IN THIS ISSUE: - Brutoco

THE SAFETY ZONEby Laurence FortinThink Safe, Be Safe!Dee Lewis at Job 417 won our new safety slogancontest. The winning slogan was selected by theBrutoco Safety Committee from 34 entries byBrutoco employees and their family members.work force and the company’s bottom line.Motor vehicle safetyReducing motor vehicle accidents continues tobe a major focus for companies in our industry.In 2008, there were 10.2 million vehicle accidents nationwide, andconcerns about distracted drivers are rising. With over 100 Brutocovehicles on the road and over 50% of our drivers commuting twohours or more per day, fleet safety is critical for the well-being of ourBrutoco has made reducing the number of vehicle accidents a major safety goal because we have been affected bydistracted driving and other preventable types of accidents. As of August, we have had eight motor vehicle accidents thisyear, compared to three at this time last year.There are several likely factors for these accidents -- fatigue, number of miles driven daily, distracted driving, discourteousCalifornia drivers, road and weather conditions. No one has the silver bullet on how to stop motor vehicle accidents (shortof taking their vehicles away) so a multi-faceted approach seems in order.Last year we conducted company-wide defensive driver training online and that seemed to have some success in reinforcinggood driving habits.This year, management has elected to try the “How Is MyDriving” decal program to see if this has an effect on thebehavior of our drivers. Maybe it will cause us all to pay moreattention to our driving habits. The decals have the vehiclenumber and a number to call for reporting purposes. When acall is received, it is reviewed by management and a incidentreview may be held with the employee and their supervisorfor corrective action, if needed.We also conducted a driver survey with the help of Safety Committee co-chair Juan Gaspar. This was done to reach outto our employees and get input on driving habits and policies. We had very good participation in this anonymous onlinesurvey and received very candid feedback. We asked what our drivers thought we can do to reduce vehicle accidents andreceived a large number of suggestions about additional policies, procedures, equipment and training. This input is muchappreciated and will be further discussed for possible implementation.Your feedback is always needed and appreciated, so if you think there is a better approach to address the rising number ofvehicle accidents, please contact Joanne Schultz, Laurence Fortin or the Safety Committee and provide your input so wecan continue to improve the safety of our employees and the general public.14 THE BRUT FORCE | 18th Edition | September 2011