What is the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)?
Introduction
Every fleet manager should prioritize the safety of their drivers and vehicles. Violating safety regulations and failing inspections can lead to loss of business and cost thousands of dollars in fines. For example, violating hours of service requirements can lead to a fine of up to $16,000, and carrying hazardous materials can lead to a $75,000 fine.
Getting involved in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is one way to establish a set protocol for your fleet and receive the training needed to improve compliance and safety.
For fleet owners, understanding both the criteria and penalties for inspection will help you prioritize compliance for your organization. Luckily, you won’t have to do it alone. There is an alliance you can join to get the training and help you need to support your fleet.
What is the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is a non-profit organization composed of various state transportation officials, city authorities, fleet owners, and federal government representatives. The alliance aims to improve vehicle and driver safety by providing education and guidance to industry leaders, law enforcement, and policymakers.
History of CVSA
The group was formed in 1980 and designed to bring uniformity to commercial motor vehicle enforcement. A memorandum of understanding was established, outlining out-of-service criteria and minimum inspections that vehicle owners needed to follow. As a result, those who conformed to this new agreement saw fewer crashes.
By 1982, non-government personnel wanted to join in on the alliance. By 1988, they started their annual Operation Roadcheck event, where CVSA inspectors complete a thorough 72-hour roadside inspection. Since this event began, over 1.4 million inspections have been conducted. By 1991, the alliance expanded to other countries, including Mexico and Canada.
CVSA - Latest News
In recent news, CVSA hosted its Brake Safety Week event, where 43,565 commercial vehicles were inspected for brake-related violations. Of those, 12% were forced out of service for brake violations.
Despite the pandemic, many truck drivers were assigned as essential personnel, and therefore, commercial vehicles must be operating safely on roadways.
What Fleet Managers Should Know
All fleet managers should understand the ins and outs of inspections and out-of-service criteria. This information must be relayed to all drivers as well.
Inspections
Inspections are bound to happen to your fleet, so it’s important to be prepared. About 4 million inspections are conducted annually on commercial vehicles in North America, ensuring that large trucks are operating safely when driving on the road. There are eight levels of inspections, all of which examine different aspects of safety.
Out-of-Service Criteria
Failing to meet certain inspection requirements may only cost a small fine, or drivers may get away with a warning. In contrast, the Out-of-Service criteria is a pass or fail inspection. This type of inspection identifies critical failures that force the vehicle, cargo, or driver to be out of service until the defects are fixed or the condition improves. This type of failed inspection can affect your bottom line and negatively impact the reputation of your company.
Benefits of Joining CVSA
Fleet owners or managers are classified as Class III CVSA members and are typically referred to as associate members. The annual fee ranges from $550 to $1,050. By joining the CVSA, you’ll be a part of an alliance committed to compatibility, reciprocity, and uniformity when it comes to enforcement and commercial vehicle inspections. Here is a list of benefits for joining this non-profit organization:
Workshops and Conferences: These meetings provide educational and networking opportunities for members to gain feedback, share ideas, and perspectives on transportation safety. Each event is unique and focuses on a singular aspect. For instance, in 2021, CVSA will host a virtual conference called the Virtual COHMED Conference centered around inspections and regulations on hazardous materials and goods.
Safety Programs: CVSA offers many helpful flagship programs, such as Operation Airbrake, International Roadcheck, the North American Inspectors, the Level VI Program, Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development, and Operation Safe Driver.
Within these programs, CVSA-certified officials will inspect your fleet and help you redesign your fleet processes to avoid common maintenance pitfalls. In 2019, 67,072 inspections were completed. Of that amount, 2,784 drivers were taken off the road for out-of-service violations, while 12,019 vehicles were removed due to the failure of critical vehicle items violations. This includes problems with a vehicle’s brake systems, frames, fuel systems, exhaust systems, steering mechanisms, and other components.
Training and Education Materials: Learn from the enforcement officials who inspect your vehicles. CVSA offers many publications, instructional products, and educational resources created by both industry members and enforcement officials. These materials provide preventative maintenance tips to help fleet owners pass their inspections and stay safe on the road.
CVSA Directory and Networking Opportunities: CVSA provides an updated directory with a large contact list of trucking companies, enforcement agencies, owner-operators, trade publication companies, manufacturers, and consultants. There are plenty of networking opportunities where members can interact with one another to gain real-world knowledge about enforcement jurisdictions and ask questions about safety regulations.
Conclusion
The commercial vehicle safety alliance can be a valuable asset to your company. Working with industry leaders and enforcement officials will help you gain the necessary knowledge to train your staff on these inspection protocols. As a result, you will save thousands of dollars and prevent accidents.
Level-up your fleet by installing Azuga’s fleet management software. This system offers an array of technology such as GPS tracking, driver dashcam, eLog records, monitoring driver performance, and scheduling vehicle maintenance. Ultimately incorporating Azuga enhances vehicle and driver safety.
Fleet Dispatching
Dispatch software is a lifesaver when it comes to organizing your dispatch process and keeping operations streamlined. It offers a variety of features that make daily procedures so much easier, from fleet tracking to reports that help businesses make decisions. What features does dispatch software offer, and how do these features benefit fleets? We will break this down for you.
