SAFETY DAWG Chris Harris
When Should We Be Training? This month I want to discuss COVID, the flu and in-person training vs. online training.
I know. I said the word COVID again. I know that we are all sick and tired of that word and that we are all trying to banish the word and thought from our minds. But did we learn anything about training during COVID? We know that in-person training was eliminated. Did that keep our drivers healthier? By not having large get-togethers, did that reduce the number of truck drivers that got sick? The statistics during COVID showed that the flu was practically eliminated. We are being told that this is because of the lack of people meeting with people and the fact that most people were wearing a mask. If the above is true, what does that tell us about our usual ‘annual safety meeting,’ often held in person and in November? I suggest that the planners of these annual safety meetings should perhaps think about two different alternatives. The first alternative and the main reason for this article (early summer) is so that 14 • OVER THE ROAD
you can start thinking of this prior to your planning meeting during the summer or early fall. This meeting would be well before we all start gathering indoors again for the cold weather, which makes transmission of any illness less likely. I know that many companies have their annual safety meeting at the same time as the American Thanksgiving weekend. We know that cross-border trucking practically stops moving for this long weekend. So, it has always made excellent sense for Canadian trucking companies to hold a meeting while your drivers are home and available. But now, with the knowledge we have gained about Covid and the flu, does it truly make sense? Do we want to gather all our drivers, our dispatchers and other management into one common area at the very beginning of the flu season? What are some of the other choices available for the organizers of these meetings? The first one that comes to mind is to go ahead and hold the meeting as usual and let nature take its course. I know that many companies will be making this choice; but what else can be done? We could hold a meeting and JULY 2022
