Trucking Podcast: Loss Prevention Topics

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A graphic screen with Tim Dooner speaking to us from his desk in the center with the What the Truck?!? logo behind him. Across the top it reads, Subscribe, with the logos: YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TikTok, and X. Along the left side is a list of topics titled Today's Show. Above is a small dog peeking out the window of a semi truck. Below is a QR code and logos: Chevron and Renewable Energy Group.

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TIM DOONER: But right now, let's visit with Anthony Slamar, Risk Control Transportation Specialist at Northland Trucking Risk Control. Anthony,

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The screen splits to show Anthony Slamar speaking to us from his office. Logo: Northland Insurance. The list of topics changes to, On Deck, Anthony Slamar, which is highlighted, Telematic Safety, Down with the Ship, and W-T-T Gear.com.

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how's Friday treating you?

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Hey, it's pretty good. How are you doing?

TIM DOONER: I'm doing really, really well. It's funny, you know that topic I led the show with? We're 20 years difference. Well, a big change has been telematics, how they're viewed in safety. That's one of those things that would shock drivers.

But you don't have to be asleep for 20 years to maybe not be up on all this stuff. You could just be asleep for a year. Let's get people up to date on some of these things.

What have we got here? Telematics isn't new. It's come a long way. Talk to me about what that transformation has been like.

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah. So telematics, it's been around for 20-some years. It's definitely changed. It's definitely evolved over the years. At Northland Insurance, we've been around for many, many years.

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TEXT: Anthony Slamar, Risk Transportation Specialist, Northland Trucking Risk Control

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And like a lot of trucking companies, or like a lot of companies in the trucking industry, we've seen some pretty big changes in how telematics has evolved to not really just help companies with performance, but also help them with safety.

And it's really important to get an understanding of what that telematics system can provide for you and then use it to not just improve your overall safety, but also your performance, as well. It's really easy. At first when we got these programs, this technology, it was a little overwhelming. Companies might not have been exactly sure what to do with it. But over the time, companies have really kind of taken this and really, really improved their organization.

TIM DOONER: Interesting. So that's been the biggest change, companies are getting more aware of this. How has that had an impact on the use of telematics?

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, great question.

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The Telematic Safety topic is now highlighted.

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So when we look at the impact of telematics, it's really easy to say to ourselves, whether you're the dispatcher assigned to monitor this data or you're the safety director assigned to monitor this data, it's easy to say to yourself, I have this new tech, I now have to manage it. How do I manage it? How do I work with it?

How do I use it to improve the organization? And over the years, it's really added a lot of information to help trucking companies improve. 

Information such as harsh braking events, speeding, location, hard cornering. So these are some of the examples of the impact that it's had on the industry. Another example would be dash cams, which can be useful in the event of a crash. Also, some companies may incorporate a driver-facing camera for drivers who are having issues with risky behavior, such as cell phone use, distracted driving, things like that.

TIM DOONER: Interesting. Well, those are all clear uses. But let's go a little bit deeper. What are customers saying about actioning those kind of things, those uses of telematics?

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, so we talked to customers on a daily basis about telematics. And we've heard a lot of positive feedback. A lot of companies are using this to better their organization. They've looked at the data. They're understanding how to approach it, how to use it for coaching and for retraining of drivers and addressing that information with drivers. So it helps that driver on the road avoid some of that risky behavior.

TIM DOONER: So they're taking that information and customizing it based on their specific fleet, their specific use case. Can you give us an example, though? How has that come together?

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, for sure. One example that comes to mind is a company we were working with who had some issues with rear end collisions, intersection accidents, that type of thing. So they looked at the data, they looked at their trends. They realized where they had an issue with particularly harsh braking events or hard braking events, however you want to call it. 

And they really focus their coaching and their training efforts with that, with their drivers within the organization. And over about a year, they noticed a substantial reduction in these rear end collisions, intersection accidents. So that's just one success story of many.

TIM DOONER: One success story of many. Well, we'd love to hear more success stories. And it seems like this is one of the ways to get us over there.

But it could be overwhelming, right? It can be overwhelming going on this journey, going on the telematic thing, especially when you're trying to fix every single issue at once. How do trucking companies map out a plan to do what we just talked about over there and take those learnings to get the most out of that data?

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Outstanding question. Really good question. When we meet with a company, we talk about telematics, we're going to ask them, how are you using this information? Who's responsible for managing this data? Who contacts the driver if there's an issue?