Assign and Monitor Jobs
It is easy to assign and monitor jobs with dispatch software because it uses fleet tracking. Fleet tracking allows you to assign jobs to crews in the field. If you need a lead technician for a job, it’s simple to attach that lead tech to any job you need. You can even sort jobs based on their status, whether they’re one-time, recurring, or multi-day, or based on urgency.
When workers finish jobs, they can mark the job as complete on their end. This way, you can know when each job concludes and when your technician moves on to their next task.
Easier Communication
Back and forth calls between technicians and managers are no longer a problem. With dispatch software, you simply input the job you want your technicians to address. Your technicians access it from their phones and know what to do from there. When they’re done, they can mark it complete and view their next job right away. They can track their time, update their schedules, and input notes all while on the go. Everything you need to know will be on your screen when you need to know it, no need to track the information down.
Improve Customer Service
Dispatch software can improve your business’s customer service reputation in a variety of ways. Firstly, GPS tracking allows for route optimization software, which gets your technicians to their destinations quickly and efficiently. No more late technicians making your customers wait. Furthermore, dispatch software allows you to assign technicians to customers they already know, building an improved relationship with your business. And with all of your customer information in one place, it’s easy to respond to disputes and issues in a timely and personal manner.
All of your client and order information is available in a field service CRM that details everything you need to know about your customers and the jobs you’ve done for them.
How to Get Dispatch Software
Azuga offers state-of-the-art dispatch software that your business is sure to benefit from every single day. These benefits will improve your fleet’s daily operations, boost customer service, and maximize productivity among your workers. These features and more bring your fleet to its maximum potential, allowing you to focus on making important decisions to help the business grow and thrive. Find out everything you can do with dispatch software by trying out a free demo today. You’re certain to be impressed with the improvements.
Multi-Drop Route Planning
A multi-drop route planner is a process that plans a route for a driver to make more than two deliveries in multiple locations. It uses vehicle routing software to collect and analyze thousands of data points and determine the best delivery route. This route planning software can plan, re-route, and reschedule without causing any danger to the driver, environment, or business. It considers many factors, such as the number of distribution centers, warehouses, or residential areas a driver has to visit, resource availability, and driver safety.
How Does Multi-Drop Route Planning Work?
The route optimization software tracks the vehicle while factoring in when deliveries need to arrive. Of course, a human being should ensure that everything has been planned out properly, but the process should be automatic. Both this person and the system should look at distances, travel time, and fuel consumption.
Once a route is set, the route optimization software compiles data to choose the best vehicle and driver depending on the delivery. It uses data based on the route and the client’s needs. At this point, it also considers the driver’s hours and weather conditions to determine how much time is needed. These systems need to work in real-time to ensure that managers and clients can connect with up-to-date information.
Benefits of Multi-Drop Route Planning
There are various benefits to multi-drop route planning. It maximizes productivity, keeps fuel costs low, promotes driver safety, and helps businesses stay compliant with federal driver hour regulations. Your business will save money by using its drivers effectively and not using as much fuel.
Where to Get Multi-Drop Route Planning Software
If you’re looking for this software, you don’t need to search any further! Azuga’s route optimization software allows for multiple stops. It provides the best routes based on historical data, traffic conditions, weather conditions, and machine learning that helps it create the best routes for you in real-time. See what you can do with route planning software by trying out a demo today!
Fleet Dispatching
If you manage a fleet, you probably already understand the delicate dance that is fleet dispatching. If not, you may not realize just how crucial this process is to the success of any fleet-based business.
What Is Fleet Dispatching?
Simply put, fleet dispatching is the process by which commercial fleet drivers are sent out into the field to make deliveries, service customers, and handle other business-related tasks. But it involves so much more than simply telling drivers, “you go there.” Good fleet dispatching may also involve considerations for traffic conditions, road hazards, driver skill sets, customer preferences, and onboard equipment. When done correctly, it’s a skillful juggling act that helps a business reach its daily goals. When poorly handled, it can be a disaster for all concerned.
What Is a Fleet Dispatcher?
A fleet dispatcher is a person in charge of scheduling and arranging dispatch for a commercial fleet. Small fleets may have a single dispatcher to manage all calls, while larger enterprise fleets may employ an entire team.
A fleet dispatcher must clearly understand schedules and routes, job proficiencies, fuel management, fleet maintenance, and regulations related to hours of service and other fleet compliance issues. A good fleet dispatcher knows the drivers in the fleet well and can anticipate their scheduling needs and which jobs they are most suited to handle. Fleet dispatchers must be masters of communication and have elite organizational skills.
Fleet Dispatch Software from Azuga
Fleet dispatching is as much an art as a science, and it can be overwhelming at times. The best way to support the fleet dispatchers on your team is to give them tools and technology that make the job easier. Fortunately, Azuga offers the answers to all of your fleet dispatching conundrums.
Our GPS Fleet Tracking software can keep track of all the vehicles in your fleet along with large equipment and other assets. Dispatchers can use this information to see which vehicles are nearby when a job pops up. What’s more, we offer top-notch route optimization tools to help guide drivers around road construction, accidents, and other hazards that might prevent them from getting to their destination on time. We can even help you schedule routine maintenance, promote road safety, and automatically deliver dispatch notifications to drivers in the field.
Learn about all the ways Azuga Fleet can help your commercial fleet stay productive and efficient while simplifying maintenance schedules and creating a culture of safety on the road. Schedule an Azuga demo today!