George Krasulja wants to bring integrity back to the Canadian trucking industry. Or, at the least, to recognize the carriers that do operate with integrity.
The TransX director is in the process of rolling out a new verification program that will allow carriers that operate with integrity to differentiate themselves from those who do not.
He calls it the Carrier Integrity Pact (CIP). And with a flood of news about noncompliance, labor abuse, fraud and general lawlessness within the trucking industry, he feels the timing for such a program has never been better.
“It’s a self-attestation backed up by documents and verification,” Krasulja explained to trucknews.com in an interview. “It’s a carrier willing to stand up and say: ‘I’m a good guy and here I am, willing to prove it.’”
Participating carriers will undergo an industry-led audit of their operations examining how they manage employee payroll, their use of temporary foreign workers and other areas of compliance.
“The standards are set by the board,” Krasulja said. “The application process is going to be something that the board determines, including the right questions to ask and the right documents to ask for. This is an industry-led, industry-owned not-for-profit designation.”
Krasulja wants it known the initiative is not an association, and nor is it meant to compete with existing associations. He said associations promote compliance and integrity; CIP will verify them.
So far, the concept has been warmly received by carriers he has spoken to about it. CIP is in the process of identifying 25 founding carriers who will be influential in the program’s formation. Krasulja says he’s approached more than 75 carriers and about 95% have expressed interest in such a designation.
He has also been discussing the concept to government at various provincial and federal levels, and they too have been receptive.
“The consensus was, ‘This is the first time that your industry is not coming to us and demanding something from us. You’re actually showing us what you’re going to do.’” Krasulja said.
There has also been early support from insurers and finance companies, both of whom have admitted challenges related to differentiating the good guys from the bad actors in the industry.
Krasulja envisions a day when, with the CIP firmly established, member companies may receive preferential treatment or rates from their insurers or lenders. That’s just one possible way member carriers could see a return on their investment.
While CIP is being set up as a not-for-profit, there will be costs related to the ongoing management of the designation, including annual audits that will be required to maintain the designation.
There will be an initial fee of $5,000 per carrier (not based on fleet size) with a smaller annual fee to cover the cost of ongoing audits and program management. The board will determine final pricing.
“We don’t want this to be a financial burden,” Krasulja said. “We want it to be open to everybody.”
He’s also mindful that the program can’t be overly onerous for participating carriers.
“We’re going to ask for documents that should be readily available and that any HR department could supply,” he said. “It should be information that’s already there and that you don’t have to spend hours collecting.”
There are also plans to verify a company’s claims through random driver interviews. Krasulja hopes to have a board in place by the end of February and a website built soon after. Ultimately, he hopes to see trucks and trailers traveling on Canadian highways proudly displaying the CIP logo.
“I want the general public to understand, when they see a truck or a trailer with the CIP logo, that they are looking at a company that is willing to stand up and prove that they have integrity,” he told trucknews.com. Fleets looking for more information can contact Krasulja at [email protected].
Credit: Source link