And to help companies with that, we encourage them to look at trends. So look at what kind of losses you're having. Start from there.

For the example we just talked about, if you're having a lot of issues with rear end collisions, we have some harsh braking events that we could probably be looking at. And then from there, look at your telematics data. You might see a trend there related to harsh braking. And then that's a great starting point to work with your drivers on, to try to improve your safety posture out there on the road.

And a lot of times what companies are doing is they're using this data or this metrics for performance bonuses. So for a financial reward, either sometimes quarterly, sometimes on an annual basis. Pretty much all telematics companies are going to provide what's generally known as a driver scorecard. And so this will offer you information on a driver behavior based on whatever time frame you set up.

And these systems, you can customize these systems how you want. There's a lot can do with them. So you can look at a driver's trend 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, things like that. And that can provide a lot of information.

And so I have companies who will use that. And they'll look at those percentages. And they'll base financial bonuses to incentivize the drivers to help them. And that what that really does is also provides positive reinforcement, some encouragement. So we're not just using telematics to constantly tell a driver what they're doing wrong, we're also using it to show that driver what they're doing right out there on the road.

TIM DOONER: Fleet safety, fleet health, it's not that different than driver health and safety, a topic I'm getting into later. Positive reinforcement. Always helpful. My coach, Mark O'Mara, always on Friday, posts out the wins that people have done. But however, data can sometimes be misinterpreted, sometimes it can be a double-edged sword. Speak to that.

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah. So this is a really touchy subject in the issue of telematics. And I'm glad you brought this up. We always encourage companies to look at this data.

Keep in mind, in most instance, or many instances, you are paying per truck per month. Those costs really add up. So you don't want to just ignore this information. You want to use it for positive reinforcement, for driver coaching, to address trends, and ultimately prevent crashes. 

But in some instances, this information can be used against the company. So at Northland, we have a lot of attorneys. We have a lot of legal representation. We pay attention to what's going on in the legal world as far as the trucking industry is concerned. And we've heard of instances where a plaintiff's attorney will subpoena the telematics records.

And so this is important to understand. If you are using telematics, you want to use this information. Let's make up a fictitious driver's name. Let's say, John Smith gets involved in an accident and the truck he's using has telematics. That data can be subpoenaed.

And this is why we encourage companies to address risky behavior that they might see. And let's say there's a pattern of our pretend driver, named Mr. Smith. He has, let's say, a large amount of hard braking events over the last 90 days. The plaintiff's attorney can ask the company then, what did you do to address this driver, this behavior, or these hard braking events with the driver?

So this is why we really want to encourage companies. Again, you're paying per truck per month. These costs they add up. And that's why you really want to use it to its fullest potential.

TIM DOONER: Thank you so much, Anthony. Where do people go to learn more from you?

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, hey, thanks for having me back again. It's always a pleasure to be here. And you can check us out on LinkedIn. We put out a ton of great information on the trucking industries. And you can also check us out on Northlandins.com.

TIM DOONER: Thank you so much. Take care. Happy Father's Day. Have an amazing weekend.

ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, you too. Thank you.

TIM DOONER: Take care.

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TIMOTHY DOONER: Let's talk to Anthony Slamar, risk control specialist at Northland Trucking Risk Control. And Anthony, welcome back to the show. Important topic today, pre-trip inspections.

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Headline: customers and truck yards with visibility into assets at the company’s current 21 truck yards. Air cargo surge could be at expense of peak season growth. A disconnect is arising between actual demand for cross-border air cargo service through the first half of 2024 and forecasts for the full year, raising questions about whether the current surge will strengthen during the traditional busy season starting in mid-September or lose energy. Anthony Slamar, Risk Control Transportation specialist, Northland Trucking Risk Control.

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ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah. Hey, thanks for having me back again. It's always a pleasure to be here. So, yeah, we're going to talk about pre-trip inspections, vehicle maintenance, that type of thing, really important subject when we're talking about our overall fleet safety program. We want to have a good fleet maintenance program that's going to address issues that we have with our vehicles. And it's also it's something that we really want to emphasize to our drivers, where it's there for their safety. And it's also something that helps mitigate a lot of costs out there on the road.

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Headline: Wife of slain Texas trucking magnate sentenced to probation in $9M fraud case.

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Another thing that this is related to is the issue of nuclear verdicts. So by having a good maintenance program in our company, we establish that we are not negligent in how we take care of our vehicles and how we do our maintenance, how we do our inspections, that type of thing. So really, really important subject to talk about.

