Leading business training news that brings current industry news that your company to use to stay updated & informed in todays fast pace world.

Coming Soon! Check out these additions to our library.

We’ve been hard at work! Now, we are giving you a sneak peek at our August 2020 releases. We have put together a series of updated video content to ensure your drivers have the latest information.

Not only are we creating and releasing new content; we are also updating our existing content. Experience the new look and feel of our brand new, up-to-date, Hours of Service, and School Bus training videos.

Your Client Success Representative will gladly introduce this new content to you. Give us a call and we will assign it to your fleet immediately.

Trucking – Hours of Service Series

Introduction to Hours of Service

A quick intro discussing who must comply with the new HOS regulations.

Video Length: 2:38

The 14-Hour Window, 11-Hour Limit, 60- 70-Hour Limit

Detailed explanation about the three maximum duty limits under the house of service regulations for commercial motor vehicle operators.

Video Length: 3:28

The Thirty Minute Break and 34-Hour Restart

We take a close look at the hours of service regulations regarding the 30-minute break and 34-hour restart.

Video Length: 2:08

On-Duty Time, Travel Time, and Off-Duty Time

This session details the differences between on-duty, off-duty, and travel time according to FMCSA hours of service regulations.

Video Length – 3:36

The Sleeper Berth Provision

We focus on the nuances of using the sleeper berth to serve required hours off-duty while on the road.

Video Length – 5:05

The Driver’s Daily Logbook

Even if drivers utilize the updated ELD method of tracking hours of service, they should still know how to manually fill out a paper logbook. This video covers the details on:

  • – What a logbook looks like
  • – What information is required
  • – How to record this information properly
  • – How long to keep the logs and where

Video Length: 4:06

Interstate Truck Driver’s Guide to Hours of Service

The FMCSA provides this guidebook that covers specifics of the hours of service rules. Learn about:

  • – Regulations
  • – Who must comply
  • – Time limits
  • – On-duty vs. off-duty
  • – Rule exemptions
  • – How to record hours served

Length: 28 pages 

Hours of Service ELD

This module teaches how ELDs work, who must use them, and why they are an improvement on how drivers track their hours.

Video Length: 4:25

Exemptions/Exceptions

Driving situations where hours of service may not apply or may function a little differently. This section discusses some hours of service exceptions and their corresponding rules.

Video Length: 2:57

Hours of Service Changes in 2020

Information regarding the recent changes made to the FMCSA hours of service regulations.

Video Length: 2:08

 

Schools

School Bus – Security

Learn Basic procedures for coping with security hazards on your school bus. These include:

  • – Reacting to suspicious persons or devices
  • – Suspected use of a weapon
  • – Bomb threats
  • – Hostage or hijacking situations

Video length: 7:55

 

Spanish Videos

Lane Restrictions: Restricciones de Carril

Aprenda cuándo y dónde el conducir en el carril izquierdo es aceptable para vehículos comerciales grandes.

Learn when and where driving in the left lane is acceptable for large commercial vehicles.

Video Length: 5:22

 

Future Clients:

Right now, we are offering complimentary access to our system for 30 days. No money down, no contract, no obligation.

Run us side-by-side with your current learning management system. Why not? It’s free for you! And we love a good challenge.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions wants to give you 30 days. Because that’s all it takes to prove our value and earn your trust. Click here to sign up today!

 

 

Additional Resources:

It’s a Trap! Safe Driver Week – Speeding Blitz.

Gearing Up for Safe Driver Week; Preparing Drivers for Speeding Blitz

Out-perform, Out-shine, and Out-grow your Current Safety Culture

Why A Positive Dispatcher & Driver Relationship is Key

Why You Should Be Focused on Your Employee’s Cultural Relationships Now More Than Ever

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4 Steps to Build a Successful Safety Training Program

4 Steps to Building a Successful Safety Training Program Online

Why is a Safety Training Program So Important?

When one of your employees is involved in an accident, your company should immediately question what caused the accident and what you can do for the future to ensure it doesn’t happen again. A good place to start is to ask yourself “what could have been done differently with our safety training program in the weeks or months before the accident that could have prevented it?”

By analyzing accidents within your company, you will notice trends. The most important trend you will see is, employee behavior is at the root of most accidents that occur.

That means safety is not something you can delegate to one person. Safety must be at the root of every decision made by employees within your company.

