A Slice of American Pie

Are you acquiring new routes to the U.S.? As a Canadian carrier, you can expect an increasing number of U.S. shippers to ask you about your fleet safety profile. It’s fast becoming a significant part of your company’s résumé when courting American business.

All are increasingly conscious of liability and want to minimize exposure, so they’re particularly careful when selecting new fleets.

A good safety profile highlights your safety performance and safety program achievements. You’ll find it a very useful tool in your marketing and sales efforts. So be prepared to spend time on it. If it’s comprehensive, your profile will not only include your safety policies and records, but it will outline your fleet’s maintenance policy, border crossing expertise, and procedures; and a review of your charitable work within the local community.

Finally, don’t forget to keep this document up-to-date and deliverable on demand. Here’s what you’ll need to be seriously considered:

Current U.S. SafeStat information documenting your fleet’s on-road safety performance while operating in the U.S. You should also provide your U.S. DOT number so shippers can easily check your safety performance.

A current overview of your provincial CVOR information documenting your performance in your home province. Provide your CVOR number or provincial enforcement carrier safety profile number.

An updated three-year picture of your fleet’s accident statistics for every million miles of operation.

An overview of your company’s health and safety policy statement.

Details on your WCB plan or alternate employee-injury coverage for owner-operators. Provide your most recent Labour Canada Annual Hazardous Occurrence (injury) report for your driver personnel and include your owner-operators. American shippers want to know that your people are properly covered for injuries while your drivers are on their property. Nobody wants the liability posed by the “incorporated one-man driver service.” A driver today is either an employee covered under WSIB or an independent owner-op covered under WSIB or through an alternate injury insurance program.

Details of your fleet insurance policy coverage and limits.

An overview of your company’s minimum driver-hiring standards.

An overview of your company’s driver-training program and its course content. Any specialized training that is specific to your industry should be clearly identified and highlighted. An example of this would be fleets utilizing equipment such as a Moffat Hitch Hiker Forklift unit.

An overview of your driver retention program and fleet driver turnover statistics.

A list of any industry-recognized fleet awards.

A list of the programs and technologies you employ to improve security and minimize border-crossing delays, such as FAST and EDI.

Details on any fleet safety events that your company sponsors or supports, especially if your drivers take part. This should include such things as regional and provincial truck driving championships, company truck driving championships, Ontario Trucking Association’s Road Knights program, or the Quebec Trucking Association’s Ambassadeur de la Route program, memberships in trucking associations, participation in the “Trucker Buddies” program, and any involvement in local charity or community work.

A copy of your fleet maintenance statement and PM inspection interval policy.

If you recently had a provincial or U.S. DOT fleet audit with favorable results, include these in your fleet overview.

Once compiled, ask a third party for an opinion before you submit it to your potential client. Does the document paint the picture of a progressive, safety-minded carrier? Does the summary demonstrate a strong, top-down management commitment that fosters a safety-first culture within your company?

Safety sells in the U.S.A. So, you need to ask yourself, how well does your fleet safety profile sell your services?