TIMOTHY DOONER:

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Dooner.

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Yeah. And I get a lot of these stories sent to me too. There's actually a very sad one that happened this week, where an improperly loaded bulldozer fell off the side and killed a father and a daughter on a road. This is a very, very important topic. Now, we talked so much about tech, though, are telematics helping at all?

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Headline: adjudication after pleading no contest to charges she was part of a multimillion dollar fraud scheme while she was co-owner of Bill Hall Jr. Trucking in San Antonio, Texas. Extreme weather blocks vessel traffic around South Africa. Severe storm conditions off the coast of South Africa have temporarily halted vessel movements. The rough seas are exacerbating supply chain delays caused by diversions around the Red Sea to avoid Houthi rebel attacks on commercial shipping, according to logistics companies and commodity analysts. Slamar.

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ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, so definitely. So one thing that telematics is used for is definitely increasing the efficiency and the productivity of our fleets. So depending on your service provider, depending on what kind of packages you're paying for, these systems can provide diagnostic information on the vehicle, that can provide information on preventative maintenance, so for example, when you need to do it, that type of thing.

So it's really trying to help address issues. It's making the companies' management, companies' ownership. It's making their life a whole lot easier to really kind of stay ahead of maintenance issues before they become big, big issues. And also really-- also assisting drivers with pre-trip inspections, that type of thing.

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Headline: OOIDA takes truck side-guard report complaints to Congress - Truckers have told House and Senate leaders to steer clear of writing laws based on a report they say is highly flawed that recommends requiring new safety equipment on their vehicles. Slamar.

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TIMOTHY DOONER: What kind of examples or incidents are you seeing where these lack of maintenance has led to some serious accidents?

 ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah, this is a really good, good thing to talk about. Keep in mind, these DOT rules are there for our driver safety, the safety of other people on the road. Couple things come to mind-- tires and brakes, hugely important for keeping that vehicle under control. We want to make sure we have proper tread depth, proper tire pressure, wear and tear on the tire.

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Headline: US imposes tariffs on Chinese steel shipped through Mexico. Authorities in the United States and Mexico announced measures Wednesday aimed at curbing imports of metals from China and other countries that ship products through Mexico to circumvent tariffs.

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Brakes, making sure our brakes are properly maintained. These things are hugely important, especially in the event of a crash, in the event of a hard braking event, or in the event of something we experience quite often, weather-- rain, snow, things like that, helps keep our vehicle under control.

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German startup grabs pre-seed funding for container logistics platform. Global shipping solutions provider Northbound announced Wednesday it has closed on $1.4 million (€1.3 million) in pre-seeding funding led by Apex Black with participation from id4 ventures, IBB ventures, Schenker Ventures, MVP factory and other angel investors.

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Other things, too, that are really, really important are lamps, lights, reflectors. These help other motorists with spatial awareness. They also help other motorists know if you're having an emergency, or if you're braking, things like that. And kind of related to the subject you you just spoke about, cargo securement, load securement, really important.

You'd be surprised, a lot of companies have violations under vehicle maintenance for load securement violations. We want to make sure that these loads are properly secured. Because in the event of a hard braking event or in the event of a crash, failure to have good load securement, it can cause additional damages or even injury.

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SBA disaster loans propped up carriers, prolonged Great Freight Recession. Dooner.

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TIMOTHY DOONER: Now, I know this is like because it's hard to catch people who don't do pre-trips, but do you have any figures on how often drivers are being lax about pre-checks or they're just not getting done. Do we have a ballpark on that?

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The extraordinary length of the trucking downturn is best explained by a government program that flooded small carriers with tens of billions of dollars of cheap, long-dated credit. Slamar.

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ANTHONY SLAMAR: No, we don't. But sometimes, you can-- there is no real official study out there by what I've seen that's shown what drivers are not doing good pre-trip inspections. But

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Headline: Brian Dykes named UPS chief financial officer. UPS announced the appointment of Brian Dykes as executive vice president and chief financial officer on Tuesday. Dykes will begin his new role immediately, according to a news release from the Atlanta-headquartered company. He will also lead UPS' global finance organization, which includes planning, treasury, tax, financial reporting, financial operations and investor relations.

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sometimes, you can get a pretty good indication by looking at safer scores. You can look at trends, see what a company might be having an issue with, or even seeing the-- see if there's a larger amount of violations, maybe seeing if there's a big variety of violations. You can kind of get a good idea from there.

