DEKRA introduces new CSA SafeKey inspection program, toll-free CSA help line for carriers
DEKRA, the world's leading provider of safety inspection and certification services, has announced that its Commercial Fleet Performance Systems (CFPS) division has introduced CSA SafeKey, a turnkey safety inspection program that identifies CSA safety issues before they impact carriers’ CSA scores.
“This new SafeKey program is designed to give carriers a real time, turnkey system for identifying key CSA equipment issues under the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC,” says Michael Kozlowski, vice president and general manager of DEKRA’s CFPS. “The bottom line is that our new program is the ‘CSA prescription’ for CSA compliance.”
In conjunction with the CSA SafeKey inspection program, CFPS is also launching a toll-free “Help Line” number designed to provide carriers with CSA advice, as well as answers to question about their specific fleet conditions and impact on CSA scoring.
The help line can be reached by dialing 855-CSA-XPRT (855-272-9778) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern).
Because all CFPS inspections are performed by current or former state roadside inspectors, or by experienced technicians trained and supervised by them, carriers can “trust DEKRA inspectors to uncover safety violations before they are found in a roadside inspection,” Kozlowski says.
“CFPS inspectors know what to look for, and what law enforcement will find”, said Kozlowski, “so safety issues can be addressed before they impact CSA scores.”
The program is comprised of a series of 3 periodic inspections performed on a carrier’s fleet over a 12-month period.
“All of these inspections are performed based on new Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) standards and SMS criteria,” says Kozlowski.
All DEKRA inspection violations are then weighted according to the CSA SMS methodology, showing the impact of those violations on a carrier’s scoring if they were found by law enforcement in an official roadside inspection.
With this tool, carriers can easily and more accurately identify the direct CSA impact of the fleet’s condition, and correct the issues before they contribute to a roadside violation or out-of-service judgment, and a worsening of their scores, he says.
“Whether your firm owns its fleet, or uses an owner operator model, we can create a plan and a program for you to improve your fleet's vehicle CSA scores in the Vehicle Maintenance and Driver BASICs,” notes Kozlowski.
All CFPS inspections are performed at carrier facilities, on a schedule defined by them, to eliminate disruption of their dispatch schedules.
In addition, the inspection results are captured electronically right at the point of inspection and uploaded to the DEKRA central database immediately for easy, 24/7 access by the carrier.
“Making this information available to carriers gives them real power in terms of their CSA scores and their overall fleet maintenance programs, including purchasing decisions,” he adds.
DEKRA America Inc. is the North American Headquarters of the DEKRA Group, a leading international provider of expert services. DEKRA America consists of DEKRA Emission Check and DEKRA Commercial Fleet Performance Systems.
