What you Missed at the Mid-America Trucking Show

Unless you were there from open until close for all three days, and were able to limit the amount of time spent filling-out door-prize forms and watching various renditions of “Deal or No Deal,” it is unlikely that you saw everything that the Mid-America Trucking Show had to offer. I know I missed quite a bit. However my mission was limited. In fact, I attend the Mid-America Trucking Show each year intentionally planning to overlook many of the exhibits that most of the folks go to see. As the Loss Control Manager for Midwestern Insurance Alliance, I have a single-minded focus at the trucking show…. to find the products being promoted this year that will help prevent workers’ compensation claims within your business.

This article includes my top picks from the 2008 Mid-American Trucking Show (in no particular order). Each includes a link to the product’s website. If any link fails to direct you to the proper website, contact me at losscontrol@miains.com.

Ancra’s EZ Torque Winch is a creative innovation that can be expected to prevent injuries within the flatbed segment of the trucking industry. A replacement for conventional winches on flatbed trailers, the EZ Torque Winch makes winch bars obsolete, replacing winch bars with a removable hand crank that’s small enough to fit in your jacket pocket. Not only does this product remove the hazards of awkward postures, physical strain and the potential for the winch bar to slip out of the hole, it also keeps the driver close to the trailer – and hence lessens exposure to being struck by forklift or other vehicle. There are several other options from Ancra to minimize injury potential associated with tightening load-securement straps, including the Silver Cap (a ratchet winch) and a pneumatic winch. However my personal favorite (considering both functionality and cost) was the EZ Torque Winch.

If the EZ Toque Winch is too much of a financial burden to swallow at the moment; or if your drivers pull flatbed trailers that your company does not own, you may want to consider Kinedyne’s Ratchet Winch Bar. It is designed to work with a standard 4″ strap winch (or cable winch) and has a key to prevent the bar from slipping out of the winch while in use. A world of difference from a standard winch bar, Kinedyne’s Ratchet Winch Bar significantly minimizes awkward postures, such as overhead reaching to tighten load securement straps

Getting on and off of trailers is a necessity for virtually every flatbed driver. For drivers pulling van trailers or refers there is often a reason to get in/out of the trailer as well. Unfortunately, most trailers are not equipped with steps and handholds to make this task easy. Instead many drivers crawl up and jump down. There are a variety of portable and permanent steps and ladders to help drivers prevent drivers from falling while climbing on/off trailers. Safe-T-Steps is a new product on the market and has several advantages over many that have been available in the past. Not the least of these features is the size, weight and cost. It is small enough and light enough that drivers will actually use it, and it is inexpensive enough that company owners and independent drivers can afford it.

What About Your Mechanics

Although the bulk of your employees are likely truck drivers, let’s not forget your mechanics. After all they have significant injury exposures that are quite different than those of truck drivers. The following 3 products are my picks to prevent injures to your mechanics.

BlueTork is a new product from Chicago Pneumatic that combines the functionality of an impact wrench with that of a torque wrench. This tool is marketed to reduce vibration, noise and physical manual effort as compared with the traditional approach of using an impact wrench and a torque wrench to tighten wheel lugs. They also get my vote for the most unique website of the products listed in my top picks.

Another creative innovation that may prevent injuries within your truck/trailer maintenance is Gaither Tool Company’s Bead Booster GB-8A. This product has a couple unique features: an automatic valve with a foot pedal release mechanism, and a built-in tire stand that automatically sets the bottom bead allowing for use of lower air pressures. If you are not familiar with Gaither’s other tubeless truck tire tools, you are encouraged to spend some time on their website or even look to www.YouTube.com for some online videos of their products.

My final pick from the 2008 Mid-America Trucking Show is SafeTec’s X-Deck Platform. All too often to reach elevated areas in the truck maintenance garage involves using a stepladder or even an extension ladder. The forces created by side-reaching often causes ladders to fall and the results can be tragic. By providing a work platform and a more stable footing, SafeTec’s X-Deck Platform is clearly a safer alternative.

Whether you made it to the 2008 Mid-America Trucking Show or not, I’d love to hear your opinion. Have you used these products? Would you recommend them? How about other products – What other tools or equipment are you familiar with that might prevent a driver or mechanic within a trucking company from being injured on the job?

