Not that long ago, I warned you that black boxes are coming for logistics carriers and that while they are unlikely to make a significant impact on safety, they are going to make a significant impact on your logistics carriers’ operational costs and your logistics costs. Now I’m going to warn you about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (FMCSA CSA 2010) which is also more likely to increase your costs than your supply chain safety.
The initiative, designed to achieve a greater reduction in large truck and bus crashes, injuries, and fatalities contains four elements:
- measurement,
- intervention,
- safety evaluation and information technology, and
- COMPASS.
COMPASS is a comprehensive overhaul of the way FMCSA and its partners collect, manage, and convey safety information which requires a major overhaul of the IT infrastructure and the implementation of a portal, database, data warehouse, mobile interface, and data exchange.
But the costly step is intervention. If the measurement system indicates that the FMCSA needs to intervene with a logistics carrier, the FMCSA, depending on severity, can:
- issue a warning letter,
- perform a targeted roadside inspection,
- do an off-site investigation, and/or
- do an on-site investigation.
And if an issue is discovered, the FMCSA can issue a comprehensive notice of claim/settlement to the carrier, and increase their costs, which increases yours.