Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Motor Carriers Can Now Preview the First Package of SMS Enhancements

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is pleased to announce that motor carriers can now preview the first package of changes to the Safety Measurement System (SMS). FMCSA designed SMS to be improved over time as better technology, new data, and additional analysis become available. This release is the first in a series of improvements to SMS that will take place up to twice a year. FMCSA is providing a preview period for motor carriers and enforcement personnel before it uses the SMS changes to prioritize motor carriers for safety interventions and before it makes those changes available to the public. The SMS Preview begins on March 27, 2012 and runs through late June 2012.

These first enhancements are the agency’s response to findings from its ongoing analyses of data and input from enforcement, industry, and other safety stakeholders. During the SMS Preview, FMCSA is collecting, assessing, and addressing feedback from preview participants, and may further refine the SMS enhancements prior to public implementation in summer 2012.

As of March 27, 2012, carriers can access the SMS Preview through two websites:
1. Visit the CSA Website (https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.aspx) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or
2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login ) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results.

On the CSA Website’s Resources page, motor carriers and other stakeholders can access a foundational document that provides additional information about the first set of SMS changes. A Federal Register notice outlining the changes is also available for review.  Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

Thank You,
CSA Web Team
USDOT/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Monday, March 19, 2012

Free for Clients: LoadTrek.phone Orientation and Training

Title:
LoadTrek Training - Review of LoadTrek.Phone Solution
Date:
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Time:
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/776161656

Monday, March 12, 2012

Free for LoadTrek Clients: LoadTrek 201 - Advanced Driver Rotations

Title:
LoadTrek Training - Advanced Driver Rotations
Date:
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Time:
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/128713241

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Where is the LoadTrek Mobile Training Lab?

The LoadTrek Mobile Training Lab is currently on a midwest and east coast tour.  The purpose; to provide training for our clients, learn the latest trends and concerns, interact with our partners, and meet with new fleets.  

The Mobile Lab's driver rotates on each tour.  All LoadTrek Mobile Lab drivers electronically log their hours using LoadTrek's EOBR and follow their LoadTrek dynamic dispatch and routing plan.  You can view travel notes, the planned route, and real time information at http://www.loadtrek.net/loadtrek_net/MobileLab.aspx

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Manage Minutiae: It's What You Do

Transportation efficiency is all about making the most of many small improvements.  Below is an excerpt from Transport Topics' Jonathan Reiskin's interview with the Technology and Maintenance Council's Carl Kirk that applies to many aspects of logistics - not just maintenance:


People unfamiliar with maintenance might dismiss the meeting as “minutiae,” said TMC Executive Director Carl Kirk, “but that’s what we do.”

Kirk said a steady stream of small improvements is how maintenance shops improve reliability and reduce costs. He cited fuel economy as an example.

“It is incremental measures that help improve fuel economy,” Kirk said, indicating that the engineers are trying to combine numerous small changes rather than discover a single blockbuster leap in technology.

Free for LoadTrek Clients: LoadTrek 101 - Lesson 14: Maintenance Plane

Title:
LoadTrek 101 - Lesson 14: Maintenance Plane
Date:
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Time:
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CST

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
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Mail Haulers Monitor USPS Funding Crisis, Government Response to Payment Deadline

http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation/freight-package-postal-shipping-service/16697470-1.html

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Ten Business Tips – by Byron Reese


1. Separate Your Ego from Your Job.

You are far more than what you do. If your business fails, it failed, not you. If someone doesn’t like your product or your idea, you can’t let it get you down. Don’t let other people define how you feel about yourself. 

This is very useful, because

2. You Will Be Wrong More Often Than You Are Right.

There are simply more wrong answers than right ones. The goal is to occasionally be right. But since your ego isn’t tied to what you do, it’s OK to be wrong and make mistakes. They don’t bother you.

The reason this is all true is because

3. Good Ideas Look a Lot Like Bad Ideas.

Except in retrospect. Then it all seems obvious. But at the time, it’s really hard to tell them apart. The world is just too complicated. 

So how do you make progress in such a world?

4. Enlightened Trial and Error Outperforms the Reasoning of a Flawless Intellect.

In other words, you learn by doing, not by thinking. Try a lot of stuff. Fail often. Keep trying. Don’t let it get you down. 

It’s tempting to try to figure things all out. But be warned:

5. Don't Believe Everything You Think.

Just because something makes sense to you, doesn’t mean it makes sense. Think of all the times in the past you felt one way about something and now, looking back, you can’t believe you thought that way. Don’t let this paralyze you. Just remember to keep an open mind. 

Similarly, when making decisions, there is another useful rule of thumb:

6. The Person Who Argues Best is Not More Likely to be Right

We are trained to listen to arguments and make choices on whoever made the best case. This rewards good debaters, not good ideas. Try to see past how people say things, how convincing they are, what statistics they cite. They could argue the other side just as well. 

So how do you make decisions? It’s actually easy:

7. Trust Your Gut.

Never use “your gut” as an excuse not to do the hard work of learning the facts and thinking about them. But in the end, trust your gut. Your mind works in ways you don’t understand and gives you the results of experiences you have long forgotten and wouldn’t apply to this situation. Listen to it. Plus, nothing makes you feel more like an idiot than going against your gut and then being wrong.

This leads us to the next point:

8. Have a Bias Towards Action.

If it’s all about trying and failing, then try lots of things. Babe Ruth may have hit a lot of home runs, but he struck out more than anyone else too. Failing and success go hand-in-hand. Just get out there and play.

Then it follows that

9. Perseverance is All That Matters.

I don’t want to sound like a motivational poster, but it’s like the old saying, “What you will not let go of, no man can take from you.” You only have failed when you finally quit. Otherwise, the jury is still out. Stick with it. You will be wrong a lot, make boneheaded mistakes, be convinced you are on to something only to fail. That’s life. 

Finally

10. In Business, Lists of Ten Things Are More Credible Than Nine

It makes it look like poor planning if you only have nine points. Put a 10th one in there. Really jazz the list up. It can be a pretty useless point, but sometimes you have to play the game. Think about that. There is more to this tip than you realize.

LoadTrek 101 - Lesson 13: Analysis Plane


Title:
LoadTrek 101 - Lesson 13: Analysis Plane
Date:
Monday, March 5, 2012
Time:
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CST





Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
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