4 Steps to Improve Your Training Program

To maintain a good safety record, or improve poor safety performance, you need to implement a safety training program that will inspire behavioral change throughout your organization. Using tools such as online training gives you a method to make training easy for employees.

You want your program to provide easy participation and engagement in training and communication around safety related messages. You want to put processes in place that will help you analyze and improve safety and accident prevention throughout your company. A successful training program starts with 4 steps.

Identify Trends - Safety Training IdeasStep 1: Identify Trends

The best indicator of future performance is past performance. You should evaluate your loss ratios and look for negative trends that could result in major accidents or safety violations you need to address with your safety training. Ask yourself two questions:

  1. What’s the number one cause of my losses?
  2. How are we training our employees to improve this?

If you find it difficult to identify these trends, your insurance company can help you analyze accidents to look at frequency and severity. Even if the accidents are minor, you still want to address the trends that led to these accidents.

The severity of an accident is mostly a matter of luck. You want to get ahead of the trends that lead to accidents and stop them to keep your employees and your company safe.

Create a Training Strategy - Safety Training IdeasStep 2: Create Strategy to Target Challenges

Once you have identified your trends, you need to create a strategy to develop your safety training program. Keep in mind, training leads to awareness, and awareness reduces losses.

One question companies often ask is. “How much training is enough?” The short answer is, it’s never enough.

 

In the trucking industry, drivers should be trained during onboarding on

  • Defensive driving skills
  • FMCSA rules and regulations
  • Maintenance
  • Hours of Service

Starting with training on these topics during orientation has been shown to have a positive impact on trending violations.

Ongoing awareness training throughout the year on safety sensitive issues is important to build a strong culture of safety. This ongoing training is simple with online training systems that allow you to assign short videos that can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

This ongoing training should also include any changes to rules and regulations. Use tools that will help you track employee comprehension and that will help you maintain all training documentation. Infinit-I Workforce Solutions can provide the tools you need that will save you time and money while ensuring safety best practices stay top of mind.

Measure Results via Benchmarking - Safety Training IdeasStep 3: Measure Results

As you implement your safety training program strategy, you will want to monitor how your training efforts are impacting company needs and goals. A good place to start is evaluating safety scores and loss ratios to see if there are any improvements in your target problem areas.

If you see trends moving in the right direction, continue your ongoing awareness training in these areas until you reach your goals. If there are continued or new negative trends, figure out what training or other safety initiatives you can include to get on track.

Repeat - Safety Training IdeasStep 4: Repeat the Process

Safety is a continuous process that all employees should participate in. Accidents can happen even in the safest companies, but you can always look for the trends that lead to these accidents so you can reduce them.

Identify trends regularly, then develop a strategy to improve on these trends. Continue to measure your safety training program results and look for ways to improve.

 

There is no last step in this process. Training and accountability are the only ways to affect change in your organization. If your company has a high frequency of accidents and you are not training to prevent them, your frequency and severity of accidents will continue to rise.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions Has the Tools You Need to Track Training Progress

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is an online learning management system that makes training easy and affordable. Keep your safety message in front of your employees regularly with our training videos that help you develop orientation, ongoing, and corrective action training to deal with negative trends.

Track employee participation and progress so you know employees are getting the training they need. The reporting features available with Infinit-I will help you continue the process of improving your safety training program so you can reduce your risk.

Infinit-I Workforce System | Online Employee Training

 

 

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Vertical Alliance Group Hosts 4 New Free Webinars

Trucking companies are not immune to the safety, HR, and OSHA training and legal challenges businesses across America will face in 2018. With that in mind, Vertical Alliance Group, Inc. has announced four new webinars they are hosting in the first quarter of the year.

Each webinar is free to attend and is designed to provide trucking executives with up-to-date information, strategies, and best practice tips to empower employee safety and productivity in 2018.

“Vertical Alliance Group is always looking for opportunities to provide educational resources to trucking companies over and above the resources available on the Infinit-I Workforce System. Each month we host webinars on topics requested by trucking executives looking to improve their safety program,” said Tina Bell, Marketing Manager for Vertical Alliance Group. “Our first quarter webinar series is focused on helping companies build a strong safety culture, while properly coaching employees who may need additional behavioral awareness training. We have partnered with some of the industry’s leading safety professionals and attorneys to create this dynamic series.”

