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September 5, 2006
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Headline News
Due to scheduling issues and
Board members time constraints, PTDI will not be holding its
Board of Directors meeting in conjunction with the Truckload Carriers
Association Annual Convention in Las Vegas. Chairman Haight, ask that we look
at a date in late April or early May, please look in your emails for this
announcement.
DHS
Issues TWIC Rule for Securing U.S. Port Access
The Department of Homeland Security has announced the issuance of the final rule
for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, which
enhances port security by checking the backgrounds of workers before they are
granted unescorted access to secure areas of vessels and maritime facilities.
The rule was posted publicly on the Transportation Security Administration’s
website this week and has been delivered to the Federal Register for
posting in the coming days. For a draft of the final rule, click
here. The rule lays out the enrollment process, disqualifying crimes,
usage procedures, fees and other requirements for workers, port owners and
operators. These guidelines allow the industry, government and public to
prepare for the implementation of the security program.
The TSA and the U.S. Coast Guard held four public meetings around the nation
and received more than 1,900 comments regarding the initial draft of the
federal rule. Comments were filed by workers, port facility owners and
operators, small businesses and others who would be affected by the new
program. DHS says all comments were considered in the development of the final
rule, which is expected to impact more than 750,000 port employees,
longshoreman, mariners, truckers and others who require unescorted access to
secure areas of ports and vessels.
Specific measures include:
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Security threat assessment – TWIC applicants will undergo a comprehensive
background check that looks at criminal history records, terrorist watch lists,
immigration status and outstanding wants and warrants. If no adverse
information is disclosed, TSA typically completes a security threat assessment
in less than 10 days.
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Technology – The credential will be a Smart card containing the applicant’s
photograph and name, an expiration date and a serial number. In addition, an
integrated circuit chip will store the holder’s fingerprint template, a PIN
chosen by the individual, and a card holder unique identifier.
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Eligibility – Individuals lacking lawful presence and certain immigration
status in the United States, connected to terrorist activity, or convicted of
certain crimes will be ineligible for a TWIC.
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Use – During the initial rollout of TWIC, workers will present their cards to
authorized personnel, who will compare the holder to his or her photo, inspect
security features on the TWIC and evaluate the card for signs of tampering. The
Coast Guard will verify TWIC cards when conducting vessel and facility
inspections and through spot checks using handheld readers to ensure
credentials are valid. Until card reader technology is tested and a regulation
issued on access control, facility owners and operators will not be required to
utilize TWIC readers for facility access.
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Cost – The fee for TWIC will be between $139 and $159, and the TWIC cards will
be valid for five years. Workers with current, comparable background checks –
including a hazardous materials endorsement to a commercial driver’s license,
merchant mariner document or Free and Secure Trade (FAST) credential – will pay
a discounted fee, between $107 and $127. The exact amount of the fee will be
established and published once an enrollment support contract is finalized in
early 2007. A subsequent Federal Register notice will be issued at
that time.
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Biometric data – Applicants will provide a complete set of fingerprints and sit
for a digital photograph. Fingerprint checks will be used as part of the
security threat assessment. Fingerprint templates extracted from the biometric
data will be stored on the credential.
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Privacy and information security – The entire enrollment record (including all
fingerprints collected) will be stored in the TSA system, which is protected
through role-based entry, encryption and segmentation to prevent unauthorized
use. Employees of a vendor under contract to TSA known as “Trusted Agents” will
undergo a TSA security threat assessment prior to collecting biometric and
biographic data of TWIC enrollees. All enrollee personal data is deleted from
the enrollment center work stations once the applicant completes the process.
TWIC enrollment will begin in March 2007, initially at a small number of ports,
and implementation will comply with the schedule established in the SAFE Port
Act. Additional TWIC deployments will increase and continue throughout the year
at ports nationwide on a phased basis. Workers will be notified of when and
where to apply prior to the start of the enrollment period in their given area.
After issuance of TWIC cards to a port’s workers has been accomplished, DHS
will at each port establish and publish a deadline by which all port workers at
that port will thereafter be required to possess a TWIC for unescorted access.
