7 Steps to Changing Safety Ideas into Safety Culture

Vertical Alliance Group has hosted free webinars to discuss various aspects of the trucking industry, especially safety. Brian Fielkow, CEO of Jetco Delivery, was one of our guests who joined us to discuss developing a safety culture.

Many companies “talk” about safety, but struggle when it comes to implementing it into their company culture. Fielkow shared practical tips for transforming your organization at every level. He spoke of the importance of everyone adopting safety, from front-line employees to leadership.

He also shared seven behaviors that help you make this transformation happen.

Values vs. Priorities

Many people, when discussing safety, call it a priority for their organization. This sounds good, but lasting organizational change comes when you go from safety priority to safety culture. Safety needs to be a core value for your whole company.

What’s the difference? According to Fielkow, values are the glue that binds a company together. Values are unchangeable, leaving no room to make compromises where they are concerned.

Priorities, on the other hand, can change based on what is happening at the moment for your business. For a real effect, safety needs to be the cornerstone of the organization.

You can’t send mixed messages when it comes to safety for your employees. Your commitment to safety needs to be in the same category as integrity.

Safety is Not a Cost Center

A safety culture is an investment in your company. It is the hallmark of excellent operations. Safety must be sought after, with intention to make operations run smoothly.

Yes, there is cost associated with safety training programs and materials. The ROI on safety makes this cost worth it. Having a healthy and safety conscious team is part of this investment.

Fielkow says, “Safety must be leader driven and employee owned.”

When you start with a strong safety culture, you gain more productivity. This, in turn, brings customer goodwill. No one wants to work with a team riddle with violations and accidents.

The Accident Pyramid

The accident pyramid is a sobering look at how all the tiny decisions to neglect safety lead to tragic outcomes. According to Fielkow, you should never dismiss an accident because it is “minor”.

Minor accidents lead to bigger accidents, and prevention is key. You need to find the root cause that led to the minor accidents before they become a real problem.

Employee behavior is the leading indicator in these situations. You must teach and lead in right behaviors, and this includes performing all required safety inspections. You set the expectations so that employees can manage themselves.

You need to minimize distractions that lead to accidents. Take precautions against those things that get in the way of your safety culture and train your team to focus on safety-sensitive actions.

99% is Not Good Enough

When it comes to safety, you can’t just relax when things are good. You must remain vigilant to adhere to safety best practices.

Fielkow says you have to maintain the mentality of ZERO accidents. It’s an impossible standard, but your mentality must not tolerate preventable incidents.

Safety always starts with leadership. Leaders have to display these safety-focused behaviors themselves and the rest of the employees will copy this.

When issues do happen, address them. Find the rot causes and behaviors so you can change them. Finding solutions to these issues will lead to increased profitability.

Safety Improves Your Bottom Line

Other than fuel, the three largest expenses in transportation are:

• Insurance
• Auto and Workers Comp coverage costs
• Employee turnover

A focus on safety can lead to profits instead of losses in these areas. Excellent safety ratings give you leverage to negotiate better insurance rates. Your company may not be accident free, but an ability to show you have a plan in place matters.

Taking care of your employees is important to your profitability too. When employees know you care, they stay with you. Guide employees toward positive safety behaviors and put best practices in place that will lead to better productivity and highlight safety.

Risk vs. Chance

There is a difference between taking a risk and going with chance when it comes to safety. Risk can be managed and controlled. Chance is all luck.

If a team member exhibits unsafe behaviors, it’s only a matter of time before that luck runs out. Things like texting while driving or skipping pre-inspections lead to poor consequences. Don’t play games with chance.

Risk involves preparing for possible outcomes and making plans based on these possible outcomes. Risk gives you some control whereas chance is out of your hands. Be sure your employees know this difference and avoid chance.

Toxic Employees Lead to Tragic Outcomes

Some employees make changes with teamwork and coaching, which is always great. An employee who will not change, who has no interest in following safety behaviors, who is unwilling to embrace safety culture, is a problem.

If an employee refuses to receive necessary training and remains unwilling to change behaviors, you have to let them go. They put the safety of your team at stake each time they make a poor decision. Everyone in your company needs to be willing to work together for the health and safety of your business.

A company may be compliant, but that does not mean they are safe. Real behavioral changes are needed to ensure better results. From these behavioral changes a true safety culture is formed.

