FMCSA opens enforcement toolkit for carriers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration this week released new materials “to assist motor carriers in identifying and addressing their safety and compliance issues” within the prism of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, the agency said in a statement Jan. 10. Chief among such tools are the series of Safety Management Cycle (SMC) documents, which FMCSA characterizes as describing the system safety investigators use during on-site interventions and compliance reviews.

Carriers can utilize SMC training documents for each corresponding CSA BASIC (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) to identify safety problems and their root causes, as well as solutions.

Documents on each SMC can be found via the CSA website’s resources page here.

FMCSA has also developed a factsheet that explains how to use these materials to improve safety practices. A supplemental case study within the factsheet purports to show carriers “how to use the SMC in the long-term.”