COMPLIANCE REVIEW NOT NEW ENTRANT

Do you know who your auditor will be? A few years ago we had Steven Sprague(sp) from the UP post come down for 4 days. He is extremely thorough, fair but firm. He will go thru your trucks & trailers, shop and equipment. Most of his time will be spent going thru all your paperwork- logs, fuel receipts, bol's, maintenance, pay checks, etc. He will look over your shoulder to learn how your business is run, he takes ALOT of notes.
He wanted 6 months of all drivers logs and goes thru each page to match tolls, miles, hos, and travel time. He will take some of your paperwork with him when he leaves each day and goes thru them that night at his hotel room.
My best advice is to make his job easy as possible by getting things in order.
On the last day of our audit he sat the drivers (we have 5 drivers), dispatch and owners down in a group and dropped the hammer, mostly because fuel and tolls didn't match logs, and our maintenance program only consisted of fixing what's broken.
We did have those few violations but at the last minute he said he wasn't going to assign fines to us, IF we vow to not let them happen going forward. We ended up with a satisfactory safety rating that day but he said we will be monitored and if he comes back a second time it won't be pretty. Fair but firm.

 

I do compliance in Texas. So I don't know how things are done in Michigan , but here in Texas my ex company went through a new entrant review. The auditor just went through our logs, maintenance files, dq files (and went thoroughly through them), wanted to see our operating authority, drug screens etc. All our stuff was in order so we passed. If they were to come in a do a maintenance review and inspect the shop and trucks, the company just might be out of business! The company started in July last year, by the time I was hired in August, they were already at 50% and rising on their CSA scores! Best advice for anybody doing compliance, check the state laws, make sure everything is documented and in order. Just like a inspection at the scales but more thorough.

 

None of the stuff that happened in the past is your fault. Try to get everything organized into piles: Log Books; inspection reports, drug testing program. Do not under any circumstances try to correct anything from the past. You personally trying to fix something from the past with a cross out, addition or deletion will get YOU in trouble. Let them do the talking and do not offer anything other than what they ask for. The less you talk the better. I think they will ask you questions like: Show me the fuel reciepts and log book for driver XYZ for the time period ABC. Then you get the documents from your stack and give them to the inspector. Do not let the inspector rummage through your stack of papers willy nilly. Give them what they ask for nothing more. Practice saying 'I do not know'.

 

Well right now you can let the inspection take place and if you get fired, it doesn't reflect on you.

Hope you are making good money doing this.

 

Sorry I am late to the party, vacation trip this week with limited outside interactions. You have been given good advice in this thread, try your best to get organized, it will help the process along. You can explain you just took over, tell the inspector the company is being proactive, working to improve safety and compliance.

The auditor is not going to like the new applications, they will want to see references checked, and be sure the drug testing program is in order. This can shut down a carrier if it is incorrect.

As for log books, sort by driver and date, dump any over 6 months old and review internally a random sample for violations, this will show you have started a hours of service audit program which hopefully will gain you some mercy from the auditor. Mark the violations you discover in red ink and submit to the driver (if still employed) to correct, you can't correct the log only the driver can edit it.

Review your CSA scorecard, see where the company has been deficient in the past and whip up some memos and an action plan to improve your compliance in those areas, having an action plan prior to a compliance review will help lessen the enforcement actions (fines, suspension, down grade).

Basically show you are trying to improve and most auditors will help you out, as long as your company hasn't been in deep trouble in the past.

Good luck.

 

You never know it might not be that bad. Early in my career I got the dreaded phone call as well. It turn out to be just fine. I had a few things that they could of got me on but instead they choose to try and educate me instead.

 

Any updates..?

 

When the Department of Transportation visits for a Compliance Review or Investigation, the result isn’t always Satisfactory. In many cases, a DOT Officer or Investigator will find enough falsified evidence or files not as complete as they should be. If there are violations deemed as critical, this can result in a Carrier Status placed in Conditional, Unsatisfactory, or even Out of Service.

During most DOT Investigations, the DOT Official will start out by going through a Carriers’ driver files. If the Compliance Review was red flagged for DOT due to driver concerns, the official will pull up a list of drivers he/she deems to be the most questionable. From here, the Official will collect documentation from the Carrier, requesting files from the first pre-employment drug screening and previous employment background checks, all the way through to the latest annual driving record review. Furthermore, some files must be kept for at least 3 years.

Hours of Service, in my opinion, is one of the most scrutinized areas of an Investigation. According to FMCSA rules and regulations, a Carrier must keep 6 months worth of H.O.S. logs per driver. The DOT Official will randomly pick a month for each driver being scrutinized and then record errors in form and manor, verifications, and falsifications. A certain amount of verifications must be found in order for the Official to move on to the next driver. Verifications consist of confirming that the driver is where he/she says they are according to their log flagging by going through fuel reports, fuel receipts, scale-house tickets, BOL’s, etc. If there are not enough verifications to be found for this driver, another driver will be added to the list of scrutiny in order to reach the verification quota. So, if you’ve considered burning your drivers logs to dispose of any incriminating evidence, think again. Furthermore, doing so could also be jail time for management. Because H.O.S is put through so much scrutiny, this is the number 1 reason that a Carriers’ driver logs should be monitored at all times.

A Carrier’s company profile will also need to have everything together. The details of this vary per company, but DOT will make sure you have all the necessary documents from MSC-90’s to Accident Register. Anything you receive or produce for your company should always be documented and filed, including every Driver Vehicle Examination Report (DVER). Having a DOT Official at your place of business doesn’t have to be an unpleasant experience, but if the files they are looking for are not readily presentable, the Investigation will be a long and arduous process.

Vehicle Maintenance can be scrutinized just as much as H.O.S.. All the repairs done to a vehicle must be documented and presentable. A DOT Official must take note that a vehicle is properly being maintained and some records should be kept filed for up to 3 years. Many Carriers don’t realize that they need a Preventative Maintenance Program in addition to Annual Inspections/90 day Bit Program, but this is also required. Most Commercial Vehicles require 2290’s or even state permits, but all will require insurance and registration. Each vehicle/trailer will also need the details and specs presented.

The Rating System for DOT is based on what the Official considers Satisfactory, Conditional, and Unsatisfactory. Depending on what they find or do not find, points are placed in these categories. This will determine what your Carrier Rating will be. Once the DOT Official creates the final report, the Compliance Review Report will be mailed to your location. You will then have 90 days to dispute or request a reconsideration of the Status received.

 

Well written and accurate Mike, thank you for the contribution and welcome to TTR.