Why Pursue Certified Director of Safety (CDS)?

My father, Austin D. Farrell was a NATMI (North American Transportation Management Institute) instructor back when the organization was known by its former name: The National Committee for Fleet Supervisory Training (I think I got that right). Every autumn, my family would pack up and head to State College, PA for a couple of days. My dad would teach his fleet safety and fleet maintenance management classes while my mother would take me and my siblings for a walk around the Penn State campus. We’d meet up with dad for dinner and stroll along “College Ave” to soak up the excitement of campus life.

My father was one of the few professionals to hold all of the National Committee certifications and I will always be proud of him for his willingness to “give back” by volunteering his time to teach those courses each fall.

When I graduated from Penn State many years later, I wound up working as a safety professional for Reliance Insurance Company in Philadelphia. Don Smith, then Executive Director of the National Committee, invited me to participate in several classes at University of Delaware in 1990-91 including Motor Fleet Safety Basics and the Basic/Advanced Accident Investigation workshops (with Tim Mowery).

Although I had taken the necessary classes to pursue certification, I put off the CSS/CDS test and professional exhibit notebook. At the time I felt that I was too busy with work and with home life (getting married, raising a family). However, certification always seemed like something “I’d get around to doing eventually”.

Well, when I joined Nationwide in February (25 years after taking my first NATMI course), I asked our department leadership team to give me the flexibility to pursue certification in the midst of an overwhelming work load and fleet insurance profitability crisis. They could have easily said; “Not right now, come back to it later” but thankfully they encouraged me to “get it done”.

Why now?

For me it was simple –

As our leadership team noted, as professionals, we need to be constantly working to improve our skills, network of contacts, and fostering of innovation (instead of putting things off forever)

I felt that my credibility, while built from the school of hard knocks and thousands of fleet surveys, was incomplete or hollow without the professional certification as a capstone or hallmark showing that I wasn’t merely professional in my duties, but that I am a “professional” among peers (as evaluated against a standard “yardstick”)

I was leading a team of regional fleet specialists, and I knew I would eventually ask them to consider becoming certified. However, it would be uncomfortable to ask them to step up when I hadn’t done so myself. It’s critical (IMHO) for a leader to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

Further, NATMI provides excellent speaking points on the value of certification at their own web site:

1. Training and certification help fleets reduce collision rates, injury rates, recruit and retain qualified drivers, avoid fines and penalties and present a favorable public image by pursuing a higher standard than is required.
2. For the employer who invests in their supervisors, managers and directors, it brings an effectiveness boost to the bottom line and shows that top management is willing to invest to be successful over the long term.

I love the way NATMI summarizes the benefits to the applicant:

Certification is a formal means of establishing a professional reputation, a process for improving your work performance and advancing your career. Certification measures your professionalism against objective standards respected industry-wide. Certification means you have been tested against a standard and have succeeded. The process of certification is designed not only to measure your current level of competence but improve your performance and take you to a new level of ability.

So, after reading about 1200 pages of pre-classroom material, spending four days in the classroom with safety teams from various fleets, passing a 100 question exam and submitting a two inch thick notebook binder to “defend” why I ought to be called CDS, it finally was approved.

I have to admit that I learned a lot through the process (despite my many years of experience!) I met great contacts who I regularly communicate with on various “real world issues”, and I’m thinking about other designations that I would like to pursue. I find myself encouraging my peers to pursue additional education, especially leading to a certification, if at all possible. It’s a big commitment, but a greater reward when it’s all done.

Lastly, some final benefit thoughts from NATMI’s site (if you or your employer isn’t already convinced):

From a survey of Certified Directors of Safety, recipients stated that NATMI training and certification directly enhanced their ability to:

• Lower the company’s accident rate (86%)
• Achieve a lower occupational injury rate (83%)
• Control costs associated with accident litigation (100%)
• Comply with regulatory requirements (87%)

Paul Farrell, CDS

New Milford, NJ

eaglescoutpaul@yahoo.com

“Running” a Safety Program

I want to draw a few parallels or similarities between running a safety program and, well, running. I’ve been a runner for a significant part of my life – since high school days, in fact, and trust me, that was a while ago! That doesn’t mean that I’m in perfect shape or that I’m extremely thin. It also doesn’t mean that there have not been setbacks (injuries).

Specifically, I want to talk about training for and running a marathon. Yes, I’ve run them and, in fact, I’m training for one now that will go off on January 3rd of next year in Jacksonville, Florida. The distance, 26.2 miles, is a long way and requires some thought before you actually undertake the training and the race itself. Here is where the word commitment comes in. Add to that the backing of your loved ones, as it is going to take you out of the house to run several days each week for various amounts of time.

 Next, you are going to have to pay attention to the method(s) you are using to get your body in shape to accomplish such a task. What kind of shoes should I get? What kind of running shorts and tops are best? How about nutrition? Should I get a coach, or trainer to learn a little more? Each person is unique; it will never be “one size fits all”. Most of us are only competing against ourselves, seeking to improve on the last time out.

Lastly, you have to remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint! The training usually takes from 10 to 20 weeks and that’s if you are already a runner. While you are actually running the race, you must also remember to pace yourself; you have a long way to go. When I am asked what my favorite part of a marathon is, I always say “the finish line”!

Now, what could all this possibly have to do with safety or a safety program? The short answer is plenty. Much has been said about CSA or the SMS scores, both good and bad. Yes, I will agree that if you are a very small carrier you may seem to be unfairly targeted. However, I’ve spent almost all of my working life in the trucking industry going from the loading docks, to driving, to training and finally into safety management. I find CSA to be a great resource for safety professionals, a tool to be used to improve upon the scores those insurance companies, shippers, and enforcement personnel all view.

Remember the first thing you must realize before undertaking a marathon? It’s going to take commitment and time. Let’s say you have a couple of BASIC scores in alert status, or maybe they are just a bit too high for your liking. The executives or owners of the company want the scores lowered — understandable. My first question would be, what kind of commitment exists here? Is the support “top down”? Is there backing from the very top to get this done? Does everyone realize that it’s going to take time? If the answer to all of this is in the affirmative, let’s look at the next step.

We need to look at what the violations are and who is committing them when they are driver based, and exactly what is causing them on the maintenance side. You have a fantastic asset available to you in your drivers. Most will always want to be able to improve. Show them where the problems are and what they can do to help improve the scores.

Also keep them abreast of the progress being made; trust me, they will be interested. Maybe additional driver training will be required. Maybe additional training will be required for the safety professional. NATMI has much to offer for the safety supervisor and safety director as well as similar training on the maintenance side.

I’ll end with this; remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint! Escalating scores are not going to go down in a couple of months. In fact, it may take up to 2 years to get some of the BASICs where you would like them. A good safety program is an endurance race against the past.

With proper support and time, with proper training and commitment, you will improve your safety performance! Nothing beats the feeling of success, whether it’s crossing the finish line in a road race or seeing your company’s safety scores show marked improvement!

Steven P Norbeck CDS, CDT (retired)

spnorbeck@gmail.com