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Whether you call it an employee master, personnel master, or an interactive employee roster, this comprehensive tool allows the motor carrier to control a variety of business and safety functions.
Scope
Motor carriers should have an employee master that allows for multiple reports to be created based on a variety of criteria.
Regulatory citations
- None
Key definitions
- Employee master: A filing system that allows management to sort employee data in order to assemble a variety of reports. The storage of the information may be as complex as a software or server, or as simple as a spreadsheet or paper file.
Summary of requirements
An employee master could include just about everyone working at the motor carrier: drivers, mechanics, and operations personnel. Details on the experience, expertise, certifications, availability, location, and so forth are entered. This allows management to easily determine who is:
- An active, inactive, or terminated employee;
- Certified to perform specific functions based on experience, certifications, licensing, and credentials;
- Due for recertification, employee reviews, and annual qualification paperwork; and
- Subject to which portion of the regulation, if any.
An effective employee master will:
- Allow customer service and dispatch to assign loads based on a driver’s location, work schedule, licensing/endorsements, experience, and any other factors that may be tracked.
- Allow a maintenance manager to assign work repair orders and may offer insight if a driver is qualified by experience or training to do some of the vehicle repairs.
- Give the organization a high-level view of its entire staff in case employees need to fill-in or act as a back-up. This could include placing employees outside of their current job functions during a staffing crunch if it is known that they are qualified to do so.
Notifications of items due. A key component of the employee master is having a system in place to notify management when specific items are due. The notice should be set up to allow for ample advance notice.
This notice might be as simple as a tickler file or large dry erase board with dates. Or it could be as sophisticated as sorting dates on a spread sheet, printing a software report, or receiving email or calendar alerts.
Driver alerts. For drivers, some items to monitor might include:
- Driver’s license and/or endorsement expiration dates;
- Driver Qualification items, such as:
- Medical examiner’s certificate (and any applicable exemptions/waivers)
- Annual review of driving record
- Annual motor vehicle record (MVR)
- Annual certification of violations;
- Hazmat training; and
- Free and Secure Trade (FAST) card or the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).
If you have refresher training that is not required by the Department of Transportation (DOT), this too may be incorporated into your alerts, in addition to scheduled company safety meetings.
Other alerts. The employee master is not limited to just the safety department. Consider some of the following opportunities to utilize an employee master:
- For your maintenance personnel, remind the supervisor about manufacturer refresher training on vehicle inspection and repair.
- For employees in general, identify who is in need of OSHA-specific training.
- For employees in general, conduct security training relevant to their job functions.
Employees, no matter the department, will need an annual review for the purpose of raises. Nothing upsets employees more than to feel ignored by management when they are due for annual reviews tied their incomes. Use of this tool will aid in keeping up to date on this personnel function.