Safety
Pursuing Armstrong’s Mission Statement requires that we act as “passionate team members working together to deliver excellence in… safety.”
Approach
The success of Armstrong’s approach to safety is evidenced by our uninterrupted coverage by a single insurance carrier since 1957. In addition to our in-house Safety Department, we have an Agency Safety Representative at each agency who reports directly to his/her agency President. The six-component Safety Management Cycle of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides the framework for continuous improvement.
Measurement
Our Agency Safety Representatives prepare and execute an annual Safety Action Plan. This plan is used to document satisfaction of and continuous improvement in key safety performance metrics. Metrics are derived from Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, van line mandates, and our own procedures, controls and policies. Maintaining a lower-than-industry Experience Modification Rate is a key result.
Training
Agency Safety Representatives earn certification through participation in a Safety Planning Workshop and successful completion of six online courses. Certification modules include driver qualifications, vehicle inspections, pre-trip checklists, maintenance logs, hours of service compliance and overall Safety Performance Rating. Armstrong’s Safety Department, our insurer, outside consultants and UniGroup’s Safety Department conduct training and coaching.
We provide safety training meeting curriculum to our Agency Safety Representatives for weekly use with operations personnel. Additionally, they conduct recurring driver review sessions and perform frequent site visit audits on jobs-in-process.