Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
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18 | Overdrive | April 2014 Logbook A U.S. Department of Transportation audit has determined that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must be more careful about its col- lection, management and analysis of data, or the federal trucking regulator "will be hindered in its ability to effec- tively implement CSA nationwide and address the key concerns of industry stakeholders." In its report last month, the DOT's Office of the Inspector General gave the agency some credit for strength- ened quality controls for state-reported data, but "more action is needed in key areas." Among those key areas, OIG determined that FMCSA has not fully implemented planned improvements to its processes for reviewing data correction requests and has taken "lim- ited action" to address inaccurate and incomplete data reported by carriers – despite similar recommendations dating back to 2006. So far, only 10 states have fully implemented Compliance, Safety, Ac- countability enforcement interventions, and FMCSA provided auditors no date when it expects to complete im- plementation in all states. The agency did say it expects a nationwide release of software critical to state intervention efforts by May 2015. The report noted that OIG "coordi- nated" with the Government Ac- countability Office – whose own CSA report was released in February – "to avoid duplicating work." In the earlier analysis, GAO determined that the FMCSA system to score and com- pare motor carrier safety records is flawed and particularly unfair to small carriers. "The Inspector General's report confirms what industry stakeholders, independent researchers and other government watchdogs have found – there continue to be significant flaws in the data FMCSA is using to evaluate and score carriers under CSA," said Dave Osiecki, American Trucking Associations executive vice presi- dent. "ATA continues to support the oversight mission and safety goals of CSA, but FMCSA must acknowledge the program's many problems – and commit to addressing them." The report also said "FMCSA lacked documentation demonstrating that it followed information technology system best practices and federal guid- ance" while developing and testing the Safety Measurement System, the heart of the data-driven package. And even though FMCSA docu- mented how carrier percentile rank- ings are calculated, its documentation of other important processes – such as validation and testing – is incom- plete, the IG report said. For example, FMCSA lacks documentation to show that it conducted testing for four of the changes made to the system since its nationwide implementation in 2010. In its response, FMCSA concurred with all six of report's recommen- dations and provided "appropriate planned actions and timeframes." ATA expressed disappointment in IG's report for its face-value acceptance of FMCSA's self-assessment of its State Safety Data Quality system, which scores states' ability to upload timely and accurate data. ATA said IG failed to examine under what circumstances a state might obtain a "good rating." – Kevin Jones Audit points out CSA shortcomings So far, only 10 states have fully implemented Compliance, Safety, Accountability enforce- ment interventions. THE BEST FLEETS TO DRIVE FOR contest winners were Paramount Freight Sys- tems of Jeffersonville, Ohio, in the owner-operator division; and Bison Transport of Winni- peg, Manitoba, in the company driver division. Criteria for the awards, announced by the Truckload Carriers Association and CarriersEdge, include total compensation package, benefits, advancement oppor- tunities and the fleet's driver turnover rate. CLASS 8 ORDERS were up roughly 30 percent in Febru- ary from the same month in 2013, according to research firms FTR and ACT. FTR's preliminary February data showed 28,876 net orders, making December, January and February the best three- month period since 2006. ACT pegged February's order total at 29,200 orders – the fifth-strongest month since the first half of 2006. TRAILER ORDERS in Jan- uary grew 28 percent from the same month last year, according to ACT Research. Year over year, reefer orders climbed 80 percent, tank trailers enjoyed triple-digit growth, and lowbeds saw double-digit gains. PROPANE HAULERS in 36 states are exempt from federal hours of service regulations until May 31 following President Obama's March 21 signing of a bill that extended waivers first granted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in February. Logbook_0414.indd 18 4/1/14 7:20 AM