But what we really want to emphasize is to our drivers with this when it comes to this is that this is for their safety, it's for their safety, as well as the safety of other motorists out there on the road.

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CargoX goes live with HMM eBOL partnership - Trade documents solutions provider CargoX has gone live with its partnership with Korean container carrier HMM, providing the electronic bill of lading (eBOL)technology to the eight largest global carrier. Dooner.

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TIMOTHY DOONER: Look, there's some people who just don't care, right? And they're hard to reach. And there's some people who are like, it's 20 minutes, I'm already kind of late for the receivers, like appointment. I'm already behind. There was a weather event, and I just want to get moving. How do you get these hard cases that rationalize the need to not do a pre-trip?

ANTHONY SLAMAR:

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Slamar.

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Yeah. Hey, that's a really good question. So we want to emphasize that this does not take a significant amount of time, right? What can take a significant amount of time is an out-of-service violation where you're taking off the road because of a maintenance issue. That's a significant amount of time depending on this-- depending on how severe it is. But we really want to emphasize to our drivers, this doesn't take a significant amount of time. If you find an issue, let's get it fixed.

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Headline: Port of Singapore congestion raising spot market prices, report finds. Congestion at the Port of Singapore has slowed docking of trade vessels and boosted spot market prices. That is according to a recently published “Supply Chain Market Pulse” report by global consulting firm AlixPartners. It finds that demand/supply dynamic for ocean trade has reversed in recent months. The June report says that while demand is not up, supply constraints have severely restricted available ocean vessels, resulting in higher spot market prices for now.

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Because finding it on the front end can potentially save a lot of money down the road.

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Dooner.

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TIMOTHY DOONER: Of course. And look, this leadership and culture play a lot into this, I have to imagine. What kind of messages do you have to trucking companies who really need to get this in order, especially if they feel like their drivers are cutting corners?

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Slamar.

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ANTHONY SLAMAR: Yeah. So we want to emphasize that this is something that's designed to improve fleet safety, mitigate crashes, or even prevent crashes from occurring in the first place. It really helps keep costs under control, too, because, like I said, we want to find an issue before it becomes a major problem.

A lot of companies are doing something now, such as doing additional DOT inspections per year, sometimes four, as well as making sure that their drivers are doing thorough inspections on those vehicles. By what I've seen, it's had a pretty good-- companies have had really good success with that. They've really reduced the amount of violations that they're having.

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Headline: Ports in Houston and Galveston remain closed in wake of Hurricane Beryl - Ports in Houston and Galveston, Texas, remained closed Tuesday after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday morning. NFI CEO Brown absent from arraignment of co-defendants due to lawyer conflict.

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Other things, too, that can help out with, with ensuring that this gets done is driver incentives. We want to look at how we can reward a driver for getting a clean DOT inspection. Most companies I run into have some sort of bonus, where they issue a financial award based on the level of DOT inspection that they successfully completed.

And

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Sidney Brown, the CEO of privately owned NFI Industries, was not in a New Jersey courtroom Tuesday when his co-defendants were arraigned on multiple felony charges relating to real estate on the Camden waterfront. Judge Peter Warshaw, the presiding judge of the criminal division of the Mercer County court system based in Trenton, told the court that Brown, part of the family that owns truckload carrier NFI, could not be present because his attorney was in court Tuesday in a sepa.

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these things are really important to kind of start developing that safety culture, where people are doing really good inspections on their vehicles, finding problems before they become worse, and getting that maintenance done beforehand, again, before it becomes a more significant issue out there on the road.

TIMOTHY DOONER:

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Dooner.

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Absolutely. These are our wife, our kids, our husbands. It's not just about your load. It's about everybody around you. It's an important issue. And if you, unfortunately, kill someone by negligence of your own or some issue, it's going to come down on you. Take this very, very seriously. How do people get more information from you?

ANTHONY SLAMAR:

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Slamar.

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Yeah. So you can check us out on LinkedIn. We put out a lot of great information on the trucking industry. You can also check us out on our website at northlandins.com. That's northlandins.com. We have a lot of resources available there as well.

TIMOTHY DOONER:

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Dooner.

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Very, very cool. Hey, thank you so much for stopping by the show today. Appreciate it.

ANTHONY SLAMAR:

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Slamar. 

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Hey, thanks for having me again.

TIMOTHY DOONER:

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Dooner.

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Take it easy. Have a good weekend.