AMTA  E-News

April  2010

Trimac Touts AMTA’s Innovative Safety, Advocacy Partnerships

An unstinting commitment to safety is a core value at Canadian bulk hauling and trucking giant Trimac Transportation. It is this commitment which puts Trimac solidly behind Alberta Motor Transport Association programs that fosters a climate of workplace safety and operational excellence.

In a recent interview Trimac Senior Vice President Barry Davy and Trimac Central Training Instructor for Canada Ken Arthur talk about why AMTA is integral to Trimac’s operation.

The AMTA Connection

“Trimac is a longstanding supporter of AMTA,” says Trimac senior vice president Barry Davy. “We are a member of the Regulatory Affairs Partnership (RAP) and a founding member of Partners in Compliance (PIC).”

“Everyone involved in Alberta’s road transportation industry should be active with AMTA,” says Davy. “AMTA is really important to raising the bar, to helping attain a consistent quality of carrier operating in Alberta.”

“AMTA offers far more than seminars and training,” says Davy. “AMTA is also our conduit to Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA).” Through our involvement with AMTA’s Regulatory Affairs Partnership (RAP) we receive exclusive information about legislative and operational issues. This information enhances our ability to operate more effectively and ultimately has an impact on our bottom-line.

It is because of fleets that belong to RAP that Alberta is able to maintain a strong voice in government corridors in Alberta, Ottawa and Washington. Fleets that participate in RAP pay an annual fee and that funding is earmarked by AMTA for lobby activities on behalf of the Alberta trucking industry. This funding is the reason AMTA can take its place at the national and international table with trucking associations from other jurisdictions.

Trimac’s Davy points to another innovative program operated out of the AMTA office called Partners in Compliance. Davy thinks this program puts Alberta on the map and he should know because he was instrumental in getting PIC off the ground.

PIC got its start back in the 1980s when then Alberta Premier Ralph Klein was cutting government resources to address the provincial deficit. At the time senior government staffers, lead by Roger Clarke at Alberta Transportation, were trying to figure out how to maintain service – or in transportation’s case safety standards – with slimmer resources.

“Government wanted to find a more efficient way of pinpointing operators most likely to be in violation of regulations and to avoid wasting government resources on fleets already known to be in the upper echelon when it came to safety.”

“PIC was started by a group of visionaries on the government and industry side of the table here in Alberta,” he explains. “We came up with the concept of government and carriers working together to foster a climate of safety by sharing information and having regular dialogue.”

“Carriers who operate safe fleets with excellent maintenance and driver training programs wanted to be recognized for their efforts,” says Davy. He notes one truck on the road looked pretty much like any other, yet there can be a vast difference between the safety and vehicle maintenance programs behind each one.

Davy admits it was tough at the beginning to get PIC off the ground. The ‘perks’ offered to carriers were few, the PIC brand hadn’t existed long enough to develop an aura of prestige around it and the paperwork that had to be maintained to attain and retain PIC status was onerous.

Today the program definitely carries enormous ‘prestige’ and the information exchange that must take place between carrier and regulator, while still not insignificant, has been streamlined.

Davy can’t say enough about PIC’s role in helping safe carriers avoid complacency. “PIC members receive reports which are to be used for benchmarking purposes,” he says.

“It’s all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of complacency. Benchmarking helps safe fleets stay on their toes and pushes companies that aspire to become PIC fleets to improve their performance. It’s excellent all round.”

AMTA is a Leader in Training

While Davy points to PIC and the advocacy work AMTA undertakes as strong examples of why AMTA is a vital resource for Alberta carriers, he is quick to mention the educational opportunities offered by AMTA are first-class.

Ken Arthur, Trimac’s central training instructor for Canada agrees. “Even though a company of Trimac’s size has extensive training resources of its own, we supplement what we do with AMTA training courses. I just took the Facilitators Skills training course a few weeks ago – it was excellent.”

Arthur leads training at the recently launched Calgary-based Trimac Learning Centre – or TLC as staffers refer to it. This is where the company brings drivers and other personnel from across the country to offer training for transportation of dangerous goods, hours of service, decision driving, WHMIS, Trimac history and so on.

Arthur beams with pride when he talks about the sleek new training facility housed in the city’s transportation hub.

“There are a lot of companies operating in Alberta that simply will never have the training resources that Trimac does,” says Arthur. The economics would never dictate in-house training. That’s where AMTA comes in.

Arthur encourages carriers to take a hard look at the array of educational offerings available from AMTA. Another resource he points to is AMTA’s recently opened head office which offers space for rent to industry members wanting to use the facility for training or meetings.

“The facility is excellent and the door is open to anyone in the industry who wants to utilize it,” he says. “We would certainly use the AMTA facility should Trimac require space to accommodate overflow.”

Arthur is equally passionate about his enthusiasm for AMTA’s monthly industry meetings which are held in various parts of the province. He says the meetings are a great way to pick up important information about the latest regulations and compliance matters, while also providing an excellent opportunity to network with others in the industry.

For information about AMTA please visit www.amta.ca. For information about renting space at the AMTA building, please contact: Angie Boughton at (800) 267-1003 or angieb1@amta.ca