Lawrence Transportation
Company and MacKinnon Inc. Win TCA's Grand Prize
Fleet Safety Awards
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA)
is pleased to announce the Grand Prize winners of the
highly-coveted 2003 National Fleet Safety Awards: Lawrence
Transportation Company of Rochester, Minnesota, and
MacKinnon Transport Inc. of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The awards were presented at the March 16th Annual
Banquet & Awards Dinner
to Eric Lawrence, president of Lawrence Transportation Company, and to Ray Haight,
president of MacKinnon Transport Inc. Lawrence Transportation Company won the
award for truckload companies operating under 25 million miles annually, while
MacKinnon Transport Inc. won for the category of over 25 million miles annually.
The Truckload Carriers Association and the truckload
industry are dedicated to improving the safety of all
fleets and our nation's highways. All participants
in this award program must prove their commitment to safety, and each Grand Prize
winner is recognized nationally for making safety the number one priority.
Lawrence Transportation Company believes its safety
success is due to its concept of "operations with safety, not operations and safety." The company
has received seven consecutive First Place awards in the annual Minnesota Trucking
Association Safety Contest, including the Grand Trophy in 1997. Lawrence Transportation
Company also placed second in the ATA Safety Contest in 1998.
One of the most important components of Lawrence's "operations with
safety" program is a thorough driver selection process. In its application
Lawrence wrote that it is "fully aware that a company hires its accidents" which
is why it places such great emphasis on its selection process. The Lawrence driver
selection process includes contacting all previous employers from the last three
to five years, a criminal record check in each state the applicant lived, and
a driving record check in every state the applicant held a CDL. For its efforts
Lawrence Transportation Company is not only this years safest fleet under 25
million miles but also has only a 29% driver turnover rate.
MacKinnon Transport Inc. believes that a commitment
to safety "begins with
the leadership of the owners and senior management" which is why all of
the company's safety policies and procedures have their "unwavering
support." One way that MacKinnon supports their safe drivers is through
their driver safety incentive program, which rewards drivers up to 5% of their
wage to acknowledge safe driving and reinforce a commitment to safety.
For MacKinnon Transport safety is not just an idea
or goal, "it is a tangible
product and service" for which customers contract with the company. Since
safety is one of their "products" MacKinnon strives to upgrade employees
skills through in-house safety training. The training programs are not limited
to MacKinnon's driving force but also encompass all employees and include
guest speakers and informal "lunch and learn" sessions open to all
employees. The company also developed it's own MacKinnon Transport Road
Master Driver Program which recognizes drivers who by experience, education,
and ability, belong to "an expert league of professionals."
The TCA Fleet Safety Contest judging process began
with the determination of the top companies in each
of six mileage divisions. The division winners
(listed
below) were selected based on accident frequency only. The top three
winners in each division were then able to compete for the two grand
prizes. The
grand prize-winning companies were judged on their excellent overall
safety programs,
both on and off-highway. During the judging, some of the factors considered
included safety program organization, employee driver/independent contractor
selection
procedures, training, supervision, accident investigation, inspection
and maintenance of equipment, and outside activities including general
highway
safety. In an
effort to ensure the highest level of integrity to the contest, all
grand prize finalists were audited by independent auditors
not affiliated with
TCA or the
carrier.
The top divisional winners based on low accident
frequency per million miles were:
Division I Winners (under 5 million miles)
1st Place
Specialty Transport, Inc.
Knoxville, TN
Robert Pemberton, President
2nd Place
Frerichs Freight Lines, Inc.
Swansea, IL
Bill Frerichs, Jr., President
3rd Place
Rochester Cartage, Inc.
Rochester, MN
Greg Reid, President & CEO
Division II Winners (5 – 14.99 million miles)
1st Place
Five Star Trucking, Inc.
Willoughby, OH
John Gramc, President
2nd Place
Lawrence Transportation Co.
Rochester, MN
George Wilson, President
3rd Place
Best Cartage
Kernersville, NC
William Ward, President
Division III Winners (15 – 24.99
Million Miles)
1st Place
Grand Island Express
Grand Island, NE
Thomas Pirnie, President
2nd Place
Christenson Transportation, Inc.
Springfield, MO
Don Christenson, President
3rd Place
Erb International
New Hamburg, ON
Vernon Erb, President
Division IV Winners (25 - 49.99
Million Miles)
1st Place
Kriska Transportation
Prescott, ON
Mark Seymour, President
2nd Place
MacKinnon Transport Inc.
Guelph, ON
Ray Haight, President & COO
3rd Place
Cornhusker Motor Lines
Omaha, NE
Ed Trout, President
Division V Winners (50 – 99.99 Million Miles)
1st Place
John Christner Trucking, Inc.
Sapulpa, OK
John Christner, President
2nd Place
Highland Transport
Markham, ON
Norm Sneyd, President
3rd Place
G & P Trucking Company, Inc.
Gaston, SC
Clifton Parker, President
Division VI Winners (Over 100 Million Miles)
1st Place
National Freight, Inc.
Vineland, NJ
Jeff Brown, President
2nd Place
FFE Transportation Services, Inc.
Lancaster TX
Stoney "Mit" Stubbs,
Chairman & President
3rd Place
Smithway Motor Xpress, Inc.
Fort Dodge, IA
William Smith, President
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