Safety is everything when choosing a 3PL carrier for your business. While safety ratings may seem straightforward, they can be difficult to decipher. Here’s everything you need to know about reading these safety ratings and choosing a qualified 3PL partner for your business:
How Do 3PL Safety Compliance Reviews Work?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is in charge of regulating motor carriers and promoting safe roadways for all. As a result, they have implemented safety and compliance reviews based on safety management controls.
Here’s what you need to know about each of these three critical elements:
- Compliance reviews examine the motor carrier’s operations. This includes factors like hours of service (HOS), maintenance and inspections, driver qualifications, commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements, among others, to ensure that a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard.
- Safety audits examine the motor carrier’s operations to provide educational and technical assistance on safety and operational requirements to gather the critical safety data needed to assess the carrier’s safety performance and safety management controls.
- Safety management controls refer to the systems, policies, programs, practices, and procedures used by motor carriers to comply with applicable safety standards designed to promote the safe movement of products and passengers through the transportation system. They are meant to reduce the risk of highway accidents and hazardous materials incidents.
- Safety management controls are designed to reduce the risk of:
- Unsafe vehicles operating on the highways
- Fatigued drivers
- Improper inspection, repair, and maintenance of vehicles
- Transportation of hazardous materials, driving, and parking rule violations
- Motor vehicle accidents and hazardous materials incidents resulting in fatalities, injuries, and/or property damage
How To Look Up a Carrier’s Safety Rating?
It’s easy to look up a carrier’s safety rating using the FMCSA’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) system online. To search for a carrier, you will need their name, USDOT number, or MC/MX number.
For example, if you wanted to look up RPM’s safety rating, you would search for “RPM Freight Systems LLC in Royal Oak, Michigan. From there, you can see that RPM is authorized for hire, has zero crashes, no inspections, and a “not rated” safety rating.
Can You Trust a 3PL Carrier With a Low Safety Rating?
You should be wary of 3PL carriers with low safety ratings. Within the SAFER system, you’re not only able to see a carrier’s overall safety rating but also a history of inspections and crashes for the past 24 months. This information should provide you with everything you need to make an informed decision about your 3PL carrier.
The 3PL Safety Rating System Explained
The 3PL safety rating system isn’t exactly straightforward. In fact, changes to the system have been proposed to make it easier to understand. However, these proposals have been unsuccessful.
Here’s what you need to know about the four different ratings of “not rated,” “conditional,” “satisfactory,” and “unsatisfactory.”
What Does “Not Rated” Mean on a Carrier Safety Rating?
When you see that a carrier is “not rated,” the carrier has never been issued a safety rating by the FMCSA. While this may initially look like a red flag, it’s actually a good thing. This means that the FMCSA has had no reason to review this carrier for safety compliance, and therefore, it should be considered the best possible rating.
What Does “Conditional” Mean on a Carrier’s Trucking Safety Score?
When you see that a carrier has a “conditional” safety rating, this means that based on a full or focused review, the carrier does not have the proper safety management controls in place to comply with set safety standards. This non-compliance could then result in anything from inadequate inspection, repair, and maintenance of vehicles to the violation of hazardous materials regulations.
After receiving a “conditional” safety rating, the carrier is then responsible for addressing the unsatisfactory items and completing an upgrade request. After this, they may receive a “satisfactory” safety rating.
What Makes a 3PL Carrier’s Safety Rating Satisfactory?
When you see that a carrier has a “satisfactory” safety rating, this means that based on the results of a full review at some point in time, the carrier has the proper safety management controls in place to comply with safety standards. A “satisfactory” rating can only occur after a full review and cannot be issued after a focused review.
What To Do If a 3PL Carrier’s Safety Rating Is Unsatisfactory
When you see that a carrier has an “unsatisfactory” safety rating, this means that based on the results of a full or focused review, the carrier does not have the proper safety management control in place to comply with set safety standards. The difference between a “conditional” and an “unsatisfactory” safety rating is that with a conditional rating, these violations could result in negative occurrences whereas, with an unsatisfactory rating, these violations have resulted in negative occurrences.
If a carrier receives an “unsatisfactory” safety rating proposal, it doesn’t take effect until 45 to 60 days after the initial proposal. During this timeframe, carriers are required to address these unsatisfactory items and complete an upgrade request. If carriers do not complete these tasks during this timeframe, they may be subject to an FMCSA Out-of-Service order, a temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle.
So if you see that a carrier’s safety rating is “unsatisfactory,” you should avoid doing business with them until they can address these issues, as they could potentially be ordered out of service by the FMCSA.
What Does 3PL Stand For?
3PL stands for “third-party logistics,” a specific type of company that allows businesses to outsource many aspects of order shipping and fulfillment.
What Does a Third-Party Logistics Company Do?
Perhaps a better question is: What doesn’t a third-party logistics company do?
3PL companies can handle everything from procurement to storage and transportation. For example, a 3PL company can manage customers’ inventory, pick orders, pack orders, load orders, and more.
What Is a 3PL Carrier?
A 3PL carrier is responsible for the actual transportation of orders. Depending on what you’re shipping, there are carriers with the skills and equipment necessary to help you get your orders from Point A to Point B.
For example, RPM works with a network of more than 40,000 carriers that are qualified and ready to ship everything from vehicles to food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, retail and eCommerce, building materials, chemicals, and more. This extensive network also has access to many different modes of transportation, including dry van, flatbed, and reefer.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the most qualified 3PL carrier in terms of experience and safety, look no further than RPM. RPM has years of industry experience and has strict vetting requirements for drivers. As a result, RPM can offer safe and timely transport whether you’re looking for LTL shipping, FTL shipping, or expedited shipping.
Reach out to see how RPM can meet your shipping needs.
Sources:
Deciphering the Motor Carrier Rating: What Does It All Mean? | 3PL Perspectives
SAFER Web - Company Snapshot | FMCSA
What Is 3PL? How Third-Party Logistics Companies Work for Small Businesses | Fit Small Business
