CSA 2010 isn't coming... it's here!
Posted on Tue, Jan 05, 2010 @ 03:18 PM
The
FMCSA is tentatively scheduled to roll out
CSA 2010 in the second half of the year but it’s already too late if you haven’t begun taking steps to ensure a positive outcome.
The fallacy of the second half roll out is that, like any program, it needs data to rate when it goes live. That data is being collected now and has been collected for the last eighteen months.
CSA 2010 will replace the current
SafeStat system. Notably it will generate carrier Safety Ratings without the need for a Compliance Review by simply analyzing roadside inspection violation and crash data. Even more important is that it will analyze all violations not just the out-of-service violations the current system uses.
New for CSA 2010 is a
driver component. For the first time in its history the FMCSA will now rate individual drivers based on their violations on roadside inspections and their motor vehicle records (MVR). The FMCSA may declare drivers “unfit” separate from any action which may or may not be taken by the state which issued their
CDL (based on points for instance). A nationwide database of driver violation histories will be made available to carriers as CSA 2010 is rolled out.
Simply stated, carriers need to be taking steps now to educate their people, especially their drivers. Everyone in the organization needs to understand how their decisions and their performance will impact the carrier's Safety Rating. Education is probably the single most important key to a satisfactory outcome when CSA 2010 goes live.
Drivers need to understand now more than ever the importance of performing a thorough pre-trip inspection every day and reporting safety-related defects to their Maintenance Department so they can be repaired before the truck hits the road and before they’re discovered on a roadside inspection and become data for CSA 2010.
Drivers need to understand that traffic, license, log and similar driver violations will- for the first time in DOT history- will impact their own safety fitness rating, not just the carriers.
Carriers need to ensure their maintenance programs are performing at the highest possible level. Not carrying proof of preventive maintenance, for example, carries the highest weight rating of any violation. Not all violations are created equal.
Carriers need to act quickly to educate themselves and their people on the mechanics and potential ramifications of CSA 2010.