The four webinars currently scheduled for the first quarter are listed below.

1. How to Build a Strong Safety Culture That Saves Time & Reduces Accidents
Presenter: Patrick Bode, Director of Safety and Driver Recruitment at Reed Hurst Trucking
Date: January 23, 2018 | 10:00 AM CST
Register Here

2. How to Prepare for the Top OSHA Compliance Challenges in 2018
Presenter: Adele Abrams, Esq., CMSP, Firm President of the Law Office of Adele L. Abrams P.C.
Date: January 31, 2018 | 10:00 AM CST
Register Here

3. How to Get Safety Ideas Out of the Boardroom & Implemented Into Your Culture
Presenter: Brian Fielkow, CEO of Jetco Delivery, LLC.
Date: February 15, 2018 | 10:00 AM CST
Register Here

4. How to Counsel, Review, & Handle Difficult Employees in the Workplace
Presenters: Marie Trimble Holvick and Sara Moore, attorneys at Gordon & Rees
Date: March 20, 2018 | 10:00 AM CST
Register Here

Vertical Alliance Group will announce additional webinar speakers for the “Best Practices in Transportation” webinar series later this year.  You can always find the latest webinar schedule on our website by clicking here.

Since 1999, Vertical Alliance Group, Inc. has been the leading provider of innovative business software solutions for the trucking industry. Their premier product, the Infinit-I Workforce System is designed to help trucking companies empower their profits and safety with a proven online driver training program. The fully customizable training and communication platform features over 800 training videos covering topics like safety, CSA, harassment, fuel efficiency, human resource compliance, and business training.

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5 Driver Training Solutions Your Insurance Provider Wants

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Are Your Training Solutions Working for You?

When it comes time to evaluate your insurability each year, there is one question insurance companies are asking. What training solutions are you implementing right now to change your exposure to accidents?

If you want an insurance company to insure you, and if you want your company to be profitable, you must decrease losses. The only way to make this happen is to change driver performance. Your only able to change driver performance if you hold them accountable and maintain regular training.

Lessons from an Insurance Risk Manager

Continued safety issues can cost your company thousands of dollars in insurance alone. A risk manager from an insurance company, speaking at a training event, shared how the Infinit-I training system empowers trucking companies.

During his discussion, he shared five reasons trucking companies should utilize Infinit-I Workforce Solutions to manage their training programs. These five training solutions were:

  1. You can keep drivers up to date on new rules and regulations
  2. You can keep drivers on the road making money
  3. You can identify negative driver behavior trends and reverse them
  4. You can provide ongoing training to all your drivers
  5. You can reduce your exposure to increased insurance premiums

How do the training solutions provided by Infinit-I help in these areas?

Keep Drivers Up to Date on New Rules and Regulations

Federal and even state rules and regulations change on a regular basis. This means you need training options that will help you inform drivers of the changes quickly. If you are using DVDs for training, you are costing your company more money to keep up with needed training changes.

Most of these DVDs are long and boring for drivers. The Infinit-I system offers short, up to date training videos that not only make training affordable, but also allow you to keep drivers engaged throughout the training.

Keep Drivers on the Road Making Money

Unlike in-person training that requires you to bring all your drivers into the terminal, Infinit-I Workforce Solution’s online training platform allows you to keep your drivers on the road and making money. Drivers can access assigned training from any device with an internet connection, so there’s no need to disrupt their schedules.

Let’s face it, few of your drivers really want to sit in a training room for hours. You can save both time and money for everyone involved with our online training solutions. Plus, the quizzes at the end of each short training video proves your driver understands the material presented.

Identify Negative Driver Behavior Trends and Reverse Them

With the tracking and reporting capabilities of the Infinit-I system, you can identify trends that lead to safety issues for your drivers. This means you can react quickly to these trends and provide necessary training to improve those negative trends.

The system ensures you have the documentation to prove you’re making investments in performance, identifying and reacting to trends, and holding drivers accountable for their actions. This documentation helps protect your company when it comes to litigation, inspections, audits, and insurance needs. Anytime your commitment to training is questioned, you can back up your claims.

Provide Ongoing Training

When you train a new driver, you practice skills like backing, follow distance, lane changes, proper speeds, etc. repeatedly to help them understand. A professional truck driver needs that same ongoing training to make sure they keep safety measures top of mind.

