Safety Coordinator Going to CDL School

A tanker company I drove for had a ride-along program for new office employees. They sent a young guy out with me on the Friday before Memorial Day to make local hauls. We were loading off the pipeline at Chico and delivering in the immediate area. Day shift.
My rider was a polite young man, quiet, but he asked all the right questions. Other than that he kept his mouth shut, which I appreciated.
After an 11 hour shift of idiotic pre holiday drivers, last minute dispatch changes, crammed service stations, people running over my cones, and one clueless lady who demanded (not asked but demanded) that I fill her Porsche directly from my truck because the service station lines were too long, we went back to the terminal.
I asked my rider what he thought of our day. He grinned and said "I think I know now why they don't let you guys carry guns on the trucks". Perfect answer. I figured he'd be okay.
He stayed with us a few years and when the company busted up he finished out his career at one of our competitors.

 

I honestly applaud that someone wants to be better and get a real understanding!

Please don’t think that I don’t see the possibility of this being a good thing because it can be. It’s just that my experiance has shown me there is a lot more to the Jobs mentioned. Minimal training is only a start but when your the one in charge such as Safety Corrdinator (Administrator) and/or Training Coordinator you need to understand these are the folks with the final say. Thier decisions effect everyone and having real experiance is of great importance.

By the way I have held both positions in the past as I needed to be doing something other than sitting in the truck after Knee and Hip surgery. So I don’t look upon thier position lightly and will most likely be harder on them than most because I have seen the good and the bad and know first hand how important and how thier decisions impact everyone.

 

Good post. I've seen it happen twice, both times with big companies. They get into a bind where the regulatory agencies are breathing down their neck so as part of their show of good intentions they hang the safety guy out to dry.
I saw one guy with almost twenty years of being a good company man get thrown directly under the bus by upper management. His replacement was a driver with over twenty years of service. They made the same mistakes, got the same results, and fired him too. They were one of the old line companies and it wasn't long after that that they sold out to one of their competitors.
LOL...I'm the safety person at our place. I think my job is safe because I'm also the owner. I'd hate to have to fire myself.

 

Look for understanding, not just knowledge.

For example, measure the space you're given on the cdl test backing range. Then measure the space you give drivers at your DC. All of a sudden you'll understand why you have so many backing accidents.

In the same vein, try setting up two cones ten feet apart and do an alley dock back so the dot bumper is ends up between the cones and is parallel to the line the cones make. Now do it again with a line extending out from the "dock". Now you'll understand the importance of painting lines (and repainting them).

Take a truck around your yard at night. Look at how the lighting impacts your driving - especially around your guard shack. Yeah, that light mounted above the guard shack makes life easier for the guards, but it's shinning right in my eyes as I try to pull up next to the guard.

Try reading the signs in your yard from the truck. You'll understand why no one follow that 8×12 sign with 24 pt font.

Leave your trailer chocked with the rubber chocks and pulp out and you'll learn why drivers never bother with the things. Or better yet chock the tire and dump the trailer air and watch the tire roll over it.

You're not going to learn enough if 4 weeks to be able to do the job, but if you apply yourself you should be able to learn how to make a safe environment.


My problem with safety critters is they mouth platitudes instead of dealing with the underlying issues.

 

I used to own my own little transportation company. The boss was cool at first, but after a while, he became a real prick. I had to fire him.