Products to Prevent Injuries in the Trucking Industry

We’ve Gone Interactive

MIA has been publishing its Beyond the Cab newsletter since 2000 and has distributed it via e-mail. However, that one-way method of communication robs each of us of the collective wisdom of each of Beyond the Cab’s readers. So beginning with this issue (February 2008) we have made a significant change. We have added an interactive feature. With this and with each subsequent issue of Beyond the Cab, you are not only permitted… but encouraged to share your opinion, insight and ideas. If this is something new and different for you, don’t be intimidated. Click here to learn how easy it is. Then come back and enjoy this first issue of Beyond the Cab – Interactive.

The Perspective of a Loss Control Consultant

As a loss control consultant with Midwestern Insurance Alliance, I am constantly keeping my eyes open for products that could help prevent injuries of employees within the trucking industry. This single-minded product focus causes me to thumb through as many trucking industry trade magazines and I can; has me running from one booth to the next at the Mid-American Truck Show; and causes me to spend way too much time on the Internet. It is also the reason that I frequently ask safety directors to reveal what products they have used (and recommend) to prevent injuries to drivers, mechanics and other employees.

When I find a particular product that appears will help reduce injuries, I try to get beyond the marketing hype and make a judgment call regarding the product’s efficacy. If the product addresses an actual hazard within the trucking industry; has the capacity to make an impact; and is priced within reach of the average trucking company, then I file that product in my memory. Later, through on-site consultations with MIA’s policyholders, or through venues such as newsletter articles, I recommend these products to trucking companies for addressing specific hazards.

In the first issue of this new interactive format for MIA’s Beyond the Cab newsletter, I will introduce both some of my long-standing safety product recommendations for the trucking industry, as well as some that I have learned of only in the past year. Although this newsletter includes links to specific products or manufacturers does not constitute an endorsement of their particular company or product. Instead, the purpose of recommending specific products is to increase your awareness of the availability of a particular type of safety-related product and how it might prevent employee injuries within your company. You are encouraged to look for other distributors or other manufacturers who may have a more suitable product design or a more palatable price-tag.

Slips and Falls

It’s February, and slips and falls on ice can be costly and frustrating. If you managed a retail business or a manufacturing operation you could address the issue of slips and falls on ice by keeping your parking lot and sidewalks free of ice. But there is little that the safety director of a trucking company can do to prevent drivers from slipping and falling on ice while they are away from your facility. So you just cross your fingers and tell your drivers to “Be careful”– right? There are an increasing number of companies manufacturing and marketing strap-on traction-aids that are easy to put on and take off and would work great for a truck driver. These products include Grip-X from Jordan David, and a similar line of products from Sure Foot Corp.

Pulling Fifth-Wheel Release

Routinely using a fifth-wheel hook is an easy step toward preventing injuries associated with pulling the fifth-wheel release handle. There are a variety of hooks on the market (available in just about every truck stop). Here is one online source.

Releasing Tandem Locking Pins

Although there is a move toward pneumatic tandem slide releases on semi trailers, there are certainly a lot of trailers on the road that require the driver to manually release the tandem locking pins. STA-RAT (short for “Semi Tandem Axle-Release Assist Tool”) is designed to eliminate the difficulties associated with releasing the tandem locking pins and holding them retracted until the tandem slide is completed. Another tool designed to prevent back and shoulder injuries associated with releasing the tandem locking pins is The Persuader.

Tarping Flatbed Trailers

Certainly tarping flatbed trailers presents exposure to a number of injuries, including falls from the trailers and strains associated with manually handling tarps. This powered flatbed trailer tarping system can tarp a load on the back of a flatbed without personnel having to climb onto the bed of the trailer or on top of loads.

Trailer Access/Egress

Whether getting on/off a flatbed trailer or getting in/out of a van trailer, hazards associated with falling or muscle strains are increased when drivers use the ICC bar as a step. There are a wide variety of ladder or step products to address this hazard. Some store out of the way when not needed. Others, such as one found on truckertotrucker.com and one located at truckersmall.net are portable and hence can be used if your drivers change trailers frequently.

Let’s here from You!!!

The above represents a sample of the products available to aid in preventing injuries in the trucking industry. What specific product or type of product do you recommend?