There is not one program that solves everything, however, a toolbox of solutions can help.
Joe Zingale
I have spent the last 20+ years designing, implementing marketing and selling fleet safety products. I always start out my presentations with warning the audience that I am the dumbest guy in the room. No college degree. No designations after my name. But I have been fortunate to have worked with and been mentored by fleet safety directors, loss prevention consultants and risk control consultants from every level of the insurance industry for all types of fleets—everything from small fleets of vans and cars to large fleets of thousands of tractor-trailers. I have had the privilege of working with most of the major waste companies as well as some smaller independents. The one common denominator is that they have always put people before numbers. I realize statistics are used as a scorecard, but the men and women I have worked with have always made it personal. I have heard countless stories of safety people having to sit in a living room with a driver’s family and having to inform them that a family member would not be returning and how that experience has had a lasting effect on them for the rest of their lives, not just their careers.
Getting out of Complacency
Let me start out by asking the question “Have you ever knowingly put a bad driver on the road?” Of course, you are not going to answer yes. Because after the driver selection process with background checks, MVR’s drug and medical tests, and training, you know that if there is a problem driver, it won’t be because of a lack of skill or knowledge. It always returns to behavior. There are two kinds of problem drivers—complacent and negligent. Complacent drivers are those who commit errors out of auto focus or absence of focus. Negligent drivers are those who are consciously committing errors without regard for their safety or that of the motoring public. Sadly both behaviors can end up in tragedy! I have always believed there needs to be some type of program, be it telematics or otherwise, that lets a driver know he is being watched. The complacent drivers will improve and the negligent drivers will be identified. It needs to be an exception based program because safety directors do not have the time to be deciphering data all day long. By that I mean it has to be a program that changes driver behavior and delivers a minimum of data so it improves safety and makes it easier to identify the negligent drivers. So, with drivers policing themselves it gives the safety directors time to attend to all the other safety concerns their company presents. Telematics programs that deliver push reports to supervisors that the drivers are familiar with, keep drivers alert and aware that they are being held accountable. Of course, the distracted driver issue has now presented companies with a very serious problem. Not just with liability but negligent entrustment and vicarious liability in civil court.
In the waste industry, almost everything you do presents a danger. You will always need some type of training to wake up the complacent drivers and remind the negligent drivers of the company’s priority on safe driving. The lack of data shows the success of any safety program. I have been involved in debates and roundtables discussing the pros and cons of “Zero Accidents” as a goal because some believe it is impossible, therefore unreachable. There is a difference between improbable and impossible. In those discussions I have asked, “What, then, is an acceptable loss ratio”? I have never been given a number.
Communication
Communication is always a major part of any safety culture. I have heard more times than I care to remember, a safety director looking at a safety program and telling me, “My drivers won’t like it”! I’m sure they aren’t voting on their pay scale, so why would they vote on what safety programs the company adopts? It’s about making it personal. Those of us who have played sports have heard the term “Players’ Coach”. That term could even apply to a teacher or supervisor. In my communication consulting work, I spend a few minutes chatting with the Safety Director to get an understanding of their personality and then find out how they have been running their safety meetings. Sometimes it’s a simple as having them come out from behind a desk or podium eliminating the “wall” between them and their drivers. Sometimes, rather than going over points drivers already know or going over safety by the “numbers”, it is showing a picture of a driver who may been killed in a crash, with his family. I have attended meetings where that was done and the emotional impact on the drivers has been dramatic. A safety director’s job is to motivate their drivers—every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every month, of every year. There are different schools of thought on incentive and reward programs but, in my experience, they are excellent tools, improving performance and contributing to the bottom line. They not only pay for themselves, but also in most cases prove to be profitable. Lack of recognition, reward or not, is a chief complaint among drivers who perform well. A lot of companies will use that good old American tool, competition. Whether by driver, facilities, regions, departments etc. or using metrics supplied telematics, fuel usage, loss experience—anything that can produce a “scorecard”.
Even though your job may be difficult, remember that getting your people home every night to their families is not a cliché but your vocation. Great supervisors believe that their people’s lives are in their hands and take that responsibility seriously, demonstrated by the amount of hours they work and the multiple programs they have to manage. Now that the distracted driving problem has escalated, they dive right in to it to solve a problem that result in an injury, or worse, to one of their drivers. They also realize that one of their drivers could commit an act that could do the same to a member of the motoring public and they take that responsibility just as serious.
Changing a Mindset
Going back to the beginning of this article, bad driving is not about skills or knowledge, rather it’s a mindset. I have spent my career developing strategic partnerships finding the best in class of programs and then building a synergy between those programs to aid safety directors, be it telematics, training, communication and now distracted driving. I look for three things. It has to be engaging, have impact and have the simplicity of use, so information is found and presents an opportunity to prevent a crash not just provide data that explains how the crash occurred. I know there is not one program that solves everything, however, a toolbox of solutions can help. You can’t build a house with only a hammer.
Joe Zingale is President of Safety Management Marketing Specialists LLC (Columbia, SC) and Vice President of Business Development of SafetyFirst Systems LLC (Columbia, SC). For the last 20+ years Joe has been designing, marketing and implementing vehicle safety fleet programs for the fleet and insurance industry. He has built a synergy between the “How’s My Driving?” Program, telematics and training programs as well as a communications program for safety directors. He has spoken at numerous national and industry groups and is now also a marketing consultant for the Better Business Bureau. His “off the wall” approach, passion and use of humor has been adopted by hundreds of companies. Joe can be reached at
(803) 781-5886, via e-mail at [email protected] or visit www.linkedin.com/in/joesafety.