It’s that time of year again: New Year’s resolution time. People have a love/hate relationship with these resolutions. Some set unrealistic goals and fail within the first month, while others set goals that help them improve their lives and grow in the coming year. This year, make your resolution(s) count by choosing from these six New Year’s resolution suggestions.
Ensure Safety Is a Priority
To ensure everyone has a safe and productive 2020, keep your vehicles and equipment safe and DOT compliant. Make sure you have comprehensive checklists that cover everything you need to meet DOT and OSHA compliance criteria. This will ensure thorough inspections are conducted. It’s also important to encourage safe driving practices. As a business leader, make it a priority to communicate the importance of road safety to your drivers. Below are a few tips you can implement to encourage and improve safety among your drivers.
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Ban handheld and hands-free devices. Using a cellphone while driving should be against policy as it promotes bad driving habits and presents a dangerous distraction.
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The DOT’s Hours of Service regulations dictate how much a driver can work before being required to take some mandatory time off. ELDs exist to enforce the DOT’s Hours of Service regulations. These rules dictate how much a driver can work before being required to take some mandatory time off. Stress the importance of taking these breaks to your drivers. Tired drivers are dangerous drivers, and falling asleep at the wheel puts your drivers’ life, and the life of other road users, at risk.
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Provide proper safety courses that are both educational and mandatory for all drivers.
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Conduct regular evaluations of your drivers’ skills and habits.
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Provide safety tips for drivers that might face icy roads, poor road conditions, and dangerous highways.
Save Money
Set yourself up for success by regularly performing preventive maintenance on your trucks. This will save you both time and money down the line. Then, to ensure maintenance is performed properly, ensure drivers have detailed checklists to run through at the beginning and end of their trips. These inspections should be thorough, and any issues they find should be reported and rectified before they worsen. Letting little problems slip through the cracks only leads to bigger, more expensive issues down the road. Preventative maintenance is a good way to ensure you avoid fines for breaching DOT and OSHA requirements.
Increase Productivity
A company is only as efficient as it’s employees. So, it’s important to ensure your drivers are spending their time productively. Start by minimizing downtime. Time your drivers spend doing nothing while waiting for repairs to be completed is time you’re paying for without seeing any lucrative results. In order for your drivers to perform better, you need to provide them with the right tools and equipment and make sure they are familiar with the correct processes. Below, you’ll find a list of items that will help your drivers perform more efficiently.
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Satellite Navigation – Properly working navigation systems are the best way to ensure your trucks go from point A to point B in the most efficient way. Without them, routes get confusing and delays become inevitable.
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A Streamlined Fleet Inspection Process – You should have a comprehensive maintenance and inspection program in place to ensure downtime is minimized.
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Schedules in Advance – A lot goes into planning a journey, and your drivers need adequate time to factor in road conditions, traffic, time of travel, construction, and rest stops. If you don’t provide your schedules in advance, you risk your driver going along a route that is less efficient and potentially dangerous.
Better Driver Engagement
It’s important that your drivers are interested and engaged in their work. They dedicate a lot of hours to this job and deserve to feel like they matter. Below, you’ll find a few tips to improve driver engagement and retention rates.
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Run Quarterly eNPS Surveys – These surveys will help you determine how loyal and engaged your employees are and how satisfied they are with their job and working conditions.
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Introduce a Rewards and Recognition Process – A reward program for drivers who perform well and go above and beyond is not only an excellent way to provide validation and show appreciation, it also encourages others to try harder.
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Hold Social Gatherings – When drivers know their bosses and coworkers well, they’re more likely to engage more at work. Hosting social gatherings is a great way to show you appreciate your drivers and create a united atmosphere within your company.
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Promote Driver Wellness – It’s extremely important for drivers to take care of their minds and bodies. Their jobs are very demanding, and the hours of sitting and driving eventually take their toll. To ensure your drivers stay safe, offer advice and counsel to anyone who needs it and encourage your drivers to eat healthy, move around and stretch their legs, get enough sleep, and find ways to safely manage stress.
Better Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction can make or break a company. Creating a good relationship between you and your customers should always be a top priority. However, you can’t create a lasting relationship without communication. The best way to judge your customer’s happiness is to perform quarterly NPS surveys to find out what your business excels at and what areas need improvement. Your customers will appreciate being listened to, and they’ll take notice when you make improvements throughout the year. They’re likely to become your brand ambassadors too.
Ramp Up Green Initiatives
In the past, environmental concerns weren’t high priorities, and we’re suffering for it. Now more than ever, it’s important that everyone does their part. It’s especially vital that companies make changes and go green. One person can make a difference, but a lot of the responsibility has been placed on companies to make changes that protect the environment. You can do this by going paperless. Promote better driver practices that help minimize the impact on the environment, including:
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Driving Smart – Drivers should maintain a consistent speed and avoid frequent braking.
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No Longer Idling – Idling uses a lot of fuel and contributes to air pollution.
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Using the AC Less – Your drivers can decrease fuel emissions by using the air conditioner less.
Conclusion
Whip Around has created a way to simplify fleet inspections and maintenance. We want to see you succeed and keep your New Year’s resolutions this year. Whip Around makes it easier than ever to keep your fleet safe, help you save money, increase productivity, and reduce your carbon footprint. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us today or sign up for your free trial.
