chemical spill
Every time you ship a product, your reputation and brand equity is at risk. Food/beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical companies face consumer health concerns each time their freight is placed within a trailer. Hazardous spills can result in the release of toxic chemicals into the air as well as onto the ground, posing a risk for those who inhale the compounds. Food and pharmaceutical companies face improper transportation conditions necessary for the products to remain fresh up until delivery as well as the reselling of their products after a theft. In these cases, products face contamination issues and pose harmful risks to consumers who unknowingly ingest these products.
When tainted products hit the markets, whether through theft or failure to be alerted of transportation conditions, the FDA and manufacturers are prompted to issue recalls/health alerts, advertising the company’s brand name with a series of reported cases of salmonella, among other concerns. Years of building up a reliable and trustworthy reputation can be destroyed with a single delivery.
In many cases, accidents/thefts are the result of inadequate carriers, demonstrating the importance of reviewing a trucking company’s record before placing your freight in their hands. When trusting a 3rd party to find you the cheapest rate, you are taking the chance of shipping with some unknown carrier who may be on an alert status in one or more of the CSA’s BASIC categories. This not only puts your freight at risk, but poses a danger to everyone else on the road. Do you want your freight onboard a carrier that just caused a major accident due to improperly maintained equipment or reckless driving?
The CSA 2010’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores a carrier and driver’s safety performance in seven BASIC categories, placing those who pose as a risk on “alert” status. Ranking from 0-100 (100 being the worst), the CSA 2010 has changed the scoring of deficiency from 75 and above to a lower number based on whether the carrier is a passenger, Hazmat Certified, or Other-which includes most trucking carriers. Scoring reflects a carrier’s BASIC scores compared to other carriers in their group. The categories are as follows (provided by http://www.carrier411.com/csa2010.cfm):
-Unsafe Driving: This category includes reckless driving, inattentiveness, speeding, failure to use a seatbelt, among others. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥50 (passenger), ≥60 (HazMat), or ≥65 (Other).
Road Scholar Transport, a HazMat certified asset-based carrier, received a very low score of 9.3% in this category due to its safe drivers. (If you’re a qualified driver, Road Scholar wants to hear from you. Apply today at http://www.roadscholar.com/employment.php).
-Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service): This category includes violations against the current HOS rules such as surpassing the 11-hour allowed driving time, log violations, and driving after being placed out-of-service, among others. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥50 (passenger), ≥60 (HazMat), or ≥65 (Other).
Road Scholar, once again, scored lower than the 60% category with 49.2%.
-Driver Fitness: This category includes those drivers who are unqualified, does not meet medical qualifications, and improper endorsements on CDL, among others. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other).
Road Scholar’s drivers are continuously being educated to ensure their competence and your safety on the road, receiving an inconclusive score in this category.
-Controlled Substances/Alcohol: This category includes those drivers who are under the influence or in possession of drugs and alcohol. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other).
In this category, Road Scholar received NO violations due to responsible drivers and routine drug tests. You can’t get better than that.
-Vehicle Maintenance: This category includes improper truck maintenance (Defective lights, windshield wipers, and brakes, flat tires, etc.). To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other).
With an “alert” status being 75% or greater, Road Scholar scored in at 36.5%. This score reflects daily maintenance procedures, newer equipment models, and pre/post-trip inspections conducted by Road Scholar staff.
The final two BASIC categories (Cargo-Related and Crash-Indicator) are not available to the public.
So the next time you ship a product, think about your company’s reputation before you put your freight onboard an unknown carrier and go to www.roadscholar.com to get your LTL and truckload rate.
Would you ship with a company who has a series of alerts out on them?
Transport Capital Partners LLC conducted their Business Expectations Survey for the first quarter and the results are not looking up for brokers.
