fmc csa 12 002 smc overview

7/29/2019 Fmc Csa 12 002 Smc Overview

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What Is the Safety Management Cycle?FMCSA developed the SMC to help SIs and motor carriers e ectively address motor carrier sa ety and compliance issues and to improvecompliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Sa ety Regulations (FMCSRs). Applying the SMC is a step-by-step process thatlooks at why the sa ety and compliance issues are occurring rather than just identi ying the violation (the what). The toolprovides a ramework or brainstorming remedies, choosing solutions, and designing and implementing plans to improve themotor carriers sa ety operations. The SMC consists o six Sa ety Management Processes (SMPs).

What Are the Safety Management Processes?The SMPs are six areas o a motor carriers operations, laid out in a specifc order, that all work together to

orm the SMC.

Policies and Procedures defnes the what and how o a motor carriers operations. Policies establish theguidelines or how motor carriers and their employees behave in a given situation. Procedures explain how toaccomplish policies. The other fve SMPs ocus on how to implement the policies and procedures. (Continued on page 2)

Safety Management Cycle

This factsheet introduces motor carriers to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations (FMCSA) new investigative process and its signature tool, the Safety Management Cycle (SMC). The SMC tool is designed to helpenforcement staff and motor carriers assess how well a motor carriers

safety management controls support safe operations. A motor carrier can use the SMC at any time; however, it can be particularly helpfulto a motor carrier after it has reviewed its violations and crashhistory on the Safety Measurement System (SMS) . This overview describes a framework that covers all of the seven Behavior

Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). However,when Safety Investigators (SIs) and/or motor carriers apply theSMC, they use SMC tools and guidance tailored to each BASIC .

Policies andProcedures

1.

Roles andResponsibilitie

2.

Quali cationand Hiring

3.

Training andCommunication

4.

Monitoring and Tracking

5.

Meaningful Action

6.

Safety Management

Cycle

START

The Safety Management Cycle, or SMC, consists of

the six Safety Management Processes, or SMPs,

outlined in the graphic above.

This document identifes tools motor carriers can use to establish and improve appropriatesa ety management controls, thereby reducing or eliminating violations. Motor carriers anddrivers are reminded, however, that they are ultimately responsible or ensuring compliancewith all applicable regulations.

U.S. Department of TransportationFederal Motor Carrier Safety AdministrationHTTP://CSA.FMCSA.DOT.GOV | JANUARY 2013 FMC-CSA-12-00

FMCSAs Safety Management Cycle Overview
http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/smshttp://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Resources.aspx?locationid=58http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Resources.aspx?locationid=58http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms


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U.S. Department of TransportationFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Safety Management Cycle An Overview of the Safety Management Cycle

2HTTP://CSA.FMCSA.DOT.GOV | JANUARY 2013 FMC-CSA-12-00

Roles and Responsibilities clearly defnes what each employee should do to success ully implement the policies

and procedures.Qualifcation and Hiring discusses recruiting and screening applicants to ulfll the roles and responsibilities or positions.

Training and Communication outlines a motor carriers communication o its policies, procedures, roles, and responsibilities sothat everyone understands the expectations and has the adequate skills and knowledge to per orm their assigned unction.

Monitoring and Tracking concentrates on the need to have a system in place to monitor and track employee per ormancethat enables companies to be aware o their employees sa ety per ormance and compliance with its policies and proceduresand how they execute their roles and responsibilities. Monitoring represents the motor carrier looking at the per ormance o the operation, and Tracking is assessing the data collected leading to Meaning ul Action.

Meaning ul Action gives motor carriers the tools to correct or improve employee behavior, including, or example, re reshertraining and positive rein orcement such as rewards or bonuses, in order to improve the motor carriers overall sa ety per ormance.

How Is the Safety Management Cycle Used?The SMC is used by the FMCSA during investigations. The SMC is also use ul in helping motor carriers identi y and take actions toimprove their sa ety compliance. Below are the general steps a motor carrier should ollow in applying the SMC to its operation.

Step 1 Review the companys violations and crash history on the SMS or trends.

Step 2 Assess each o the SMPs, starting with the Policies and Procedures, to determine which contains process breakdownsthat contribute to crashes and/or violations. Each SMP highlights the kinds o sa ety management controls thatare needed to ensure strong sa ety per ormance and where they may be breaking down. A company or an SI usesthe SMC to identi y which processes are not working well and are contributing to the motor carriers violation(s) o theFMCSRs and/or crashes.

Step 3 Assess why the breakdowns are occurring in that process and identi y Sa ety Improvement Practices (SIPs) toaddress these problems. SIPs are identifed within each SMP and motor carriers can implement them to beginimproving their sa ety per ormance.

Step 4 Select and prioritize SIPs to address improving sa ety compliance, create an implementation plan appropriate orcompany size and available resources, implement the plan, and monitor and track progress and the e ect on thecompanys BASIC percentile ranks over time.

Subscribe to the CSA Website to learn about additional SMC materials when they are published.

(Continued from page 1)
http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/resources.aspxhttp://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/resources.aspxhttp://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/


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Case Study

CSA Program Helps Small Motor Carriers with Safety Management*This case study is not based on real events or an actual motor carrier.

