Putting Safety in Every Stride

Archive for the ‘Internal News’ Category

Putting Safety in Every Stride

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018

September’s safety meetings took place the week of September 24th and provided important information for our drivers and aides. The meetings were led by Chief Operating Officer Dave Holls and began with local updates from each terminal’s general manager.

After the local terminal updates, Dave delved into the topic of slips and falls. Slip, trip, and fall hazards can occur in virtually every type of workplace. Injuries that can occur due to these hazards are sprains, strains, bruises and contusions, fractures, abrasions, and cuts. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, slips, trips, and falls make up the majority of all work-related injuries. There are 95,000,000 lost work days per year due to these incidents and they account for 15% of accidental deaths and 25% of all reported injury claims. Slips, trips, and falls, can be avoided by taking extra caution, being aware of your surroundings, and fixing anything you see that is a hazard. It is also important to walk defensively and wear proper shoes.

The next topic discussed was danger zones of the school bus. The entire perimeter around the school bus is a danger zone, with the most dangerous zones being the left and right sides of the rear and the area in front of the nose of the bus. This is why it’s imperative that our drivers teach students the proper way to behave in and around the bus. The best way to exit the bus is to walk out 15 feet from the door to a sidewalk, then turn in the direction you need to go. If something falls/drops in front or around the bus, students are to tell the bus driver before picking it up. Our bus drivers are taught to be extra aware and to always check their mirrors and surroundings, and to do head counts every time students enter and exit the bus.

The meeting ended with safety key performance indicators, performance feedback, and employee handbook updates. With the start of the school year under way, we are ready to make this our best year yet!

Sweet Summer Treat!

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Every year, Trinity Transportation hosts our annual company picnic. It is a time for us to celebrate our company family with delicious food and lots of summer fun! At this year’s picnic, we had blow-up obstacle courses, bounce houses, inflatable water slides and pools, clowns doing face painting and making balloon animals, a DJ, ice cream trucks, and a photo booth! The picnic was held at Lake Erie Metropark (right by the wave pool!) on June 23rd, 2018, and was catered by Kosch Catering, who provided an awesome selection of food. We also conducted an employee raffle, where employees had the chance to win prizes including bicycles, coolers, grills, yard games, 55” 4k TVs, and more!

Despite it raining at one point, the weather was perfect and sunny! Hundreds of employees from our terminals across southeast Michigan and Ohio and their families came to Lake Erie Metropark for our picnic put together to show appreciation for their hard work.  We enjoyed spending the day having fun with our Trinity family and can’t wait for next year’s picnic!

Want to join in on the fun next summer? We are currently hiring for multiple positions!

Safety Rules Are the Best Tools!

Tuesday, May 29th, 2018

Our safety meetings for May were conducted the 21st through 26th and were packed with vital information for our drivers and aides! The meetings were executed by Dave Holls, chief operating officer, and Carl Ingram, Detroit area safety director. Our safety meetings always start with a little introduction then local news and updates from each terminal’s general manager and maintenance department.

After the local updates, Dave talked about distracted driving and showed a news video regarding a recent school bus accident in New Jersey. This horrific accident was caused by a driver who was recklessly driving on the interstate, and is an instance of what could happen when someone is driving distracted. It is not worth the risk. This is why our parent company, National Express, implemented the Target Zero campaign in February. Target Zero is the next phase of our Driving out Harm program and was put in to effect to eliminate fatal accidents from our company. Target Zero is a call to action that encompasses all of our efforts to reduce distracted driving and make the roads safer for our communities.

To piggy-back off of safe driving habits, Dave discussed performance feedback for the month of April. After Dave went over the numbers, Carl reviewed the Driving out Harm program and reiterated the Golden Rules for our drivers (they’re listed in this blog post). Carl then addressed our company’s safety performance KPIs (key performance indicators) for the month of April and talked about the heat risks of summer as the new season approaches. He covered the symptoms of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hyperthermia, and dehydration and how to prevent them. Carl also mentioned how there will be more people on the roads since school will be out soon and discussed different ways drivers can be more alert to the extra bicyclists, pedestrians, cars, and motorcyclists.

