Safety Information and Updates

At Dennis K. Burke, Inc., we aim to provide our customers with the products they need, in as safe and efficient a manner as possible. This article will review a few things our customers can do to ensure they continue receiving the products they need to keep their own businesses operating smoothly.

Successfully delivering product into customers’ tanks without spilling is obviously a top priority! Our delivery drivers need to be 100% sure all the product they’re bringing can fit into the intended tank every time. We follow the industry standard of not filling tanks beyond 90% of their capacity, so ensuring tank gauges and monitors are working properly is essential. Additionally, emergency shutoffs, alarms and valves need to be working properly too. If tanks are equipped with a clock gauge, or another device that provides the level of product inside the tank, providing a tank chart specific to that tank is extremely helpful. If possible, leaving a laminated copy of a chart, specific to your tank, somewhere near the fill, would be greatly appreciated by our drivers as well as the Safety Department.  

Ensuring tanks are properly labeled for the product they contain is also very important. Many above ground storage tanks look very similar to one another, and because underground storage tanks are buried, only their fills are visible. For these reasons, having tanks and fills clearly and properly labeled helps to make sure the correct product is delivered to the intended tank. Over time, labels, decals and paint colors identifying the product inside the tanks can become faded or worn. This time of year, after the snow and ice has melted, and mother nature’s springtime colors we’ve all been yearning for over the cold New England winter start to pop again, is a great time to revitalize tank labels and make sure they are clearly marked, identifying the product contained inside.

Finally, just like in winter, when we ask that snow and ice be shoveled or cleared to provide safe access, the same is true in the warmer months.   Our drivers make numerous deliveries each and every day. Providing them with safe access to the tanks is an essential part of keeping them healthy, injury free, and able to make deliveries safely without making critical mistakes. Ensuring our drivers return home safe at the end of each workday is very important to us, and we appreciate any effort and support our customers can provide to help make sure that happens.

Stay safe!

Do you ever look in your rear view mirror when you’re on the highway, and see the driver of the car behind you, as if they were sitting in your back seat? Have you ever just randomly scanned other vehicles as they pass, and considered how close they are to the vehicle in front? More often than not, they are WAY too close!

 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), rear-end collisions make up roughly one-third of all multi-vehicle accidents every year, and yet the majority of all drivers follow much more closely than they should. National Safety Council recommends a minimum of three second following distance, and the Smith System of Driving recommends a four second following distance.   

This means, the time it takes the following vehicle to reach a fixed point the leading vehicle passed should take at least three, if not four seconds or more. A very simple way to determine if you are following at a safe distance is to pick a fixed object (bridge, shadow in the road, a sign, or a guardrail). When the vehicle in front of you passes that object, count out “one-thousand one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand three...) until the front of your vehicle reaches the same spot. No cheating. Counting too fast is not allowed! If you don’t reach at least “one-thousand three”, you are following too close, and you should increase your following distance.

Keep in mind, these recommendations are for passenger vehicles operating in ideal road and weather conditions. If you are driving a commercial vehicle, you should add a second, and if the weather is poor, or visibility is bad, add another second.   Additionally, other distractions like texting, reaching for food or drink, or looking at a GPS or other device can also lead to a rear-end collision. Even if you are following at a safe distance, it’s important you not drive distracted.

Following distance is continuously a leading cause of crashes, but with a little effort and understanding, those crashes could all be prevented.

Drive safe, leave enough space, and, don’t forget to buckle up!

Forecasts are predicting sub zero temperatures for the New England area this weekend, starting Friday night and running through Saturday. Temperatures are expected to rebound to more seasonable levels (30 degrees or so) by Sunday, but Friday/Saturday we are projected to run around -7 in the Boston area. Based on the timing of the cold, the major concerns on operability should mainly impact Saturday work, and obviously there is the potential for wider impacts in the event of power outages.

As a general reminder, the below is a helpful checklist we run through ahead of inclement weather that we find helps ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible:

General Winter Operability Checklist:

Ensure that your fleet/equipment is running an appropriate winter blended or additized product, dependent on general weather trends and your geographic location.

Ahead of both cold snaps, predicted snow, or other inclement weather, ensure generators are topped off and operational.

It’s a good idea to top off equipment/vehicle tanks, plug in as needed, and ensure lines are drained of water ahead of the freeze.

Make sure your staff has necessary equipment and weather appropriate gear so they are able to perform their jobs safely. (Don’t forget to factor wind chill in your assessment of gear – while wind chill won’t impact fuel operability, it certainly makes a difference in terms of driver/operator safety and comfort!)

In the event of predicted snowfall, ensure that fill ports are clear, marked per API specifications, and accessible. Below is a chart of the API specifications for reference:

As always, if you need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to your representative or the office. 

Stay Safe and Warm out there!

The FMCSA Clearinghouse deadline is January 6th, 2020, which believe it or not, is only a few weeks away. While CDL drivers do not technically need to register immediately, they will need to do so for mandatory employer pre-employment inquiries so it's better to just get it out of the way now.

The clearinghouse will be a comprehensive database with information on CDL holders' drug or alcohol violations, as well as information on whether that driver has completed required rehabilitation in order to return to work legally. The requirements are applied to ALL CDL drivers, from school bus drivers to interstate truckers. Violations will include any positive drug or alcohol test, DUI conviction, refusal to submit to testing, or acknowledgement of a substance abuse issue. 

Employers, medical review officers and third party administrators will be legally required to report drug or alcohol violations to the database. Employers will also be required to query the database to confirm new hires are eligible to work (no violations, or have completed required rehabilitation) and will also need to annually query to make sure current employees remain eligible to be a commercial driver. State licensing agencies (like the MA RMV) will also be required to query the system when reissuing CDL licenses. 

