There’s no question why safety is paramount at Usher Transport, Inc. “A large portion of our business deals with the safe and efficient transport of petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuels, bulk oils and solvents,” says Bill Usher Jr., president. “On the chemical side of the house, we transport all types of corrosives, oxidizers, dry bulk and flammables.”
Usher Transport, a family owned and operated tank carrier headquartered in Louisville, KY, was founded in the mid-1940s. Today, the 65-year-old company is run by a third generation of the Usher family, with a fourth generation already getting set to take on management duties.
Along with Bill Usher Jr., the management team at Usher Transport includes Alan Usher, vice president; Eric Mink, vice president of operations; Jim Holloway, vice president of sales; Mike Baker, CDS, vice president of safety & HR; David Guess, CDS, director of safety; Joe Murphy, marketing director; Keith Judd, maintenance director; and Edward Watson, CFO.
The Usher fleet of approximately 300 power units handles primarily short and midrange time sensitive hauls, usually within a 500-mile radius of one of the company’s terminals. Making deliveries to the West Coast and Canada, and fielding dedicated equipment for customers, is also part of the carrier’s business.
Company terminals are located in Louisville, Paducah and Catlettsburg, KY; Cincinnati, Columbus, Canton and Toledo, Ohio; and in Nashville, Tenn. Also part of the operation is a bulk transfer facility in Louisville and Railroad Refueling Terminals in Danville, Ky.; Bellevue, Ohio; Elrama, Pa.; Jersey City, N.J.; Calumet and Elwood, Ill.; and Newark, Del.
Usher’s customers range from Fortune 500 chemical and oil companies to a number of smaller distributors and jobbers. On that list are companies such as Chevron Products Company, Marathon, Ashland, Dupont, Westlake Chemical, Kroger, Brenntag, Univar and Conoco Philips.
The Usher fleet is composed of company-owned and owner-operator tractors. A majority of the power units, about 90% of the fleet, consists of Freightliners, including 20 new 2011 Cascadia models. The remainder is composed of 2006 through 2010 model year Volvo tractors. The carrier’s nearly 370 trailers include the latest petroleum, dry bulk, chemical, rubber lined and composite acid tankers.
Synonymous with safety
“We have the equipment and experience to handle a diverse range of bulk products,” says David Guess, CDS, director of safety. “Our experienced support staff at all of our terminal locations also works with customers to manage fuel inventories at a large number of gas stations, allowing them to concentrate on other aspects of their business besides transportation. In all cases, the Usher name is synonymous within the industry for safety.”
Safety management initiatives at Usher Transport take a very conventional and hands-on approach. The safety
team comprising Vice President of Safety Mike Baker, Safety Director David Guess, and Tim Ellis, safety manager spends numerous days each year on the road visiting with drivers. With each terminal visit, the team conducts CVSA-style equipment and driver inspections.
In January 2010, Usher began evaluating its safety performance based on the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) system of measuring fleet safety. CSA is now the basis for regulating and enforcing safe driving and operating practices.
The more comprehensive enforcement and compliance model called CSA has built-in and automatic intervention levels covering seven BASICs (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories), including Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related and Crash Indicator.
“We integrated the CSA scoring matrix into our inspection data-tracking program to produce weekly loss control postings for each terminal,” Guess explains. “By fully integrating each of the seven BASICS in CSA, our safety and loss control efforts were noticeable in trend lines, with sharp decreases in both severity and frequency.
“We currently subscribe to Vigillo for its data services, which organizes and delivers complex fleet safety information to us in an easy-to-read scorecard,” Guess continues. “Additionally, we utilize Vigillo’s CSA Benchmark Scorecards to evaluate, score and rank our drivers. This benchmarking tool is used to see where we stand against ourselves, as well as our industry peers.”
Vigillo’s suite of CSA scorecards enables fleets to access summary data and compare their operations to selected groupings of carriers without divulging customer specific information. Carriers can choose from a long list of specific measures for comparison, including measures across BASICs, points by driver, points by power unit, points per inspection, violation categories, geographic, and more.
Meshing safety, equipment
“We can also use our safety data to improve fleet specifications and maintenance programs,” says Keith Judd, maintenance director. “Our safety and vehicle programs mesh perfectly when it comes to specifying equipment. For example, specifications such as the Eaton Ultrashift Plus transmissions we are using play an integral part in the company’s loss control training in areas such as roll stability, product surge and control of the unit.