BackgroundConan Trucking is a small motor carrier in Hart ord, Connecticut that transports vehicles rom auto auctions todealerships on the East Coast. Frank Conan has owned Conan Trucking or over 20 years and inherited it rom his

ather Andy. When Conan Trucking began exceeding the Intervention Threshold in one o CSAs Behavior Analysisand Sa ety Improvement Categories (BASICs), Mr. Conan received a warning letter rom the Federal Motor CarrierSa ety Administration (FMCSA), and then six months later Sa ety Investigator (SI) Angela Jones called Mr. Conanto schedule an Onsite Investigation and request documents to review during the visit. Investigations are important

opportunities to in orm motor carriers o their sa ety problems and provide them with tools to better their sa ety practices. During investigations, SIs will provide a report o their fndings, including violations noted, and may

ollow up with en orcement (e.g., fnes). Some reviews also result in a sa ety rating.

SituationOn the day o the investigation, SI Angela Jones arrived at Conan Trucking to check its compliance with theFederal Motor Carrier Sa ety Regulations (FMCSRs). She was ocusing on the companys Sa ety MeasurementSystem (SMS) in ormation, specifcally on the FMCSRs related to the Hours-o -Service (HOS) Compliance BASIC.Conan Truckings percentile rank in that BASIC was above the Intervention Threshold and the company had notmade progress in addressing its sa ety issues since it received the warning letter. A high percentile rank in any o the BASICs means lower sa ety compliance. Conan Truckings HOS Compliance BASIC was high due to multiple

alse logs and logs not current violations as seen in the details o the SMS.

SI Jones began the Onsite Investigation by reviewing the documents she had requested rom Mr. Conan includingdriver(s) records o duty status (RODS). Her review indicated that drivers might be alsi ying their RODS. She urtherinvestigated the matter and requested additional documentation, such as bills o lading, uel receipts, toll receipts,and/or pay records rom Mr. Conan, to fnd the source o noncompliance. Review o this additional documentationshowed repeated paperwork inconsistencies. She was able to pinpoint a contributing actor, which was that whilethe motor carrier did have the necessary records, Conan Trucking was not checking and veri ying driver RODS withthe trip receipts and other available documentation.

A ter documenting her fndings, SI Jones closed out the investigation by reviewing with Mr. Conan whatshe ound and walking him through FMCSAs Sa ety Management Cycle (SMC). SI Jones described toMr. Conan the SMCs intent, how to use it, how it could be applied to the situation she discovered during herinvestigation o Conan Trucking, and how Mr. Conan could use the tool on an ongoing basis. An essential parto this closeout was to engage Mr. Conan in a process designed to help him identi y the issues himsel so thathe could take responsibility or the solution. Mr. Conan wanted to know what action he could take to makeeverything right. SI Jones pointed him to the SMS Website where he could review his sa ety in ormation andexplained how he could use the SMC as a tool to improve his companys sa ety compliance. (Continued on page 4)

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/


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ApproachTogether, as part o the closeout o the investigation, SI Jones and Mr. Conan used the SMC to do an in-depthassessment o Conan Truckings process breakdowns that led to the alse RODS and ound ways to fx them.They began by reviewing the SMCs six steps, or Sa ety Management Processes (SMPs). Conan Truckings policiesand procedures were in place, and employees had well-defned roles and responsibilities. However, SI Jonesnoticed process breakdowns in two o the six SMPs, specifcally Training and Communication and Monitoringand Tracking.

Using the SMC they discovered that Mr. Conans employee, who was assigned to monitor and track RODS, was notproperly trained to check or alsifcation. Conan Trucking had a policy and procedure in place or drivers to submitRODS, but drivers didnt know the HOS regulations and the sa ety rationale behind them. SI Jones brought to Mr.Conans attention that i his company had been checking several other supporting documents, such as toll and/or

uel receipts, inaccuracies would have been ound.

The SMC also brought to Mr. Conans attention that his employee had never raised the issue o inaccuraterecords and never gave drivers any eedback about their RODS. As a result, Conan Truckings on-road sa ety per ormance in the HOS Compliance BASIC was poor relative to its peers.

SolutionUsing the SMC during the closeout o the Onsite Investigation provided Mr. Conan with the knowledge and tool touncover his companys process breakdowns and to continually evaluate his companys sa ety processes. He wasable to resolve those breakdowns by identi ying Sa ety Improvement Practices: educating his drivers on the HOS

regulations and about the importance o accurately logging duty status changes and the sa ety rationale behindthis requirement and training them on what is expected. Also, he took the time to sit down with his employee andtrain him on RODS so that he knew how to check or alsifcation and give drivers eedback about their RODS.

Mr. Conans work paid o when his companys roadside inspection results improved over time and ConanTrucking no longer exceeded the Intervention Threshold in that BASIC. He can also breathe easier now that heis armed with FMCSAs SMC and has a tool to guide him in his sa ety operations. Use o the SMC and CSA toolscould also help his company to avoid en orcement action, such as assessment o civil penalties or regulatory violations. The SMC helped him diagnose his companys process breakdowns related to the HOS ComplianceBASIC. This case study demonstrates how a motor carrier can use the SMC to work through the six SMPs inorder to improve its sa ety compliance.

Case Study (Continued from page 3)

This is an of cial U.S. government publication, produced and disseminated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

CSA is FMCSAs en orcement program to improve large truck and bus sa ety and ultimately reduce CMV-related crashes,injuries, and atalities. For more in ormation about CSA, visit http://csa. mcsa.dot.gov


fmc csa 12 002 smc overview

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