The goal of the database implementation is to ensure that CDL holders who have drug or alcohol violations are removed from the road until they have fulfilled steps to show they are a safe operator again.

This past summer the State of Massachusetts had an extremely tragic example of what can happen when CDL license holders are not properly vetted by licensing agencies and/or employers in regard to their drug or alcohol violations when a multiple violator killed 7 motorcyclists in New Hampshire while under the influence. Comprehensive, multi-agency efforts like the FMCSA Clearinghouse are put in place to make sure the proper checks are in place to get unsafe drivers off the road, and try to reduce the likelihood another incident like the one in New Hampshire happens again.     

The DOT has a great powerpoint presentation that runs through some of the major points regarding the Clearinghouse that you can access here: Final Rule: Commercial Driver's License Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

You can also access the full rule text here: Commercial Driver's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

Friendly reminder that December 16th 2019 is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) hard deadline for the Electronic Logging Device Mandate. There have been some "soft" deadlines and delays on this mandate over the last several years but there is no indication we will see another delay, so if your fleet is not fully converted to ELD, definitely get moving on that ASAP.  

We have personally been running E Logs for almost a decade, it made sense for our fleet and our footprint and we like the accuracy and uniformity of the data we get from our system. I will say there is definitely a learning curve involved in making a change over of any kind though, especially one involving software.  But this particular change actually does really make life easier in the big picture when it comes to making sure you are in HOS compliance, and in terms of pulling information for any kind of audit or certification, etc. 

Anyway - if you haven't moved your fleet to ELDs, the time is now. Don't wait til you are fined to get compliant. Good luck! 

This summer we had another successful round of our annual "Safety Jeopardy" game at Driver Safety meetings. We've discussed before how we try to cover as much relevant safety info and training as possible to all our drivers at our monthly meetings. Safety Jeopardy has the same goal, but even the Safety Department will admit it's more fun to review safety stats and info via Jeopardy. 

It's easy to lose sight of the truly monumental amount of information that drivers need to know and remember on multiple topics in order to do their jobs safely, and Jeopardy is a fun way to refresh everyone's memory with a little friendly competition. 

Looks like the team enjoyed it, based on those smiles (even Ed Burke and some Sales Reps got in on the action!)

Let's talk about something that seems easy but can easily trip up your operations if you miss something. Weight Limits.

Weight limits for trucks are governed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to ensure safe weight limits for Interstate travel. In addition to this, individual States set limits for their roadways.

Compliance on these rules is pretty simple, IF you are running within a state or across a smaller group of states with similar limits. However, in regions like New England, its a lot less likely you're within one state (versus say, running trucks in Texas) and so it becomes very important to make sure you know what the rules are where, and which of your units need what permits to be in compliance. 

This is something that comes up for us a lot, as we are running trucks across several state lines, and it comes up a lot for our customers as well, partly because the states in the region are smaller, and they can have vastly different rules on weights and permitting.  So we thought it would be good to share a chart of the limits we see in the region for you to check against. There are also links to broader resources below if you are out of a different part of the country (or if youre just curious about how complicated it all gets nationwide :) )

This is the chart we use in our Safety Department. So basically if you are adding a unit in MA that will be running MA, NH, ME your process for permitting and the limits will be different than a unit running NY to CT. 

(Feel free to snag this chart for your own use, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions on it.)   

If you need more states or more info, this is a great reference chart by State by CargoAgents. net: Road Weight & Size Limitations .. most states rules reference the Federal Bridge formula to some extent, a breakdown of that and the accompanying detail from the DOT & Congress  is available here: Federal Bridge Weight (<-- this is a very very detailed breakdown, more than you would ever want to know, but a lot of it is helpful) 

This weekends forecast calls for snow and ice storms, particularly Saturday into Sunday for the entirety of New England. 

Because it is still early, there are HUGE variances in the amounts of snow and ice predicted, which is frustrating, but there is little doubt we will be getting hit head on by this winter's first major snow event. There is also pretty much consensus that the coast is likely to see flooding and severe icing, which is definitely something to be aware of if you are on the coast or have travel plans or work obligations in the metro Boston or Providence areas.  

We will try and keep you updated on expected impacts & developments on our social channels as the models become more predictive. 

If you're expecting a delivery, please make sure you are using fill ports that are properly coded, and make sure the pathway to the fill is cleared of snow and ice so your driver can make the delivery as quickly and safely as possible. (If you're at home, the same goes for making sure your fill pipe is accessible and there is a clear path to access).

The easier it is for your driver to deliver, the quicker he can get home and off the roads himself. 

If you run backup generators, we highly recommend ensuring they are operational and fueled up prior to the incoming storm. Several of the projected forecasts are prediction damaging ice accumulation and high winds, so it is entirely possible large numbers of New Englander's could lose power.

You definitely don't want to miss the Pats game, so make sure you and your generator are ready to go. 

In terms of general winter preparedness, ready.gov has a great overall guide, you can access it here: 

Ready.Gov - Snowstorms & Extreme Cold

Below is a refresher on the API fill port coding. 

Stay warm & safe out there & GO PATRIOTS!

For several years, we have been offering free training for Firefighters on fuel trucks. This has been a great way for them to see and get familiar with current setups and the technology involved in today's fuel trailers & straight trucks in a non-emergency situation.

Usually the training involves a Safety Director and a veteran driver, who can talk about potential hazards, the day to day work of being safe with hazmat materials, and who can answer firefighter questions about different scenarios. The firefighters always end up asking questions that make us think about how we look at some day to day safety routines as well, I always say we learn just as much, if not more, from them. 

Ed wrote an article for the December issue of Oil & Energy Magazine that goes into what we typically do for firefighter training, and why we think its so important. You can read that article here: Sharing Safety with Local Fire Departments