Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/510235
62 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MAY 2015 COVER STORY: DRIVER TRAINING Pitzel, director of safety and driver development. Bison collects data on driver performance and ranks them on a scale of low to high risk. The company is planning to use video recorders to better understand the behaviors of at-risk drivers, and the cameras also might help shorten its entry-level driver training program, he says. Bison currently plans to use video recording devices in trucks with drivers that are medium-risk and above, a segment Pitzel says currently makes up about 8½ percent of the company's fleet. The technology is portable, so as a driver lowers his risk, the cameras can be taken out. Bison also has a custom Driver Information Management System that is integrated with its operations software. If the safety department decides to ground a driver because of training expirations or for other reasons, the driver cannot be dispatched, Pitzel says. Learning management Another way fleets can streamline driver orientation and ongoing training is by using a learning management system, a technology that helps manage the progress of drivers through each stage of the training process. EBE Technologies' LMS is designed to provide carriers a framework for building a custom training program with in-house and third-party content. Users can embed training videos, PowerPoint presentations and randomized tests into the program.Maverick Transportation is using EBE's technology – a system it calls Computer Driver Training – to streamline its training process from start to finish. The North Little Rock, Ark.-based company has a CDL fin- ishing program for new drivers. Before drivers arrive, managers build classes in CDT using information from Maverick's paper- less driver recruiting and hiring system, also from EBE. Drivers go through an array of computerized training modules for safety, compliance and other topics tailored to the company's diverse op- erations that include flat- bed, temperature control and glass on specialized trailers. EBE's most recent LMS version is mobile-friendly, allowing drivers to access training content from their personal devices, says Cin- dy Nelson, vice president of marketing and business development. Experts agree that using technology to customize safety training to better meet the specific needs of each driver – and to do that more effectively and efficiently – is where success lies. North Little Rock, Ark.-based Maverick Transportation is using EBE's technology to streamline its training process from start to finish. EBE's most recent learning manage- ment system version is mobile-friendly, allowing drivers to access training con- tent from their personal devices. Winnipeg, Manitoba-based truckload fleet Bison Transport has developed an extensive driver training program that also is fast and efficient.