Company: Zavcor Trucking Ltd., Stevensville, ON
Operation: A privately owned and operated fleet specializing in temperature-controlled and general freight hauling in the United States and Canada with a fleet of 60 trucks
PROBLEM:
Zavcor Trucking, like many fleets, is concerned about safety, violations and the impact those have on its bottom line. The company’s 2014 accident frequency rate was costing it $64.34 per 1,000 mi. traveled. In addition, Zavcor was struggling with hours-of-service violations and inflated safety scores.
Chrissy Trombley, human resources and risk manager, knew something had to change. That change, it turned out, needed to begin with how the fleet was training its drivers.
But while driver training needed to change, one area that wasn’t of concern was fuel economy, which already ranked high. Still, the fleet knew any new training could reinforce driving techniques that emphasized the focus on fuel economy.
Solution:
Trombley turned to CarriersEdge, a software firm that offers an interactive approach to training and includes a library of courses for drivers to review.
“We’re realizing savings in several ways by using CarriersEdge for training,” Trombley says. “Our accident frequency rate has dropped by 75%, and fines and inspection violations are down over 95%. There is also a payoff in the time we save using CarriersEdge to manage compliance for 60 drivers. Overall, we have a safer, better trained pool of drivers with CarriersEdge for a relatively small investment.”
Each driver is now required to take a course on defensive driving and hours-of-service (HOS) and logbook compliance. For drivers with frequent issues, remedial training is mandated, and if not completed, drivers are not dispatched. To encourage continued training, the fleet offers a financial reward to drivers who complete additional CarriersEdge courses.
Bonus programs allow drivers to achieve “Elite” status within the fleet. The programs are tied to overall performance in speed and fuel management, inspections, and non-preventable losses. Since the implementation of the program, the percentage of Elite drivers within the fleet has improved from 69% to 89%.
Accident frequency rates have improved, and fines and violations have been reduced. The accident frequency rate per 1,000 mi. has dropped to $16.63, below even the fleet’s initial goal of $25 per 1,000 mi. Safety scores and HOS compliance have also improved, leading to fewer fines and inspection violations.
Fuel economy has remained a focus, and continued training focuses on fuel-efficient driving practices and the importance of reducing idle time.
“CarriersEdge helps us identify training deficiencies and focus on areas needing attention while not spending time on topics where a driver is already proficient. Their adult learning approach to complex topics forces drivers to learn the material and is a gentle way to remind them about things they may have forgotten,” Trombley says. “It also keeps us compliant, and with CarriersEdge there’s always a focus on responding to our needs and on providing information that’s important in our operation.”
