Business Purpose of CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) Program

CSA From a Business Standpoint

The purpose of the CSA program has always been to measure motor carrier safety performance, identify potentially unsafe carriers, and enforce interventions on carriers to get them in line with industry standards.

To take this a step further, is the business purpose of this program properly defined? How are carriers to manage their companies in a manner to meet what has been declared as a priority for the industry? How does management successfully go about transforming safety components into operational demands? What actions are needed to create compliance and implement sustainable countermeasures?

The CSA program has two aspects: what motor carriers must do better to satisfy their customers (both internal and external), and what motor carriers must do better to survive and prosper as players in the transportation industry. The FMCSA - in delivering the CSA program to the industry - also gave managers of motor carriers an antidote, or a tool, to assist them in addressing these two aspects. It is the Safety Management Cycle.

The Safety Management Cycle is a tool for meeting industry standards. An instrument or blueprint for uncovering weaknesses within a company is only a partial description of this managerial asset. It leads management to identifying and improving processes within its company by encouraging the following questions:

• What are the leading issues causing high BASIC scores?
• Who are the contributors to these issues?
• How capable, available, and adequate are the processes the company has in place to prevent these scores from rising even higher?
• How capable, available, and adequate are the training and support administered by the company for all employees?

The Safety Management Cycle then takes management through a self-audit of company policies and procedures, roles and responsibilities of employees, qualification and hiring practices, training and communication, monitoring and tracking performances, and finally, the meaningful action taken by management to recognize/reward employees for improvements made in specific areas.

The FMCSA has set the standard that managers of motor carriers must meet. If the carrier's performance falls short of these standards, the Safety Management Cycle will not only recognize how wide the gap may be, but will also make the connection between the proper steps to take to be compliant with industry standards and still meet the business needs of the motor carrier. 

FleetMentor is also good business

Effective policies and procedures are crucial in any safety management program. Although not mandated in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) - other than a DOT drug and alcohol policy - they are referenced as "safety management controls" when a carrier is investigated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In fact, it is "expected" that motor carriers have mechanisms in place to demonstrate that they are safe operations that are compliant with the FMCSRs.

FleetMentor's Policy and Procedure Handbook provides comprehensive handbook templates for creating best-in-industry policies and procedures. Simply select a template and customize the suggested policies or build your own by selecting your own policies. You'll find it in FleetMentor's Toolbox in the Operations category.