LIsa Lamons is an expert in construction drivers coach and has been a Dot Safety and Fulfillment Training Director since 2016, a contractor based in St. Louis that operates in seven states. He also has 15 years of experience working with the Missouri transport department. ENR’s correspondent, Elaine Silver, spoke with the laces about the training system he uses, when he has to remove a driver’s truck and if he believes that driver -oriented cameras are a good idea.
Why did they take you to specific strategies?
I have literally developed our program from the ground. When I started nine years ago, we had a very minimum program. Our point record really needed improvement. We have really grown a lot since then. Our scores are now phenomenal.
Talk to me about your different trucks …
We have about 156 vehicles and grow. We have concrete mixer trucks, water trucks, semi-triomor trailers, pump trucks, rolled trucks, mechanical trucks, volumetric trucks, diapers, single-tone trucks and three-quarters tons trucks. We also have a variety of trailers to transport equipment.
And what about your drivers?
We have about 50 approved CDL drivers and 77 non -CDL drivers approved. All do not drive daily or all are assigned a specific vehicle. Some have assigned vehicles and lead us according to the need. However, our mixers of our plant mixers make daily driving.
What is the maximum distance you are allowed to drive?
Our concrete mixers are considered short -lived conductors and exclusively driving within their aerial mile radius of their normal job reporting and are released from this place at the latest at 14 hours after starting work. That said, our plants for lots are usually near our projects.
Do you have trouble finding and hiring drivers?
As with everyone in our construction or driving industry, finding qualified drivers can be difficult. Several factors are involved, but the largest is that there is a national scarcity of qualified CDL drivers, especially in the construction industry, where experience with heavy equipment and specific construction security training are often required. That is why our driver training system is so important.
How much of your training is in the classroom and about the road?
All new employee drivers go through drivers guidance and training. It consists of computer -based training followed by practical skills evaluations or computer -based skills evaluation, training during the workplace and a review of driver’s qualifications files before the driver of our company is approved. We carry out soft drink training annually.
And does that mean?
Pre and later travel, distracted driving, tired driving and security and fitness electronic records of our company with the security administration of federal carriers.
And that involves ….
Scores for the maintenance of vehicles, fall indicators, drugs and alcohol, non -safe driving, service hours, driver fitness and hazmat compliance.
Whew. Do you share these scores with your drivers?
Yes! Our drivers ultimately control these results with their driving and road inspections and must be involved and see our annual numbers. We have discussions on which new policy or procedure is launching or reviewing the current policies and procedures that determine the result of these numbers.
How are your steps?
I carry out the periodic behaviors with the drivers and implement the Smith system, where as they lead, they must call for driving or problems, while driving safe. This tells me that they are aware of their environment and that they also lead to them.
Do you also train in aspects that do not drive how to keep and use the team?
Yes. Our drivers are not only drivers, but also employees. They are required to understand and be certified in the equipment they operate.
I have never driven a truck, so I want to know what it is like to make the turns with a spinning bar of several tons?
The operation of a concrete mixer carries several risks due to the size, weight, change of load and the environment in which they drive. Most of our site has an unequal ground. Their coach on the site will review with them that the unbalanced or inappropriate concrete can cause instability and that the ground, curves or unequal inclinations can cause problems. The loads are heavy and the stopped distance can play a piece of paper. The coach at the site will also mount with them or see them closely before signing in their competency evaluation.
The loads are heavy and the stoppage distances can play a piece of paper in the operation of a prepared mixture truck.Photo: Vera Tikhonova/Getty Images
Which telematic do you use?
We use Verizon Connect and Sutecam cameras and, in fact, it will keep track of speed and duration, breaking.
What punishments or disincentives do drivers have when they do not follow the protocol?
It is usually a couple of reminders and then it is a written training. All the time I am here. I probably had to remove a vehicle twice. When I say I get a vehicle, it could be a month or three months. If I write to you, it is because we have had conversations and you do not take it seriously.
If someone does something wrong, he recovers them. Let’s say I write someone because they had a bad inspection on the road and did not make their previous trip correctly. It’s not just a reprimand. Then they have to enter and make a training module.
How do you know if the driver is on board with security protocols?
The biggest compliance is that a driver calls me and says to me, “Hey! I caught up quickly. I will be in your report. Or,” I was smiling, and I almost went out and fell on my brakes. ” Thank you for being aware. I will make a note. And then I feel, “Oh, Lisa, you are like this in my head that I am now seeing my own speed on my own personal car.” This is what I want to happen.
What other way do you get them to buy?
I also want them to see that their driving has a direct effect on them due to the type of vehicle they are in. I let them know, if they are in an accident, let’s say in a pile of five cars and they did not even cause the accident, but because there is a name next to the truck, some lawyer will try to find out what the reasons for a problem were. I tell them, “Don’t get caught in this even if it’s not your fault.”
Have you told us about the post, and the carrot?
Every week we have a week driver. We will see all the controllers, the previous trips and the trips, and we find those that do it constantly. That week they are put in the pool for a $ 100 gift card. If you get a net inspection on the road, they get a gift card. If you go six months with not hitting my speed report, you recognize yourself and get a gift card. At the end of the year, all of these people who won things throughout the year are recognized at drivers’ meetings.
What is your opinion on the cameras that have the driver?
Driver -oriented cameras, often known as cabin systems, can offer valuable safety and training benefits, but they also propose valid concerns when the driver feels like constant surveillance, which causes distraction to the steering wheel when his main task focuses on being aware of his environment while driving safely.
So do you not use driver -oriented cameras?
We have cameras and telematic -oriented backgrounds that control key safety metrics: speed, fast acceleration, strong vaults and hard and hard braking. These cameras are lit when triggered events occur … Do I need this camera to really do what they do? No, because I am using another tool to make them aware of their driving.
What is following your program?
We are looking to expand our fatigue management program, which we want to refine.
What is your advice for a company that builds a program like yours?
Be transparent. Involve your controllers in the process. Not only do you blow cameras or telematic without explaining why. And train, train, train. Do about your safety, not just compliance.
