There are hundreds of truck accidents published on the internet annually, and when you look at the core reason behind these major crashes, you will see one thing in common, poor safety culture.
Trucking companies face accidents and safety violations because they don’t follow regulations properly or provide enough training. And sometimes, drivers don’t take traffic rules seriously, which increases the risk of accidents and ultimately legal issues for the company.
Maintaining a strong safety culture for your truck business is the first thing that every company needs to work on from day 1. As it directly affects the company’s reputation and logistics services.
Every customer wants their goods to be delivered safely, and for that, they choose a company with high safety. So if you want to grow your trucking business then make sure to impose safety protocols.
What Is Trucking Safety Culture?
The safety culture of every business is known as the rules defined to safeguard customer’s goods. These rules are followed by every member of the company from the CEO to small employees. Their job is to make sure, they follow the company’s SOPs and guidelines to meet with customer’s trust.
In the trucking business, a safety culture is necessary for everyone, but crucial for drivers. They should be trained enough to deliver goods from any kind of route. Moreover, the maintenance of trucks is also a key aspect that can’t be ignored to avoid any future incidents.
Leadership Commitment
As a leader of a trucking company, make SOPs for every department of your business and make them accountable for any misbehavior. For example, if the company has a rule of not using phones while driving, then it should be strictly followed by every single driver in terms of security.
A good leader always tracks his business’s performance whether it meets the end user’s needs or not, if there is an issue in delivering results, then ask the manager about this failure. Commit to evaluating each truck once a week and examine it thoroughly to see if every part of the truck works well.
Driver Training and Education
No one is perfect in this world, your drivers are the backbone of your trucking business. Invest as much as you can in your driver’s learning. Hire professionals who know more than them and are seniors in this field.
Organize weekly seminars to educate them about new driving techniques and defensive approaches. Show them the videos of expert truck drivers, so that they can learn from them. All these practices ensure that you care about the customer’s goods as well as the life of drivers.
Written Safety Policies and Procedures
Whenever you hire a new driver or any employee for your trucking company, hand over the company’s safety policies to them before joining. In this written document, everything should be clearly mentioned regarding each department.
Make sure every new or old employee is familiar with the company’s policies. This way, you can reduce the risk of any mismanagement from employees. Most importantly, keep updating your company’s terms and conditions to enhance the safety measures of the company.
Open Environment to Discuss Safety Concerns
There should be a workshop where every employee can present their safety concerns openly. An open environment not only highlights security issues but also raises confidence among employees.
Having the freedom to speak breaks the barrier between ordinary and extraordinary people. So, if any truck driver or an employee raises security concerns regarding your business, listen to them carefully, as they practically experienced those issues, that you might not be aware of
Regular Audits and Inspections
When your trucks are at work, there can be several issues arise in its machine, as they lift heavy weights, and there are chances that maybe some screws become loose or any other technical error in the machine.
To avoid potential accidents due to machinery failure, regular inspection of each truck is compulsory. This can be done on a daily weekly or after every fortnight. However, it is recommended to check the truck’s major components before starting off the work.
What Are the Benefits of a Good Safety Culture in Trucking?
A well-optimized company means a good reputation in the industry. Now, let’s discuss some of the benefits you can get after adopting a good safety culture in your trucking company.
1. Protecting Against Litigation
Applying a strong safety culture not only protects you from accidents but also from heavy-duty fines. If your drivers do not follow traffic rules while transporting and are caught by police cops then they will directly charge fine against your company. So, it’s necessary to educate them about traffic rules.
2. Improving Compliance
Despite your own audits, various representations from the government can inspect your anything. If your company is practicing a safe culture from day to day life, then you don’t need to worry about anything, infact, if they are inspired by your work, they will reward you with high safety ratings.
3. Retaining Employees and Boosting Satisfaction
Everyone values their life and no one wants to work in an organization that does not care about his life. In a trucking company, if you care about your employee’s health by adopting strong safety habits this will be helpful in 2 ways. One way you can retain your employees for a long period and the other benefit you can get is customer satisfaction which is the base of every business.
Conclusion
Setting up a truck business is not like other businesses, as it requires strong SOPs for the survival of your business. One mistake can ruin your entire business. In this article, we have discussed in detail how you can adopt a strong safety culture in a way that not only boosts your business but also protects your employees’ lives from any incident.
These practices include written guidelines for every employee to regular audits of your trucks to make sure the company delivers at its best while avoiding customs fines from the government.