An acronym our company uses to ensure safe driving habits is LEFTS:

Let others know your intentions by signaling

Ensure oncoming traffic is clear; do not rush

Fully check your blind spots by leaning forward and backward (rock and roll)

Turn only when you are sure there are no pedestrians in or about to enter the intersection

Stay alert; look around and recheck your mirrors during your turn

Summer is also the season of roadside inspections by Michigan State Police, so Carl covered the various responsibilities drivers have, including carrying their credentials at all times, completing thorough pre-trip and post-trip inspections, and being extra aware of their surroundings.

To finish the presentation, Dave returned to remind drivers of our upcoming company activities. First is attendance bingo, where employees get a stamp for every date on their card for which they have perfect attendance during the month of May. Once an employee has a bingo, they turn in their card and have three chances to win awesome prizes, the ultimate grand prize being a 55” Smart LED TV with a Blu-Ray player and complete sound system! Second is our first annual Detroit Tigers company outing, which is taking place on June 2nd. If you’re at that game, keep a look out for a large group with purple shirts – that’s us! And lastly, Dave announced Trinity’s 22nd annual company picnic, where we have food, fun, and prizes!

We’re excited for the fun things ahead and to continue with our safety mission!

Let’s Talk Safety!

Tuesday, May 1st, 2018

It’s that time where our operations and safety teams host our monthly safety meetings! Our April meetings took place the week of the 23rd and were full of pertinent information. Dave Holls, chief operating officer, and Carl Ingram, Detroit area safety director, led the meetings, covering various topics from “getting back to basics” to child checks – and even informing employees of a wage increase!

The meeting started with a brief introduction from Dave Holls then segued into local terminal updates from each terminal’s general manager and maintenance updates from each terminal’s lead mechanic. Dave then talked about core responsibilities: on-time transportation and excellent customer service – things we prioritize at Trinity. The terminals received a little pep talk from Kid President to help encourage arriving to work with a positive attitude and the right mindset (it’s super cute – you can watch it here)!

Distracted driving was a main topic, reiterating how important it is to keep the kids of our community safe while on the road. One of our programs is called Driving Out Harm, which encourages staff to make sure their workplace is safe and to put the safety of customers and colleagues first at all times. The Golden Rules for our drivers are: “I will always put the safety of passengers first; be fit for work; check my vehicles and only drive if it is safe; drive safely and defensively; and report all accidents, injuries, and near misses”.

Child Checks were also an important topic covered. At Trinity, we have a policy in place that requires school bus drivers and aides to do child checks after the last stop of each route or field trip and upon returning to their terminal. Child Checks ensure that no child is left on the bus and each child gets home safely. Our entire school bus staff has signed the Child Check Pledge!

Here at Trinity, we are committed to keeping our kids, roads, and community safe, and our monthly safety meetings are a vital part in doing so!

Training Day!

Monday, April 16th, 2018

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

On Thursday April 5th, during Spring Break week, we held a full day training in-service for 30 of our operational staff (dispatchers and general managers) from all of our locations.  With many transitional activities taking place – and to ensure everyone was best prepared for the busy spring season ahead – Trinity brought everyone together for one last training and development session for the school year.

After the training, management took everyone to downtown Detroit for a fun evening of team building activities, which including going to “Escape the Room” (an escape room where you have 60 minutes for your team to decipher clues and get out), and then out to a fabulous dinner afterwards.

We had a great day filled with knowledge and development that ended in fun! Our dispatchers and general managers are ready to serve you, our customers, with their best foot forward!

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New Dedicated Charter Center

Trinity/Durham Transportation is thrilled to announce our Dedicated Charter Center located at 24500 Van Born Road, Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

Our Charter Center accommodates the needs of our clients who travel at any time throughout the day.

There are no time restrictions that require us to work around existing home to school routes. 

Contact – Reservations@TrinityTransportaton.com

 

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