Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/540088
8 | B U L L D O G | 2 0 1 5 V 2 trying, Fielkow says. After all, a safety culture doesn't happen overnight. "Start a journey to zero," he says. "You may not get to zero, but if you can cut your accidents by 75 percent, I would say you did pretty good." One way to encourage drivers to buy in to a safety culture is through awards and recogni- tion programs. "Safety awards really distin- guish the recipient as one of the best in the industry, and it has a huge psychological impact not only on the recipient, but on their colleagues as well," says Lagana of ATA, which offers several awards programs for its members. "It really encourages positive peer pressure and it almost creates an epidemic of safety." Safety award winners can become the opinion leaders within an organization, help- ing drive change. "You want people who have earned the respect of their peers by virtue of their actions," Fielkow says. "You have to bring those people in right away because they often know what is going right and what is going wrong better than anybody." Internal safety incentives can help accom- plish this. Florida Rock & Tank Lines has a combination of driver incentives, safety awards and safety contests. The safety incentive program is a monetary bonus that drivers are eligible for each quarter by per- forming their jobs safely and not experienc- ing any type of preventable incidences or other safety violations. Annually, this bonus equates to six percent additional compensation. Florida Rock's safe driving awards recog- nize drivers for their years of safe operation. They also award the spouses to acknowledge them for their contribution and support of the drivers and helping to keep them safe. Finally, for the past 10 years, Florida Rock has also held a safety contest. It starts with the driver, who is expected to drive for the entire fi scal year without experiencing a pre- ventable accident. In addition, the terminal the driver operates out of has a defi ned accident frequency rate goal that must be met. "This builds individual empowerment but also adds a team component, because if other drivers at the terminal are having acci- dents and the terminal fails to reach its goal, the driver is not eligible to be in the contest," Anderson explains. In addition to goals for drivers and terminals, there is also a company-wide goal that has to be met. "If all of the metrics are achieved — individual, terminal and corporate — the driver qualifi es to be in a drawing to win a Chevy truck." With safety awards and incentives, it's important to keep the overall goal in mind. "I see a value in safety awards," says Fielkow, "but if we take one day a year to cele- brate safety and give the awards and then the rest of the year we kind of ignore it, it is really not all that helpful." He likens this approach to a New Year's resolution to diet that only lasts until Jan. 15. "The better way to do it is to take those awards programs and integrate them into an overall safety program that goes on 365 days a year. Then the awards ceremony is a cul- mination of the safety success of the company," he explains. Often overlooked but just as important to a cul- ture of safety is extending your safety message to the driving public. Florida Rock & Tank wants to make sure the motor- ing public is aware of the fl eet's commitment to safety. According to Mike Graber, sales manager at Nextran, the dealership for Florida Tank, "They have high visibility, orange seat belts installed so that anybody driving down the road can see that the driver has his seatbelt on." A simple measure such as using neon seat belts shows the driving public that your drivers are operating safely. COVER STORY Mack Trucks partners with American Trucking Associations' Share the Road program to educate motorists on sharing the road with big rigs.