While developing the regulation for TWIC in the summer and fall of 2006, TSA
completed name-based security threat assessments on port employees and
longshoremen. These assessments against terrorist watch lists and immigration
data sets were an interim measure and did not include the criminal history
records check that will be a part of TWIC. According to CCJ Magazine.
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FMCSA
Renews 8 Vision Exemptions
FMCSA has announced through the Federal Register, its decision to renew
the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations for 8 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt
individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not
compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will
provide a level of safety that will be equivalent to, or greater than, the
level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor
vehicle (CMV) drivers.
These exemptions are extended subject to the following conditions:
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That each individual have a physical examination every year
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by an ophthalmologist or optometrist who attests that the vision in the better
eye continues to meet the standard in 49 CFR 391.41;
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by a medical examiner who attests that the individual is otherwise physically
qualified under 49 CFR 391.41;
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That each individual provide a copy of the ophthalmologist's or optometrist's
report to the medical examiner at the time of the annual medical examination;
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That each individual provide a copy of the annual medical certification to the
employer for retention in the driver's qualification file and retain a copy of
the certification on his/her person while driving for presentation to a duly
authorized Federal, State, or local enforcement official.
Each exemption will be valid for two years unless rescinded earlier by FMCSA.
The exemption will be rescinded if:
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The person fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the exemption;
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The exemption has resulted in a lower level of safety than was maintained
before it was granted;
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Continuation of the exemption would not be consistent with the goals and
objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315.
To review the drivers exempted as they appear in the
Federal Register.
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Agency
to Examine Vision Exemption Requests
FMCSA has announced, through the Federal Register, the receipt of
applications from 32 individuals for exemptions from the vision requirement in
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. If granted, the exemptions would
enable these individuals to qualify as drivers of commercial motor vehicles
(CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the Federal vision standard.
Accordingly, the Agency will evaluate the qualifications of each applicant to
determine whether granting the exemption will achieve the required level of
safety mandated by statute and can renew exemptions at the end of each 2-year
period.
To review the list of individuals that applied for a vision exemption as they
appear in the
Federal Register.
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Manage
Less, Win More!
Jack Welch, the former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, is known as one of
the most effective developers of leaders in modern business history. Dozens of
former GE executives, developed under the tutelage of Welch, have gone on to
lead Fortune 500 companies. His business became an incubator for leaders.
But what is ironic is that he spent the past few years of his tenure at GE
telling his managers to manage less. In short, what he wanted was for his
managers to create a vision for their workers and then get out of the way and
let the people do their jobs. The concept sounds simple, but is often difficult
to execute.
Now don’t get me wrong. Welch didn’t want his managers taking two-hour lunch
breaks and leaving to play golf two or three times a week. But what he did want
was for them to spend less time managing and more time leading. He wanted them
to clearly lay out a vision of the preferred outcome and then spend more time
making sure everyone was on the same page and consistently fighting to bring to
life that vision.
Most managers want to manage. They want to keep their fingers in
the pie. They want to keep tabs on their employees. And all of that is fine if
that is done without obstructing the employees. Welch’s message to his
managers: Relax! Give your people room to perform, he would say.
For people to have room to succeed, they have to have room to fail. Defining
that fine line is the challenge of any leader or manager. How do we unleash our
people but monitor them closely enough to measure their success … or failure?
The answer is to make sure we are managing the right things.
I am reminded of the story I often use about the mom and dad standing at the
kitchen window looking out at their young sons and their friend from down the
street playing in the newly-sodded yard. The father yelled out to the boys to
get off his precious new, and expensive, grass. The mother turned to her
husband and asked,” What are you doing?” He responded by saying, “I’m never
going to get that grass to grow if those kids don’t get off of it.” The mother
responded by saying, “We’re not raising grass, we’re raising children.” The
mother, in this case, clearly understands the importance of managing the right
things in life.
There is nothing wrong with managing as long as we remember that we manage our
business, we lead our people. People don’t want to be managed. They want to be
lead. What drives us to do what we do? Why do we manage what we manage? We need
to be able to ask ourselves these questions and provide ourselves with clear
and concise answers. If we can’t answer it ourselves, we should probably
reexamine our motives and/or actions.
