8 minute read
To monitor or not monitor?
from Modern Tire Dealer - December 2022
by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup
FROM SHOES AND CELL PHONES TO TIRE SERVICE TRAINING
COMMERCIAL TIRE DEALERSHIPS SHARED SAFETY TIPS AT SUMMIT
By Joy Kopcha
Over the past four years, a group of commercial tire dealers has set aside competition in the name of improving safety across their businesses, as well as the whole industry.
At this year’s Safety Leadership Summit, which was recently held at Bridgestone Americas Inc.’s Nashville, Tenn., headquarters, the group included more than 40 representatives from tire dealerships and industry suppliers.
While there are always safety concerns surrounding the handling, installation and removal of tires, participants noted that tire dealers and their employees face other dangers, too.
DISTRACTED DRIVING
One big danger comes from becoming distracted while driving vehicles. Tony Nickel, director of captive and special accounts for Federated Mutual Insurance, told attendees that distracted driving presents risks for all kinds of drivers.
He cited a 2018 poll in which 55% of adults identi ed distracted driving as the top threat on the road. Nine out of 10 of those same drivers admitted to talking on their cell phones while they drive.
Nickel pointed to the rising cost of automotive insurance claims in single fatality accidents. From 2003 to 2016, he says the average claim was $2.1 million.
In two of those years — 2009 and 2016 — the average outpaced the norm and was $2.8 million.
Since then, average amounts have grown to $3.6 million, $4.4 million and $5.1 million in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Nickel said those eye-popping gures should prompt businesses to review their policies on employee driving.
He explained that rules need to be documented and speci c. Requiring drivers to use hands-free technology in a vehicle is not enough. (Federated prohibits its employees from using cell phones while driving.)
Representatives from various commercial tire dealerships across North America gathered for the third Safety Leadership Summit, an event that sprung from a conversation between safety leaders at McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. and Snider Fleet Services. Bridgestone hosted the 2022 summit at its Nashville, Tenn., headquarters.
Photo: Russ Devens
Nickel said a company’s policy needs to be communicated to employees and “regularly re-communicated to employees.” Having an employee only read the policy when initially hired isn’t adequate, he explained.
Also at play in the conversation around cell phone use behind the wheel is that many states have outlawed phone use unless phones are hands-free.
Tire dealers need to be aware of those laws in their home states and in all regions where employees travel for business, says Nickel. ment regulations, safety improvements can come via updated tools and training resources.
Keith Jarman, president of AME International, and Don Tinker, who leads AME’s business development in North America, highlighted the proper use of composite cribbing — along with jack plates — to li commercial trucks and equipment for tire service.
Tinker said that “cribbing is not a one-size- ts-all” tool and AME can o er recommendations of what kind of cribbing is the best t, depending on the kind and size of service truck a tire dealership is using. He added that kits must include jack plates.
ough not always labeled as a tool, a technician’s uniform also serves as part of his or her safety gear.
John Luning, senior manager of Shoes for Crews, talked about his company’s slip-resistant footwear options.
Luning said that 85% of workers’ compensation claims can be traced to employees falling on slick oors. e average cost of a slip or fall accident is $24,000.
Kevin Rohlwing, chief technical o cer for the Tire Industry Association, told attendees that the association is refreshing its Commercial Tire Service (CTS) training content. e updated, 200-level Basic CTS class was released this year and the 300-level Certi ed CTS is in progress now, with a release set for 2023.
Rohlwing said the basic class covers the “how-to” of tire service, while the 300-level class “will focus on the ‘why’ behind key procedures and practices.”
He added that updates will include more video footage from the eld to demonstrate the primary points of servicing truck tire and wheel assemblies. ere also will be an increased emphasis on emergency road service safety and how technicians can protect themselves when away from the shop.
“We’re hoping it will create a higher level of technician.”
MANAGEMENT BUY-IN
ere can be hurdles to setting and enforcing safety policies. One representative from a tire dealership acknowledged her employer once had a policy that banned even hands-free phone use while driving — until the company learned “no one was following it,” including its top leaders. e policy was dialed back because it seemed too risky to have it on the books knowing that it wasn’t being enforced.
Sean Mcilhenney, vice president of risk control for Conner Strong & Buckelew, an insurance broker, said it’s imperative that managers “have a clear understanding of their organization’s safety objectives and are fully invested in achieving those outcomes.”
Brian Rigney, president of Dill Air Controls, talked about the latest in commercial TPMS applications.
Photo: Russ Devens
Russ Devens, director of safety and risk management for McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc., suggested that his fellow safety supervisors talk with their company leaders about how safety practices can o -set the cost of insurance.
“ e main driver is the cost of insurance and reducing claims to try to o -set the cost of insurance, because every year the cost of insurance is increasing,” said Devens. Top-level executives “need to understand that.” Devens reported that McCarthy Tire Service reduced its overall claim expenses in 2021. He said one of the biggest things that helped the Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based dealership change its culture surrounding safety was ensuring that managers at all levels of the company were buying the message.
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TO MONITOR OR NOT MONITOR?
By Joy Kopcha
With an eye on safety, commercial tire dealerships are installing dash cams — some of which use artificial intelligence and telematics-infused technology — to monitor drivers of their vehicles.
The motive isn’t to invade workers’ privacy or activate a “Big Brother” mentality. Instead, dealers say it’s a way to correct and coach employees on safer driving habits and hopefully prevent accidents.
Colony Tire Corp., which is based in Edenton, N.C., has installed cameras in nearly every vehicle in its entire fleet, which numbers around 500 units and includes tractor-trailer trucks, service trucks and box trucks, as well as pickup trucks. Those vehicles are tied to the company’s retail and commercial locations spread across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Adam Britt, director of risk management for Colony Tire, joined the tire dealership in January. He says one of the reasons he came to the company was because Colony’s leadership “has a forward-thinking, proactive safety mindset. When they see an opportunity to improve from a safety standpoint, they’ll do their due diligence, but once they can see the value of it, they jump in with both feet.”
Dash cams have become a piece of Colony Tire’s overall safety program. One factor that helped the company commit to dash cams is the sense that they could provide evidence and protection if an event led to a legal fight.
Britt says when ownership “heard what the litigious landscape was looking like and how dash cams can benefit the company, they didn’t hesitate.”
Colony Tire activated its first camera in February 2019.
Even in the last three years, camera technology and capabilities have evolved. Colony Tire opted to hire Lytx, a company that specializes in telematics services, including cameras, for fleets.
There are front- and rear-facing cameras installed in Colony Tire’s vehicles. Britt says the cameras are triggered to activate and record by certain actions sensed by the vehicle’s telematics system, such as hard braking, hard cornering or acceleration.
What happens next varies by camera vendor and the notification parameters a customer like Colony Tire establishes.
Every instance of hard braking or following another vehicle closely doesn’t necessarily need Britt’s immediate attention. For example, sometimes a vehicle is driving in rush hour traffic.
With Lytx, Britt says the vendor has a human who filters and rates every recorded incident. And if a trigger hits a certain threshold on that scale, it sends an alert to Colony Tire.
Britt reviews those incidents and can also search all of the recorded incidents for certain behaviors.
Colony Tire has out tted all of its company vehicles with Lytx cameras. This model, which is in Adam Britt’s truck, relies on telematics triggers to activate recording. Captured footage is reviewed and rated by the camera supplier and also is available to the tire dealership for review.
Photo: Colony Tire
Putting cameras in trucks is just one piece of the safety equation. Commercial Tire Inc. Safety Manager Casey McGrew says his company has learned it needs to review and update its safety policies as it works to coach and correct driver habits.
Photo: Commercial Tire
