By R. Bruce Wright, CPCU
Most utilities we visit are covered by DOT regulations that require daily safety inspections for some of their vehicles, primarily the larger trucks, and most of them have a process in place to get this accomplished. Unfortunately, when we inquire about the quality of the inspections, more often than not we learn that the process isn’t working as well as it might. Oftentimes we hear that instead of carefully examining the vehicles, drivers seem to have fallen into a routine that consists of “checking off” boxes without really looking for defects. As a result, problems are likely to crop up on the road rather than be spotted in the garage, which can lead to costly results, such as fines or worse yet, vehicle accidents. Many of our contacts tell us that they haven’t really been able to get good, high quality inspections on a regular basis, and they just don’t think they can prevent “pencil whipped” inspection reports. Our suggestion, which is one you may have heard before, is that if what you are doing isn’t working, try something else!
We believe that asking a driver to fill out an inspection form every day, demanding that it be turned in before the driver leaves, and then never giving that driver any feedback at all, is a surefire way to communicate the fact that the inspection is not important, and only the paperwork matters. This may not be the message intended, but it is too often the message that is sent and received. Since everyone knows that actions speak louder than words, here are a few simple actions that will help to send the right message.
First and foremost, promptly attend to any defects that a driver does report. Even if the issues seem minor, such as worn wipers, you should respond before the vehicle goes out the next time. Either fix or replace the items, or explain any decision not to directly to the driver who reported them. If you don’t react promptly by fixing the defects a driver finds, you are communicating indifference to the report process.
Here are some additional steps you can take to send a positive message to the drivers about the importance you place on the quality of the inspections. Once in a while, the supervisor to whom the inspections are given should also do a follow up inspection. Not every day, and not on every truck, but perhaps one time per week, the fleet supervisor, or whoever actually receives the inspection reports, should pick out one of them and go look at that vehicle, working through the checklist just as the driver was supposed to. If this follow up inspection reveals that the vehicle’s condition is just as the driver reported, then, the next morning when that driver comes in, the supervisor should seek him out, tell him what was done, and thank him for doing the inspection well. You’ll be surprised how quickly the word gets around that someone is actually looking at the reports, and even taking the trouble to spot check them. Of course, if the supervisor’s review uncovers defects not recorded on the original inspection form submitted by the driver, this provides an educational opportunity to pull the driver aside, explain what was found, and then emphasize the importance of the inspection, explain the fact that the drivers must be the “eyes and ears” of the maintenance people, and point out that if a defect isn’t reported no one will know to fix it!
Some fleet managers have gotten even more creative in their efforts to make the inspection process meaningful. Several utilities have advised us that they use members of management to re-check vehicles once a month, and use the results of these inspections as the basis for awards of small items or to simply provide recognition and praise to those whose vehicles’ conditions match their last report. Other utilities ask their drivers to inspect vehicles other than those they regularly drive, so the drivers end up inspecting each others’ trucks. (This approach requires that management take special care to avoid either collusion or backstabbing. One client even told us that they had taken the keys to each truck and hung them on the engine oil dipsticks one morning. (Their trucks’ keys were normally left in the ignitions. Don’t try this if your trucks are not parked inside the locked garage building.) Then the drivers who asked what happened to the keys were given the suggestion to “re-do” their pre-trip inspection, which at this company included checking the oil level. This trick may only work once, but they did have some fun with it!
Simply put, every action a manager takes sends a message to the company’s workers. A fleet manager who can’t be bothered to take the time to provide feedback to the drivers, or to do spot checks of the inspections, is training the drivers to regard the inspection process as unimportant. It should surprise no one if these drivers then fail to do the inspections well. On the other hand, if a manager is willing to demonstrate that a task is important (not just by saying it, but by showing it through actions), then most workers will quickly conclude that they need to do a good job with that task.
It all comes back to the basic premise that management gets the workforce it deserves. If a company’s employees do good, careful work it is usually the case that the management team is talented and is doing a good job at training. If not…, well, you draw your own conclusions!