Drivers should have continuous training on defensive driving skills, FMCSA rules and regulations, and all other safety issues. With over 850 videos on a variety of safe driving topics, the Infinit-I Workforce system makes it easy for you to provide weekly or monthly training to keep your drivers safe.

Reduce Risks that Increase Insurance Premiums

The amount of emphasis your company places on driver training solutions can directly impact your insurance premiums. If your company has a high frequency of accidents and do not have any measures in place to address the behaviors that lead to these accidents, your insurance premiums will continue to increase.

Mark Sorine, Vice President of Safety at Quality Distribution appreciates the help Infinit-I Workforce Solutions has provided in reducing premiums…

“On renewal cycles, we have to do a presentation to our insurance carrier. Infinit-I is part of the presentation.

They haven’t provided us any type of discount per se for utilizing the system. But it has been a factor where we’ve seen premium reductions in the last three years based on performance. I have to think this product has something to do with that.”

An Easy Solution to Your Training and Insurance Needs

Implementing a best-in-class training solution program is easier than you may think. Since 2007, the Infinit-I Workforce system has helped thousands of trucking companies empower their drivers with the tools they need for safer driving.

By improving their safety, we’ve helped these companies become more presentable during the insurance renewal process. If you’re ready to ensure your drivers will remember the training they received and improve your company’s liability, we have you covered.

If you would like to learn more about how the Infinit-I Workforce Solution platform can empower your drivers, schedule a demo.

 

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6 Features of a Good LMS for Training

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Features of a Good LMS for Training

The biggest benefits of learning management systems (LMS) come down to two categories: cost savings and improved efficiency. To get the most out of a learning system, you need to use one that will best meet your company’s training needs.

This means it’s important to evaluate your current training and determine future needs to pick the right tools. While you won’t want to eliminate all in-house meetings, a learning management system can help you reduce long training times and make it easier to provide consistent training.

What to Look for in a Learning Management System

A good training program provides consistent training to all employees. A good LMS will allow you to keep training centralized so you can provide training with quality consistency no matter where your employees are located.

You can also develop ongoing training schedules so safety and other important topics remain top of mind for everyone. You can easily determine how well employees are understanding the training provided since the system will track user progress and performance.

Easy-to-Use Reporting

You want to find a system that gives you easy access to training reports so you can track use, progress, knowledge gains, and the ROI of your training program. These reports are also useful to prove you are following regulatory requirements in heavily regulated industries.

Manage All Training and Policy Materials in One Place

With a system like Infinit-I Workforce Solutions, you can upload any content you want to provide to supplement training. Video, audio, PowerPoint, and any other media is compatible with the Infinit-I system so you can keep policies, procedures, communications, and supplemental materials together for employees to access whenever they need them.

You can access the ready-to-use training materials or customize your training content with company-specific training or third-party materials you want to incorporate. With the right integration tools, you can make your training system meet all your company needs.

Easily Assign Training

With a good LMS, you can assign training to meet everyone’s needs. Set up orientation training, so all you have to do is assign it to new drivers during the onboarding process. Set up ongoing training for the year, and let the system take care of notification and tracking.

You can even assign training for specific people to deal with corrective action needs or to help in areas they are struggling. Training can be assigned to specific groups when you need to provide training for specific departments.

Provides Easy Communication for Multiple Locations

Whether you have multiple locations for your company, or you have remote employees, a good system will allow you to communicate important information immediately. Put announcements in the system so every employee has access to it.

Easy to Navigate

When assigning online training, you want it to be simple for all employees to use. The best systems will make navigation through the training easy. You also want to look for a system that makes accessing the training easy.

Look for a system that gives options for online access through the site or through apps for Apple and Android devices. This ensures employees can find their training without issue.

Technology Should Make Life Easier

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is constantly looking for ways to improve our LMS so we can make training easier for everyone. We provide tools that allow managers to track and manage documentation for all employee training simply. We make the system easy for employees to access so you can increase training participation.

Our system is the #1 trusted training management system because we have created it with your needs in mind. To see how valuable the Infinit-I system is, check out what our clients have to say about it.

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FMCSA Study: Online Training Reduces Costs and Gets Results

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A May 2011 report from the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) provided an evaluation of web-based or online training methods for the trucking industry. The report goes through the different types of web-based training and the effectiveness of each.

