Hardee is a medium-sized, regional LTL carrier servicing the chemical industry. Because many of the shipments hauled by Hardee are hazardous in nature, its drivers need specialized training and must maintain high safety levels.

Jim O’Brien, Hardee’s safety and compliance manager, takes great pride in his company’s safety record as well as compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations. Being a relatively small carrier, Hardee has not yet invested in electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) because the capital investment would put a financial strain on the company. Along with that, the average age of Hardee’s drivers is 50 years, and many of these drivers are reluctant to give up their manual log books in favor of EOBRs.

Jim is concerned that if Hardee adopts the new technology, he will lose drivers. Compounding this is the driver’s pool to replace these lost drivers and the new safety scoring system implemented by the passage of CSA 2010. Jim fears that even if he can find replacement drivers, their CSA scores will be too low for Hardee’s standards as well as government standards for driving hazardous materials.

Although EOBRs and CSA 2010 are separate issues, they are related because both affect Hardee’s drivers. Jim knows that Hardee will be required in the future to adopt EOBRs and that CSA 2010 is already in force.

QUESTIONS

1. How would you advise Jim on adopting EOBRs? What would be your tactics to retain the current driver pool using the new technology?

2. If Hardee needs to replace drivers, what advice would you give Jim to make sure the drivers meet minimum CSA 2010 safety ratings and meet hazardous material driving requirements?