Supporting Trucker Safety and Success with Scott Levine

NSSGA Podcast

In this episode of Safety Shorts, Libby is joined by Scott Levine, a product manager at Materially, who has five years of project management experience for a large general contractor under his belt. Today, Scott shares the story of an unfortunate incident which highlights the importance of having the right tools for everyone to be safe and successful on the job.

Episode Highlights:

• Scott’s story about an incident on a construction site involving a trucker who entered through the exit gate and was hit by a loader

• Truckers are often overlooked in the construction industry, and their jobs are not made easier or safer in the same way that other skilled laborers' jobs are

• Technology solutions, like those available in other industries, can be used in construction to make truckers' jobs easier and safer

• At Materially, the team is building a software platform that increases connectivity and efficiency in the bulk materials supply chain. The app allows buyers to set an exact pin for the drop-off point and provide delivery instructions, which the trucker can see in their app to ensure they deliver correctly

• Scott argues that if other skilled laborers are given support and access to tools to do their job correctly, then truckers should be supported in the same way

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Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:

• In this episode, Scott describes a truck driver entering a site through an exit only gate (an example of a fairly common issue of truckers not having enough information about the site). How can we make sure truckers, contractors and other site visitors have all the information they need?

• How does this story encourage us to think about problem solving?

• Does anyone have a story about noticing a common problem and innovating a solution?

Quotes:

"What almost always gets overlooked is the hundreds of truckers making deliveries to the site each week. And because we overlook these truckers, we often don't think about how to make their jobs easier or better or safer in the same way we do for an iron worker or an electrician."

"This is completely unfair to the truckers and to everyone else on site."

"If the plumbing subcontractor, for example, was laying out pipe incorrectly, we would stop and make sure they have the right support. We'd give them access to a planning app like Pro Core or Field Wire. We'd offer training on how to read plans correctly and so on. Truckers should be supported in the same way."

"The most frustrating part of all this is that this problem is easily solvable. Just look at the technology solutions available for drivers in other industries."

"We're working to solve this problem in construction. Using the app, a buyer can set an exact pin for the drop-off point and provide delivery instructions like, 'Please enter through gate two.' Today, the trucker can see those details in their app to ensure they deliver correctly."

Links:

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website