While much depends on the company and employees, the FMCSA report determined that online training does provide value when it comes to training drivers on safety and regulatory requirements.

What Does the Evidence Show?

The FMCSA study concluded that online training provides a training delivery method that:

  • Reduces the time and cost associated with training
  • Gives employees access to training materials anytime, and
  • Makes it easy to update information

The FMCSA found that online training eliminated travel costs and reduced instruction costs significantly. Online platforms make it simple and less costly to update training materials and information, while making it easier to reach a larger audience to provide training.

Online training also makes it easier to standardize training, so everyone is on the same page when it comes to new or updated information. You can provide training to employees as soon as it’s needed which simplifies orientation, ongoing, and corrective action training needs.

The evidence also suggests that online training is potentially more effective than traditional training methods, when the training is developed by people experienced with online training design.

This is due to the fact that it’s easier to administer training to all employees with online methods. The shorter training modules make it easier for employees to retain the information, and training can be done regularly so safety stays top of mind.

Online Training is a Useful Tool for the Transportation Industry

The report from FMCSA is good news for the transportation industry. With tools to provide online training, drivers can spend their time on the road instead of in a classroom and can complete necessary training when it’s convenient for them.

This report also supports the mission of Vertical Alliance Group to provide transportation companies of all sizes the training they need with an online learning management system that allows you to train, monitor, and assess employees and employee needs.

Learn more about how the Infinit-I Workforce Solutions platform can help you transform your training.

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5 Benefits of a LMS for Streamlining Safety Training

Learning management system

Streamline Safety Training with a Learning Management System

Investing in training programs is essential for business success, but the training process can be time consuming for everyone involved. That’s why learning management systems (LMS) have increased in popularity over the years.

A learning management system can make training more cost effective and make training at all levels easier. An LMS also makes tracking training progress easier so you can have the information you need to defend your safety record.

The 5 Biggest Benefits of an LMS

While adding one more tool or technology to your safety program can seem frustrating, some of these tools will make your life easier moving forward. A learning management system like Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is a tool that will make safety training and reporting simpler for everyone involved.

Save Money on Training

With online training through an LMS, you can reduce employee travel to and from the training site. You also eliminate or significantly reduce the costs of trainers and training facilities.

Online training removes the costs of food and hotel accommodations for employees at different sites. Online training also reduces lost productivity, which means more cost savings since workflow isn’t disrupted.

Training Consistency

Online training with the LMS allows you to provide consistent, ongoing training for all employees. Training can be scheduled, and the system will notify users when it’s time to complete a new assignment so you can maintain regular safety training throughout the year.

With a single source for content, the quality of training also remains consistent. You can keep everyone on the same page and make sure all important topics are addressed.

Easy Tracking and Reporting

With an LMS, you can keep track of all user activity to ensure training is completed. You also have easy access to all reports needed to prove that training is completed all in one place, so you never have to worry about finding the information you need.

You can see how well employees understand the material, so you can plan training to help in areas they struggle. You can also store important documentation for easy employee access.

Maintain Regulatory Compliance

If you are in a highly regulated industry, you need to make sure all employees are meeting all regulatory requirements. A learning management system allows you to provide regulatory training to deal with your specific requirements.

You can also maintain all necessary documentation to meet regulatory and legal requirements within the LMS. With date and time-stamped reports that show you are meeting training requirements, you don’t have to worry about audits.

Increase Employee Learning

With options for orientation, ongoing, and corrective action training, you can make sure employees have access to all the information they need to perform their job roles. The assignments take less time to complete than traditional training, so employees can quickly apply new training.

Simplify the orientation process, so employees can get to work faster. Provide ongoing training that keeps necessary skills fresh in their minds. Online training makes training quicker, helps employees retain the information better, and allows for more productivity and improved skills in the workplace.

Training to Meet Your Business Needs

It is important to provide training that helps employees meet your overall business objectives and goals. A learning management system like Infinit-I Workforce Solutions provides you all the tools you need to assign, complete, track, and document your training so you know everyone is getting the training they need to meet these goals.

With 850+ videos available in the training library, the option for custom content, and the reporting tools available with the Infinit-I system, you can simplify the training process while knowing employees are gaining essential skills. Request a demo today to see how easy it is to implement into your training program.

Infinit-I Training Management System Reduces Training Costs

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