If we, as managers and leaders, are too close to the forest, all we see are the
trees. We must keep enough distance between ourselves and our people that we
continue to focus on the big picture and give them the tools they need to stay
focused on the vision – on the preferred outcome.
Another reason to give our people more room to perform is that it instills
self-confidence. People often perform up to the expectations we place on them.
When we back off and allow our people room to succeed or fail, they often have
the room they need to perform at the highest levels.
Jack Welch believes the most important task of a manager is to allocate people
and resources. Put the right people in the right jobs, give them the tools they
need, and then allow them to do what they are hired to do. Many managers have a
problem with this concept. They often are so close to the daily activities they
get in the way of the very people they have hired to perform the tasks.
Managers are crucial to an organization’s success. However, business really is
simple. It only gets complicated when we, as managers, make it so. Our main
goal should be to create an environment where our people have a clear vision of
what is expected and objectives to help quantify success, an environment where
confidence is instilled and expectations are high and an environment where
great people are allowed to do great things.
When we, as leaders, make clear to our managers what we expect from them, we are
much more likely to get the results we seek. Jack Welch understood the role of
his managers and helped them understand it as well. He took people who often
felt their role was to maintain control and convinced them to relax and step
back. The result was, and is today, a very complex but effective organization
that maintains firm control over its business in its own way but provides ample
room for its people to excel.
Great leaders understand the importance of managing the business while freeing
the people who make it happen. If we have hired correctly, our people will do
great things if we will get out of their way. Let’s manage where we need to
manage and lead where we need to lead. There is a clear difference. When we
understand and live it, we are clearly on the track Jack Welch created at GE.
Be a leader today and everyday!
Bill Webb is Senior Vice President at FFE Transportation Services, Inc., a
publicly held refrigerated carrier based in Dallas, Texas. He is also the
founder of The Blue Flame Project (www.theblueflameproject.com), a nationwide
leadership initiative, and the author of the upcoming book “Igniting The Blue
Flame: A Call to Leadership.” He speaks throughout the country on the issue of
leadership.
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TCA
Executive and Select Committee Meetings – February 11-13, 2007
The TCA Executive Committee and some select policy committees will meet in
conjunction with the ATA Winter Leadership meeting scheduled for February
11-13, 2007 in Arlington, VA (a Washington, DC suburb). All TCA meetings are
scheduled for the morning of Sunday, February 11, 2007.
| 7:30 am – 9:00 am
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TCA Joint Meeting: Highway Policy Committee & Committee on Operating
Practices |
| 7:30 am – 9:00 am
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TCA Regulatory Policy Committee |
| 9:30 am – 11:30 am |
TCA Executive Committee |
Please click here for the reply form and return it by January 19, 2007. Please
note that if you serve on one the policy committees scheduled to meet, you will
receive a separate email. You need only complete the reply form once.
All hotel reservations (Westin Arlington Gateway) are made through the American
Trucking Associations. Please complete their Registration and Housing form and
return to the conventions department of the American Trucking Associations.
(Click here for the form).
Agendas will be mailed in mid January. If you have any questions, feel free to
contact any TCA staff member.
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Ohio
Turnpike Increase in Tolls
Tolls on the Ohio Turnpike increased starting January 1. The rate will increase
to $38.50. In 2004 the rate was lowered from $42.45 to $31.00. The Ohio
Turnpike Commission also voted to adopt E-ZPass for drivers on the highway.
Drivers should expect the automated toll collection system to be available in
about two years. (Truckline, 12/19/06)
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Georgia
Toll Only Lanes
The Georgia Department of Transportation has received four competing proposals
to develop truck-only toll lanes on the western side of Interstate 285. When
first opened in 1969, I-285 was designed to serve as a bypass for Atlanta. Over
the years, it has evolved into a main artery. The state has yet to determine
whether the toll lanes will be voluntary or mandatory. Under the state’s
public-private initiative law, private companies may propose projects on public
roads.
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