In conjunction with a wide range of equipment and maintenance initiatives aimed at fostering and improving safety, Boyle Transportation is equally focused on its drivers. “We maintain a direct dialogue between our professional drivers and our safety and maintenance departments,” says Michael Lasko, manager of safety and quality.
“In terms of technology, we have installed Omnitracs systems, which are used for performance monitoring, and we have been using electronic logs that are compliant with the upcoming ELD mandate for many years,” Lasko adds. “We also have driver coaching and training programs in place that have been very beneficial when it comes to constantly improving safety and lowering risk.”
While it has been providing driver training programs for many years, the centerpiece of the current effort at Boyle Transportation is the CarriersEdge driver training solution, which the carrier switched to earlier this year. The company’s online safety and compliance training tools for the North American transportation industry include a comprehensive library of courses and an online interactive training platform.
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“We were extremely impressed with how in-depth the CarriersEdge material is and the wide spectrum of subjects it covers, and the platform’s delivery method is stellar,” Lasko states. “It provides the material in a way that gives drivers a solid working knowledge of the subject matter. In addition, the online platform allows drivers to work on training at our terminals or by using an app on their company smartphone or on a personal computer. That’s a big benefit in an over-the-road operation.
“The challenge in providing safety training is to keep things fresh,” Lasko continues. “When complacency kicks in you experience the negatives. When it comes to defensive driving, inspections, haz mat, log books or any other subject, the CarriersEdge library of courses is always up to date. Furthermore, because the platform presents material in a way that enables a better understanding by drivers, it’s been excellent in keeping our drivers constantly thinking about safety.”
Lasko also relates that the CarriersEdge platform is working well for Boyle Transportation because it allows the carrier to add customized content related to its specialized operations.
“Some of the training we need to provide is not out of the box,” he says. “We can’t take a cookie-cutter approach to training, but with CarriersEdge, we have the ability to add training for company policies and procedures, and specialized content regarding things like cargo security or the operation of our reefers.”
A connection between the CarriersEdge training platform and some of the safety technologies at Boyle Transportation is in place as well, Lasko notes. “There’s immense value in the information provided by safety technology like lane departure warning systems and the SmartDrive video based technology that we’re now investing in for our fleet,” he says. “That value goes up when you have a training supplier that can work with you to tailor programs that address unsafe habits or areas needing improvement that are specific to each driver.
“For example,” Lasko explains further, “if we identify a driver that has a high number of hard braking events we can assign training that addresses that issue. At the same time, we can reward the types of behaviors we want in our drivers, which reinforces that safety is our top priority.”
Overall, Lasko says that Boyle Transportation has an impeccable safety record, an achievement he also attributes to the lack of a shortage of drivers at the carrier. “We offer premium equipment, good schedules and one of the best compensation packages in the industry,” he says. “We set very high standards for our professional drivers but we also make it possible to achieve them by providing technology and programs that meet everyone’s needs.”