7 Winning Behaviors

For real change to occur in your organization, there are seven behaviors you need to have as safety leadership.

1. Don’t accept defeat. Recommit everyday to these important efforts.
2. Remember, safety setbacks are inevitable but unacceptable. Accidents are not the “cost of doing business”.
3. Be positive and transparent in your efforts. Don’t hide information.
4. Own safety, it can’t be delegated.
5. Let employees know you care about them. Know the basics and repeat them often.
6. Always remain coachable yourself.
7. Keep lines of communication open. Let everyone have input into your safety efforts.

And remember, you don’t have to go it alone when it comes to implementing a safety program. Infinit-I Workforce Solutions can be your partner in safety training management.

We have the tools you need to create, implement, and keep your safety culture moving forward. Request a demo today to see our training management system for yourself.

5 Reasons Microlearning is Essential for Driver Training

As a safety manager, do you ever feel overwhelmed coordinating safety meetings? From ensuring your training materials are correct to coordinating driver schedules and ensuring proper documentation, the task can be difficult.

This coordination is not only hard work, but it also takes time away from other business-critical needs. There is a better way though. Online training using microlearning courses eliminates many of the headaches safety managers can experience coordinating safety meetings.

Many companies have found switching to online training is better for them. It eliminates the need to track down drivers who missed an in-person safety meeting and is a method many drivers prefer over traditional training.

“Instead of having to pull drivers off the road for routine safety talks, they can receive updates on both timely topics like CSA BASICS, FMCSA, and PHMSA, and relevant topics like OSHA, either from their home-based computers or from laptops with internet connectivity.

Not only have the training programs been well received by our drivers, they have also helped increase productivity and equipment utilization, allowing the drivers to spend more time on the road and less time in the classroom.”

Douglas R. Carothers, Manager, EH&S Compliance Programs, Action Resources

If you’re not sure about switching to online training, consider five reasons why moving to a learning management system like Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is beneficial for your business.

1.      Short Videos Work!

Microlearning involves breaking training into small, easy to consume segments, and it’s a big deal in the e-learning world. Microlearning ensures information is retained better than traditional training tools.

Research shows that 58% of employees would use online learning tools if the content was shorter and easier to get through. This is because employees generally only have 1% of their work week to dedicate to training. That’s equal to 24 minutes a week.

Microlearning also results in better productivity, meaning better profitability for companies. Short videos to improve information retention means employees will better remember important safety information.

2.      Long Videos or Meetings Aren’t Effective

Our lives are full of distractions and attention spans continue to decline. According to a Microsoft study, the average attention span to keep someone’s attention is eight seconds.

While eight seconds is not enough to absorb any meaningful training, this shows that short, engaging content will better reach employees and be more effective. Research shows the best length for an e-learning video is 5 to 8 minutes.

3.      Video Works for Training

For those who grew up before the internet age, it may seem ridiculous to hear that online training can be as good as, or better than, in-person training meetings. Studies have shown time and again that online video training works though, sometimes even better than traditional training.

Companies that use online training, especially microlearning, are more likely to achieve organization goals. They are more likely to have engaged employees, better able to fill key positions internally, and have better employee retention. This means less disruption to company productivity.

4.      Everyone Has Access to Devices

According to the Pew Research Center, 97% of all Americans own a mobile phone, and 85% own a smartphone. This means it’s likely that all your drivers have access to a smartphone or tablet so they can complete training when it’s convenient for them.

Using a platform like Infinit-I Workforce Solutions enables your drivers to learn anytime, anywhere, on any device with an internet connection. The Infinit-I system has been designed to be compatible with every device. Drivers can even download the Infinit-I app on their smartphone or tablet for easier access.

5.      Drivers are Mobile; Training Should be Too

When your drivers aren’t on the road, you’re losing money. Taking drivers off the road for training meetings is counterproductive and an inefficient use of resources. Providing microlearning training videos drivers can use to meet their training requirements makes life easier for drivers and safety managers.

One client, Jay Winegardner, CEO of Truck One, said training his team is easy with the Infinit-I Workforce system. Winegardner said even his older truck drivers had very little trouble adapting to the online learning format. He said the vast 850+ video library allows him to customize the training into a perfect fit for his drivers.

