Your effort to dig deep into your roadside inspection data has enormous payoffs. Here's how it's done.
Rick Malchow - Industry Business Advisor - J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
April 15 , 2022
Have Zero Roadside Violations in 2022!
In J. J. Keller's FREE guide, updated for 2022, our subject matter experts walk you through a roadside inspection, from selection to completion.
Your effort to dig deep into your roadside inspection data has enormous payoffs. That’s because the FMCSA, and others, use that data to make determinations about your level of safety. Roadside inspections – good and bad – are used to determine your Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores. The higher (worse) your score, the greater likelihood of more inspections, audits, and compliance reviews.
The best way to avoid poor CSA scores? Have clean roadside inspections, defined as inspections without any violations of the safety regulations. Clean inspections reduce CSA scores — yours and your driver's. But don’t stop there.
Mining your data provides a wealth of benefits. No matter the depth of your data dive, the Safety Measurement System is updated monthly. Therefore, a best practice is to review the data monthly and no less than quarterly. However, the deeper the dive, the more actionable the data becomes.
Here are four review types you can conduct:
Download our newest whitepaper, DOT Roadside Inspections Data – A Methodology to Drive Improvement, for a new formula to help you uncover your most critical issues.
CSA scores don't "happen" to you. They’re simply a reflection of how safely you’re operating. By identifying the violations that have the most significant negative impact on your CSA scores, you can quickly impact your scores and the resulting risk profile. But there is more you can do.
The FMCSA doesn't need to get inside your vehicles and sit with drivers to see how safely you operate. Instead, they simply need enough inspection data points to “see” your safety culture.
When they give you and your drivers “clean inspections”, you may also reap dividends with other industry stakeholders, like:
If all the above are interested in your data, you should be too. Your data is publicly available. So, give them something good to talk about.
Using a fleet management system, like J. J. Keller® Encompass, allows you to track all your roadside inspections and CSA data, plus driver and vehicle records. Alerts for expired credentials, tags, and permits help you eliminate unnecessary violations. Call 855.693.5338 to talk with a compliance specialist today to learn more about the Encompass 60-day free trial.
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