ASHBURN, Va. -- As the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration continues to implement its Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative, safety managers who want to do their jobs properly should get online and dig into the vast quantities of safety information now available about their companies, says a long-time FMCSA official.

"Theres an immense amount of data available to you and you should be using it if youre involved in safety management," says Wes Barber, FMCSA special agent/investigator.

By becoming familiar with the CSA initiative, company executives can learn in real time their companys safety score with federal regulators, and whether the company might be at risk of a regulatory intervention.

In a presentation at the United Motorcoach Association Safety Management Seminar, Barber walked attendees through the process of accessing the CSA data.

The first item of business, he said, is going online (to http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/) and getting a personal identification number (PIN) to access the system.

"How many in this room have obtained a PIN and logged into our systems and looked at your record?" he asked the attendees. "If youre a carrier, it should be 100 percent. Thats critical."

To obtain a PIN, the FMCSA CSA website states: "If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN."

After obtaining a USDOT PIN, users can access immense amounts of safety-related information about their company, and to a certain extent other companies, through the CSA Safety Management System, Barber said.

Company executives can learn their SMS score, which is an aggregate of a variety of weighted safety-related factors. The higher the score, the more cause for concern the government may have regarding the companys safety record, and the more likely the government may intervene in some way, from a warning letter to a full, on-site compliance review.

Wealth of information

What kind of information is available to operators? Barber said a company safety director could get into the SMS website, for example, and drill down all the way to individual roadside inspections, with information available about the driver, the vehicle, the date, the report number, and any violations that may have come from that particular action, among other things.

Since this is the kind of information that feeds into the companys SMS score, its vital that safety officers monitor this information to stay on top of whats happening within their company, Barber said.

"If youre not . . . getting into this website and drilling down and finding out whats going on with your record with us, youre missing the boat," he said. "And youre going to get caught sooner or later with things that you should have known about that were going on."

Another reason to monitor the company information on SMS is to assure it is accurate. Mistakes happen, Barber acknowledged, and there is a mechanism to challenge misinformation through the FMCSA DataQ system.

This is particularly important because an inaccurate adverse report will raise the carriers SMS score and put it forward in the queue for an FMCSA intervention of some kind. Any data challenge must be accompanied by supporting documentation, and the final say rests with the authorities, Barber noted.

"Its a tool for you to get an inspection thats not yours off of your record, and every time you get one that has some bad information off of your record, it helps your scores," he noted.

"Its a very, very vital activity if youre serious about monitoring and maintaining your scores."

Return often

The SMS information is updated once monthly, so carriers should check in at least that often, Barber advised.

"I would go in there once a month and take a look at your scores to see where you are," he said. "And, obviously, the purpose here isnt to not only see what your problems are but to take corrective action. These are the tools youre going to use to identify where your critical issues are and whats driving your scores up."

Another important activity is to keep the MCS-150 motor carrier identification report forms up to date, he said. This is important because it could affect the company SMS score.

For example, if a company has expanded its bus fleet significantly but that information has not been updated on the MCS-150, all of the safety information flowing into SMS from the larger fleet will be applied to the smaller fleet listed on the form, driving up the carriers SMS score, Barber said.

While carriers are required by law to update their MCS-150 forms every two years, its important to update those forms whenever there is a significant change at the company. But be aware, he noted, companies must still stick to the required two-year update schedule even if they have been updated before then.

Furthermore, its important to keep the forms up to date in case of an FMCSA intervention, he explained. "Nothing is more frustrating to a safety investigator than when the phone number is no good and the address is no good, and we have to go scratching around to find out where you are."

Being organized helps

In fact, keeping organized, uncluttered and up-to-date files is important for another reason: it helps companies in an on-site compliance review.

Compliance reviews may be triggered by a high SMS score, Barber said. "If youre getting alerts, the system is going to start moving you up in prioritization and your operation will be assigned to a compliance review, most likely on site."

Other triggers could be a serious accident, or a non-frivolous complaint - one with substantial information that warrants an investigation.

When facing an on-site compliance review, the best way to prepare for it is to get online and become familiar with all the safety information the FMCSA has assembled on the company, Barber said.

"Ive got news for you. The safety investigator is doing the same thing, so when they walk in the door they know an awful lot about your operation, they know an awful lot about your history and where your problems are," he warned.

"Just by looking at the performance data we can pretty much zero in on where the problems are going to be."

What to expect

A compliance review will often, but not always, start with a list of documents the investigator will provide ahead of time and expect to have ready. Those often will include requests for information, such as a driver roster, a fleet roster, and updated company information. Get those documents ready, and get all of your files organized, Barber advised.

Pay particular attention to including only information you are required by law to keep and eliminating unnecessary or outdated paperwork.

"Nothing is more frustrating to a safety investigator than when youve been notified that were coming in and we walk in the door and its a disaster," he said. "Nothing is anywhere, it takes forever for you to find a document, youre basically not prepared, and that tells me youre not taking it seriously."

During a compliance review, the investigator will look at a wide variety of information, including but not limited to:

All required insurance information (including a loss run going back 365 days)

An accurate and up-to-date accident register going back 365 days (including police reports)

Driver qualifications

Moving violations records, including an annual review,

Hours of service logs going back six months, including supporting documents and other compensated time for drivers.

For drug and alcohol issues, there are a number of issues companies must pay particular attention to, such as chain of custody forms and test results, Barber said.

Other information that must be on hand includes specific evidence of a good-faith effort to make contact with previous employers regarding drug and alcohol tests.

And, Americans with Disabilities Act documentation.