Winegardner also said the Infinit-I system is the easiest way to consistently communicate with his drivers. The system’s process for adding user created content is simple, even for the most computer-averse executive.

Make Training Easier

If you are in the trucking industry and aren’t using a microlearning online training program, you are wasting time and money. Learning management systems, like Infinit-I Workforce, eliminate or reduce the need to coordinate in-person training meetings and streamline documentation so management’s life is easier.

Add to this the ability to improve CSA cores and insurability, which are consequences of using our training system, and it’s easy to see why Infinit-I is the #1 training system in the trucking industry. If you haven’t seen the Infinit-I system in action, schedule a demo today. You can see firsthand how our system can change the way you think about training.

Learn more about Microlearning effectiveness.

Online Orientation Can Increase Employee Retention

The race for qualified candidates is on across every industry, but even more so in the transportation industry. Trucking fleets move more than 70% of domestic freight tonnage each year, meaning there is a big need for skilled operators.

With an ongoing driver shortage, it’s a good time to get into the industry. Companies are competing for top talent and turnover is high, up to 95%. Combine high turnover with increased costs associated with in-person training, and you’re left wondering how trucking companies can retain and maintain a well-trained fleet.

Online orientation and training are valuable resources that help companies save both time and money. Employment research has shown that a good orientation and onboarding process may be one of the major keys to employee retention.

Transportation companies have been turning to online training to remain up to date with FMCSA changes and new internal policies. Many do not realize how easy it is to conduct orientation and onboarding training online as well.

Online Training for Orientation and Onboarding

As companies are made aware of the many benefits of an effective onboarding program, more and more are choosing to have their drivers participate in this experience. The key is to make sure a potential employee comes away from orientation with a positive experience during training as most drivers will decide within 72 hours of orientation if they will remain with a new employer.

This orientation training is the first step in the ongoing onboarding process. Orientation allows an employee to become accustomed to their new employer. It gives a sense of the company’s culture and community.

It’s important to present this during their initial orientation, as these are the factors that will determine if a new driver stays on your team. Utilizing online orientation training can make this process faster and help drivers remain safer on the roads. There are many benefits to online orientation and training that make the process simpler.

1.      Drivers Retain the Information

Often with orientation there is an overwhelming amount of paperwork and new information to process. Moving this online allows you to present necessary information in smaller segments. Presenting the information in smaller burst of content makes it easier for employees to receive and recall what’s needed.

2.      Consistent Employee Training

With in-person training, you have to worry about booking a speaker who may or may not stay on script or make changes to the presentation. With online orientation and training, the information can be recorded once and shared multiple times. Plus, since the company is truly in control of the safety message, this information can be updated and expanded as needed.

3.      Accelerate the Orientation Process

An online platform makes it possible for your company to create simple, easy to digest orientation videos new hires can complete quickly. Many companies have cut orientation down from multiple days to as little as two hours using an online method.

4.      Faster Start Time for Drivers

By reducing time spent on orientation, you can get new hires on the road quicker, so they’re moving freight and earning money instead of stuck in a training session. Allowing new hires to get behind the wheel and earning money faster can give a better impression of the company and help motivate them to stay.

5.      Less Lost Revenue

Online orientation means drivers are on the road faster, meaning your company is earning money quicker. Combining this with an ongoing online training program means you don’t have to stop productivity to keep drivers trained, so no lost revenue bringing drivers off the road.

Online training also costs less than traditional training options.

Practical Savings of Online Training

On average, an online format for onboarding can save a company up to $1,000 per hire. What do these savings actually look like? Here’s the breakdown:

Instructor’s salary:	$200
Hotel accommodation:	$120
Meals/Stipend:	$46
Training materials:	$20
Idle equipment:	$72
Lost revenue from driver off the road:	$550
Totals:	$1,008

 

In addition to saving $1,000 per hire, you also increase time spent on the road or focusing on other areas of the business. All employees and managers will appreciate this benefit.

Implementing Online Training

The Infinit-I Workforce Solutions system allows trucking companies access to more that 850 videos created to keep fleets safe and moving, or you can add custom training to fit your company needs. You can enhance the training with company-specific orientation and onboarding processes to welcome new drivers and other employees to the team.

To learn more about the benefits of the Infinit-I system, request a demo to see it in action.