Great West Casualty Company Blog

Jun 9, 2021 10:22:00 AM

Situational Awareness and why it's important

By Great West Casualty Company

WHAT IS SITUATIONAL AWARENESS? Situational awareness involves your ability to assess what is happening around you and determine if there is a threat your health and safety or to the health and safety of others. For truck drivers, being aware of your surroundings while driving on the road, at a customer facility, or in a parking lot is critical to avoiding preventable losses of personnel, property, and equipment.

Jun 2, 2021 10:20:00 AM

Improve Employee Situational Awareness

By Great West Casualty Company

Human error is a common cause of preventable work-related injuries and vehicle crashes. When an employer, who recognizes that employees are ultimately responsible for their behavior on the job, finds that the root cause of an incident involves an employee’s poor decision-making, the employer may be frustrated and feel powerless. Yet, despite these head-scratching incidents, employers must persevere and continue to manage this risk. One way to reduce the risk of human errors is by focusing on improving employee situational awareness.

May 19, 2021 8:30:00 AM

3 gaps to watch for in your trucking insurance

By Great West Casualty Company

When it comes to operating a trucking company, you often don’t know about gaps in your coverage until you file a claim that isn’t covered. Uncovered losses can cost you thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars and can often be avoided. The best way to understand where gaps in coverage exist is to make sure your agent fully understands your operation and has a complete picture of what services you provide.

May 10, 2021 10:19:00 AM

Improve Hours-of-Service Results With ETHOS

By Great West Casualty Company

Complying with the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations can be challenging for drivers and motor carriers. With the implementation of electronic logging devices and recent HOS changes, keeping drivers and operations staff up to date and in compliance is essential to avoiding preventable violations and potentially damaging the company’s public image in the Safety Measurement System (SMS). To help in this area, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released the Education Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS).

Apr 27, 2021 10:18:00 AM

Understanding and Preparing for Roadside Inspections

By Great West Casualty Company

Roadside inspections are a part of the trucking industry, but drivers can play a big role in determining the frequency with which they occur. Three factors that commonly trigger roadside inspections are the environment, the condition of the truck, and the driver’s behavior. Read the information below and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to reduce the likelihood of a roadside inspection and violations.

Apr 26, 2021 11:40:29 AM

Annual CVSA Roadcheck set for May 4-6, 2021

By Great West Casualty Company

Source: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has set May 4-6 as the dates for this year’s International Roadcheck. Over that 72-hour period, commercial motor vehicle inspectors in jurisdictions throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico will conduct inspections on commercial motor vehicles and drivers.

Apr 5, 2021 10:16:00 AM

Preventing Distracted Walking

By Great West Casualty Company

Each year, pedestrians are struck and killed by motor vehicles due to distracted walking. Additionally, work-related injuries and fatalities caused by employees not paying attention to where they are walking have caused workers compensation costs and out-of-pocket expenses for employees to skyrocket. Incidents involving distracted walking are 100 percent preventable. Read the information below about the three types of distractions and what you can do to protect yourself.

Mar 26, 2021 10:00:08 AM

The Financial Impact of Distracted Driving

By Great West Casualty Company

Distractions are a high-risk exposure that motor carriers cannot overlook. Incidents like a distracted employee slipping in the shop or losing focus while driving and hitting another vehicle can have a lasting, negative impact on your company’s bottom line.

Mar 10, 2021 10:30:00 AM

Why Training Fails... and How You Can Fix It

By Great West Casualty Company

Training is essential to helping any organization meet its business objectives. In fact, the number one requirement of any training effort is that it must hold value for the company. Otherwise, training is a waste of time and resources. From onboarding new employees to conducting road tests with drivers, employee training serves an invaluable purpose and demands proper planning, execution, and follow-up. Unfortunately, this is where training usually fails, especially on the follow-up. Below is a brief list of reasons why training often fails in each of these areas and how you can have better chances of success.

Feb 10, 2021 2:00:00 PM

Create a Workplace That Learns from Mistakes

By Great West Casualty Company

Mistakes happen. As frustrating as that may sound, mistakes are inevitable because humans are imperfect beings. In fact, most crashes and injuries are the result of human error rather than factors outside of a worker’s control. Depending on the severity of the error, an employee making a mistake can be understandable. It is important for managers and supervisors to separate acceptable mistakes from unacceptable mistakes and to be mindful of how they respond to each.

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