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Entries related to: operations-personnel

Skin Protection

The health of your skin is vital to your overall health. Skin, the body’s largest organ, makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Vitamin D is important to your bones and other body parts. However, too much exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause skin damage or cancer. Negative effects on skin can be sunburns, sagging skin, mottled skin, or cancerous melanomas; so protecting your skin is more important than getting a nice tan. Read the information below, and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to protect your skin and avoid preventable damage.
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The Importance of Staying Hydrated

One of the leading causes of a heat-related illness is dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body does not get the amount of water it needs to function properly. The body naturally loses water through urination, sweating, crying, spitting, exercising, and breathing. Water can also be lost due to illness (i.e., fever, vomiting, etc.) and taking diuretics. To avoid possible health problems, you must be able to recognize the hazards that can lead to dehydration and know how to protect yourself. Read the information below, and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to keep your body sufficiently hydrated.
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Ask Safety: With New ELD Rules, what can we expect from inspectors?

Out-of-service enforcement for electronic logging device (ELD) violations began on April 1, 2018, and drivers may be experiencing the effects of the change already. According to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), state and local law enforcement safety officials will check the following ELD-related items when conducting a roadside inspection:
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Monitoring Drivers for At-Risk Behaviors

According to a 2014 study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the average cost of all large truck crashes is approximately $91,000 per crash. That amount can increase exponentially if injuries and fatalities are involved. Avoiding the indirect costs associated with a loss, meaning the unbudgeted expenses not covered by insurance, is imperative. While the root cause of a crash may not be your driver, experience has shown that future crashes can be predicted based on leading indicators, such as a driver’s history of at-risk behaviors. These behaviors can include speeding, following too closely, and making frequent lane changes, to name a few. If a driver continues to exhibit these behaviors, then the chances of him/her being involved in a future crash is more likely.
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Operations' Role In Avoiding ELD Issues

Electronic logging devices (ELDs) are here. Operations staff play an integral role in helping drivers plan efficiently and schedule their time to operate within the boundaries of the hours-of-service regulations. With the transition from paper logs to ELDs, a driver’s day must be calculated down to the minute. Because of this, it is important for operations staff to be a driver’s advocate and help the driver proactively address trip planning issues before they become a problem and create unnecessary business interruptions. This approach benefits both the driver’s and the company’s earning capacity as well as boosts morale and fosters teamwork. Three areas operations staff can help drivers manage their time and avoid ELD-related problems are delays at the shipper and receiver, parking, and communication.
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Ask the Underwriter: What About a Driver Without an Acceptable MVR?

Good drivers are hard to find; can I get an exception for a driver who doesn't have an acceptable MVR? With concerns about the driver shortage, to get a truck moving again, it can be tempting to consider younger, less-experienced drivers or those with a history of crashes or violations. However, hiring at-risk drivers puts a motor carrier in a bad position. Not only can hiring at-risk drivers negatively affect a motor carrier’s insurance premiums and overall insurability, but also, if such a driver were to be involved in a crash, the motor carrier could face claims of negligent hiring or negligent retention. Exceptions are not the norm, and they depend heavily on the motor carrier’s ability to demonstrate it has the management controls in place to effectively supervise the driver and the added risk.
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Disaster Planning: Plan and Protect Your Future

Is your organization prepared for a disaster or an emergency? Organizations who have a plan in place may recover more quickly, whereas others may shut their doors permanently after a short disruption to their business.  
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Preventing Losses Through Regulatory Compliance

Those working in the transportation industry might rank regulatory compliance as their least favorite thing to do, right up there with getting a crown at the dentist, but like it or not, motor carriers must comply with the regulatory requirements to which they are subject. Failure to do so can result in penalties ranging from monetary fines, out-of-service orders, alerts on the company’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) profile, and, in severe cases, an order to cease operations.
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2017 Analysis: ATRI Operational Costs of Trucking

Every year since 2008, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has published “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking.” Last year’s report is now available; it contains helpful analysis in two areas of particular interest: high-level benchmarking of interest to motor carriers, and potential transportation impact assessments, of interest to public sector agencies.
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Ask the Liability Adjuster

Why is on-time reporting of liability claims important?
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