. I can't keep those freakin things grounded. They are a pain to get to, too. They need to be re-done with a ground wire that runs across and connects directly to each light. The guy that installed them just put the ground wire over one of the screws that holds them in place. It worked.... for a while. My experience has been that if the led lights are grounded properly, they are a lot less trouble.

Good points Phil.