Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/510235
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MAY 2015 57 COVER STORY: DRIVER TRAINING do, Merches says. "Overall, it has a very good impact." Fleets generally are using technology to improve the speed and effectiveness of the training process in five ways. On-demand training Computerized training not only condenses the hiring process but also helps fleets get more training to drivers by bypassing the limits of time and geography. By all indica- tions, motor carriers will have to use technology to reach more drivers faster. Holly Caskey and other department managers at Admiral Merchants Motor Freight used to conduct a weekly conference call for all new drivers to complete their orientation training. The call lasted several hours, and "you couldn't tell if they were listening or paying attention," says Caskey, director of safety for the Minneapolis-based flatbed carrier. In March, AMMF replaced the conference call with a cus- tomized orientation training program from Instructional Technologies Inc. Drivers now complete an online interactive training program at their own pace and have to answer ques- tions correctly to proceed. "We know there is comprehension," Caskey says. "Plus, they are able to view it as many times as they like – before, they had one shot. It also provides a consistent message." The new training program allows AMMF to shorten its orientation period by as much as one week. Previously, drivers could have completed a drug test and other pre-employment work by Thursday and then had to wait until the following Wednesday for the telephone training meeting before they could be dispatched on their first load. Brown Integrated Logistics, a Lithonia, Ga.-based truckload carrier, tests drivers' skills and knowledge when it schedules orientation meetings for new recruits. Rather than move can- didates along at the same pace, Brown assigns online training courses to those in need of additional help for certain topics. The company also uses online courses from Vertical Alliance Group for remedial training. Kiosks are set up at all Brown terminals, shops and warehouses, and drivers also can com- plete training using their own computers. If a driver has an hours-of-service or maintenance violation, they are assigned courses on these topics. Also, if drivers miss a required quarterly safety meeting, they must complete a course on a topic that was discussed at the meeting. The fleet has about 1,000 drivers, including 440 owner-op- erators. Drivers took more than 5,000 courses last year, says Brian Kinsey, president and chief executive officer. "Acceptance of Vertical Alliance as a tool has improved dramatically," Kinsey says. "There is no resistance." Once drivers complete a course after a violation, "we don't have many repeat violators in any particular item," he says. Integrated training Some companies that develop content and technology for online training are working on the next evolution: a closed-loop process. Fleet managers now have to assign training courses to drivers manually, but soon training will be assigned to drivers automatically or at least recommended based on individual circumstances. Fleets that use J.J. Keller's online Encompass portal to manage driver performance and compliance can track courses that their drivers have completed from the online Training on Demand service. J.J. Keller is working to make training content more closely in- tegrated with its end-to-end compliance management platform that includes an electronic logging device for smartphones and tablets, the Encompass back-office driver management system and the Training on Demand courses. When a violation is detected – such as a driver going over his limits for hours of service or not completing a pre-trip inspec- tion – a fleet manager could assign a recommended course to the driver through an integrated workflow. "The vision is to close the gap between gathering data and pushing back training to the driver," says Brian Kubiak, J.J. Keller's director of marketing for training. ITI recently rebuilt its Pro-Tread training courses using HTML-5 to be mobile-friendly. Previously, its courses were de- Admiral Merchants Motor Freight, a Minneapolis-based flatbed carrier, uses a customized orientation training program from Instructional Technologies Inc. Brown Integrated Logistics, a Lithonia, Ga.-based truckload carrier, tests drivers' skills and knowledge when it schedules orientation meetings for new recruits. Vertical Alliance Group offers online courses for remedial training, allowing drivers to use their own computers.