MAJOR MISTAKES IN TRUCKING AND COMPLIANCE

While most fleets recognize that maintenance is paramount in keeping their trucks in top operating condition, there are some things that get overlooked by even the most experienced managers.

When no standards are set in place for maintenance of the trucks, it is easy for managers to push back time between maintenance intervals. This results in damage to the trucks, costing the fleet more in handling repairs when they breakdown. Prioritizing what needs to be done immediately and what can be left for later is very important so as to avoid unnecessary time wasting. Fleet managers also need to set up a scheduled maintenance program to keep the vehicles operating safely and avoid breakdowns, and stick to the standard sets. It is also important to realize that each equipment needs specific maintenance systems to be set up and separate schedules for each, and not treat them all the same.

When no proper data records are kept, it is easy for little things to be overlooked. Not measuring performance and keeping proper records often results in unnecessary stops and delays by truck drivers, and even repetitive work. Technology is a big aid in capturing data during performance maintenance programs and customizing the inspection done on different equipment. This data can then be used to figure out what systems or sub-systems are faulty. This will enable the maintenance team to then develop a system to address those issues through the performance maintenance program.

When drivers are kept out of the maintenance process it wastes a lot of time. Since they are the ones who handle the trucks every day, they are the ones who quickly notice when something goes wrong. Training drivers to know which faults to immediately stop for and which ones to hold off until the scheduled maintenance will greatly save on time. By involving drivers in the whole process, small things will not be overlooked, that can turn into big disasters.

Handling trucks like mere tools to get a job done rather than assets that earn money is another major mistake that fleets make. Viewing trucks as assets will enable everyone to take care of them. When a fleet changes the way it looks at its vehicles, the result is often better maintained trucks which will greatly impress their customers.

Treating maintenance merely as an exercise mandated by the law is failing to handle the program well. Maintenance should be viewed as an important routine that is intended to assess the current state of the vehicle and resolve any outstanding issues. Proper maintenance of the trucks will keep them in good functioning condition until the next scheduled performance maintenance. This will keep costs of repairs to the minimum and the program will also run economically and successfully. Proper preventive maintenance programs will find problems early and allow the technicians to clean or repair rather than replace, thus saving on unnecessary expenses.

Since the number of inspections will be increased by 50% both in Canada and the United States, safety and compliance becomes a top priority for fleets. Not only will the trucks see an increased inspection but driver log book inspections and drug testing at the scales will go up as well.

For proper compliance to trucking inspections, everyone needs to understand that teamwork is required. This involves both the maintenance team and the drivers. The two groups have to work in harmony if they hope to continue to ensure safe operations of the equipment they share. The former is expected to provide safe and compliant equipment, while the latter group should be dedicated to proper pre trip and post trip inspections.

When the drivers take care to immediately inform maintenance crew of any problems right away even as they are on the road, they can be walked through minor repairs that can be done easily or booked into a local shop for repairs, If the drivers are at the home terminal and fill out any information about needed repairs, these can be handled faster and will help ensure that the equipment remains safe and compliant for the entire fleet.

Complying with hours of service regulations is important for drivers to do. All scheduled and emergency breaks need to be logged in. Updating the log book at fuel and border crossing times is also very important for verification during regular log book audits. These stops need to be accurate within fifteen minutes and marking this as soon as possible helps the driver not to forget to keep proper log details.

Ensuring that log books are properly filled out is important so as not to miss the little things, the most common being forgetting to sign each log page and also forgetting to fill out the commodity field. Missing information or sloppy log books could lead to more intense inspection of log books and equipment.

Topics: trucking compliance

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We are an independently-owned and operated commercial transportation consulting company that specializes in helping our clients turn their safety programs into profit centres because we know that a safe carrier is 40% more productive and generates more profits.

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