CMSA Chairman’s Corner by Rick Hosea

Our country, with all its challenges and economical struggles over the past five or so years, is still the greatest country in the world. While we all have felt uncertainty throughout our industry, and in our organizations, we know that the future is looking brighter for both our country and our businesses.

A quick update on AB2118 is that it continues to move swiftly through the legislative process. On Monday, June 25, 2012 AB 2118 passed out of the California Senate’s Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee with a 12 to 0 vote, and it is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee for their review. Steve Weitekamp (CMSA), Chuck Cole (Avocations, Inc.), and Chris Higdon (California Moving Systems) have worked diligently to insure that this piece of legislation makes its way through with little to no opposition as it’s reviewed at each committee hearing. We will continue to update our members as this continues thru to becoming law.

July is a great month to focus on safety. With new Federal regulations with CSA, we must not only recognize the need to operate as safe carriers, but also embrace safety as a way of doing business. We all have a responsibility to California’s motoring public to insure that our vehicles are safe, and our Van Operators are legal and meet all physical requirements while driving on our freeways and through our cities. We must take great care to dispatch our crews with ample time to arrive and perform the work our customers expect of us. As many of you know, our Van Lines continue to be closely monitored by the D.O.T. to insure they maintain acceptable scores. Why this is necessary, it is clear that this program has contributed to a decrease in motor carrier accidents over the past couple of years. The Federal Motor Carrier Association partnered with Federal and State law enforcement along with other stakeholders to progressively reduce the number of motor carrier accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities on our nation’s highways. This program has undoubtedly been successful; today, we as a nation enjoy one of the safest interstate highway systems in the world. These results benefit us all, that’s why this program is here to stay. I think it is incumbent on us all to insure that we manage our organizations with an eye on safety for the benefits of our Employees, Service Crews, Van Operators, Customers, and most of all our California residents.

Another area which needs our close attention this summer is claims, we are always looking to minimize our exposure to those horrible claims. Peak season volume alone can really take a toll on us; therefore we must all work to take great care to minimize our claims. I continuously remind our service crews that we must not overlook those processes which we’ve developed to protect our customers’ goods, our vehicles, and our workers’ health and safety during these times. Most mistakes are made during our summer season which is why we must not lose sight of the safeguards to protect us in our work. Remaining focused and alert is one way to manage unnecessary losses, this alone can result in a more successful enterprise. This can help us grow stronger organizations which will benefit our employees, our customers, and our industry. I wish you all a safe Peak Season!