“Another area where we use safety data to improve our operation is in parts specifications,” Judd adds. “For example, if we spec our units with generic parts and those parts fail quicker causing undesired write-ups and inspections, we may decide to make a change.”
Usher’s safety program also provides data that is used to focus on vehicle operations, Judd notes. “We can look at road speed information in our on-board recorders and the Unsafe Driving BASIC in the CSA data,” he explains, “and decide if we need to turn trucks back on speed.”
With a tractor trade cycle of about five years and 400,000 to 500,000 miles, Usher is also able to apply other factors when making purchasing and specification decisions. Among them is equipment utilization and needs related to vehicle weight, available warranty coverage, driver comfort and satisfaction and pricing. In all cases, Judd credits the highly professional approach to meeting the carrier’s needs by Jeffersonville, IN Freightliner dealer, Kentucky Truck Sales, and salesman Darren Burke, as one of the single-largest factors influencing the fleet’s equipment decisions.
Active involvement
For Bill Usher, Jr., another factor in Usher Transport’s success has been the company’s involvement in industry activities. Currently, the carrier is actively participating in the National Tank Truck Council’s Regional Safety Committee and Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council and National Truck Driving Championships, the American Trucking Associations, where it is a past winner of the ATA President’s award in safety management, the Truckload Carriers Association, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and the Kentucky Motor Transport Association State Safety Council and State Truck Driving Championships. Usher is also a past recipient of the HEIL trophy for Safety Excellence.
“Our involvement in industry activities is vital in that it gives us access to an incredible network of professional colleagues that our management team can call upon throughout the year,” Usher states. “Through technical committees within various trade organizations this activity also keeps the company up on industry changes. Our numerous trade organization professional memberships help Usher’s management team stay on the cutting edge of the latest technology, rules, changes and loss control strategies.
“Most of all,” Usher adds, “our continued growth and success is due largely to our dedication to customer needs and attention to detail. Few carriers in today’s market are willing to extend the extra effort it takes to put the personal touch back in this business, which often seems to be nothing more than a numbers game. Every day, we strive to provide traditional, honest, values-based service by being dedicated to meeting the needs of our customers.” 
Usher Transport 2011 Tractor Specifications
Model: Freightliner Cascadia
Wheelbase: 245 in. (sleepers); 185 in. (day cabs)
Engine: Detroit Diesel DD15, 475 HP (sleepers); DD13, 450 HP (day cabs)
Transmission: Eaton Fuller Ultrashift Plus
Driveshafts: Dana Spicer SPL 250 HD XL main, SPL 170 XL inter axle
Front Axle: AF12, 12,000-lb; leaf springs
Power Steering: Sheppard HD94
Rear Axle: Dana Spicer; tandem, 40,000-lb, 3.36 ratio
Rear Suspension: Freightliner, air-ride
ABS: Meritor WABCO 4S/4M, Roll Stability Control
Automatic Slack Adjusters: Meritor
Parking Brakes: Haldex Goldseal Long Stroke
Wheels: Alcoa aluminum
Tires: Michelin X-One XDA Energy 445/50R 22.5 wide-base drive; Michelin XZA3 275/80R22.5 steer
5th Wheel: Fontaine, air slide
Air Compressor: Bendix BA-921
Air Dryer: Bendix
Fan Clutch: Borg Warner (KYSOR) rear air on/off
Batteries: (4) Alliance AGM
Starter: Delco Remy 39 HD-OCP
Alternator: Delco Remy 160 amp, 36 SI
Block Heater: Phillips Temro 1500 watt
Paint: Dupont Elite
Usher Transport Trailer Specifications
Models: Polar and Heil MC 406/407 style tanks
Length: 43 ft.
Landing Gear: Binkley, 50,000-lb. capacity
Axles/Suspension: Hendrickson Intraax AANT23K, 23,000-jb tandem
Oil Seals: Stemco Guardian
ABS: Haldex 4S/2M with TRS (Trailer Roll Stability)
Automatic Slack Adjusters: Meritor
Tires: Michelin 445/50R 22.5
Wheels: Alcoa aluminum
