Well good morning everybody, it's a pleasure to be with you this morning.
My name is Chris Hilkemann, I'm the vice President of Risk Management and Associate General Counsel
here at Crete Carrier and Shaffer Trucking.
I just wanted to spend a few minutes with you this morning to discuss the Food Safety
Moderation Act otherwise known as FISMA, now I wanted to discuss how FISMA impacts the
transportation industry and more importantly how the act affects you as a driver.
So just some brief background information about the Act, the Food Safety Moderation
Act was signed into law by President Obama in January of 2011 and the Act instructed
the Food and Drug Administration to enact rules to ensure that remained safe from farm
to table and thus far seven rules have been enacted and it's the seventh rule that affects
the transportation industry.
The rule regarding the sanitary transportation of human and animal food, and like the other
rules, the rule is designed to ensure food remains safe, but in this respect while it's
being transported in your trailer the rule become affective tomorrow, April 6, 2017.
So how does the rule affect the transportation industry?
Well from a practical level, not a whole lot.
The food and Drug Administration has determined that shippers and carriers are actually doing
a pretty good job already protecting food, in fact it is very rare that there are cases
of food born illnesses that are caused because of an issue in transportation, so when the
FDA drafted the rule they said, let's continue to let carriers and shippers do what they're
already doing, and that is let's continue to let the shippers defy to the carriers what
type of equipment must be utilized to haul their freight, what sanitation requirements
for the trailers are required and what temperature and operating mode a refrigerator unit must
be set at when hauling a shippers product, the carriers must follow the shipper requirements.
So what does this mean for you as a driver?
Well it means that you need to continue doing what you're already doing.
And here's ten things that you need to ensure that you're doing on your loads.
Ensure you are inspecting the trailers for evidence of water leaks, holes, faulty door
seals and other damage that may allow contaminants into your trailer such as dirt, or debris,
pest, things of that nature.
Ensure your trailer is broom clean and if the condition of the trailer requires a wash
out, be sure you get that trailer washed out before delivering it to the shipper.
Some shippers require a washout before that trailer is delivered, so be sure that you're
washing that trailer out if instructed by the operations department.
During your inspection, ensure that no odors exist within the trailer.
Now if your hauling a temperature control load, ensure that your reefer unit is operating
appropriately, the air shoot is in good condition and attached to the ceiling of the trailer
and that the drains are clear and free from obstructions, this ones so that your reefer
as it is intended and be sure to follow any shipper instructions that are relayed to you
by the operations staff.
Now if the trailer needs maintenance be sure to get with your asset manager to have that
trailer prepared before you drop that trailer off at the shipper for loading, this will
ensure that you have no issues at the shipper during loading and no issues at the receiver
during unloading, ensure your reefer is always set to the correct temperature and operating
mode specified on the shippers bill of lading and that you are checking your reefer each
time you stop to ensure that it is operating properly.
Contact the road call center, the breakdown department and the risk management call center
anytime there is a problem with your refrigerated unit.
In the event of a refrigeration issue or any other concern that you have regarding the
sanitary condition of the load, be sure to get with a risk management call center who
will address the issue with the shipper and provide you with instructions.
Now seals and door or seals and door locks continue to remain a big deal although seals
and door locks are not specifically addressed in the rule, shippers and receivers focus
even more heavily on these items so when you deliver be sure not to break the seal unless
you are specifically told to do so by the receiver, its best to break the seal or even
for that matter remove your enforcer lock in the presence of a receiver and some receivers
do require that that occur.
In the event of a broken seal in transit or if you believe that you need to break a seal
for any reason, first contact the risk management call center and wait for instructions, the
risk management call center will work with a shipper to ensure that shipper protocols
are followed to minimize any issues that you may have.
Now there are few specific items that the rule does add.
And what those three items are is if the receiver ask for the operating temperature of the load,
you must provide them with the shipping documents, which specify the operating temperature.
Now the operating temperature mode are typically set forth in the bill of lading, which is
provided to the receiver so there shouldn't be a lot of change here.
Also the shipper and the receiver has the right to ask for a download of the reefer
unit, so if you receive that request from the receiver be sure you pass along that request
promptly to the risk management call center and follow any instructions they or you asset
manager or other operations staff my provide you.
Finally, the rule requires that you are provided training regarding the Food Safety Moderation
Act and the rule regarding Sanitary Transportation of human and animal food.
And we have developed a short training video which will be an online training video, which
will be rolled out to you very soon so be sure to watch for more information regarding
that.
In essence guys and gals, the rule in pretty much common sense, ensure your trailer is
clean and is in good shape, make sure that you don't have any issues with your load and
that the food remains safe.
Remember you eat what you deliver in your trailer so ensure that your trailer is in
the same condition that you would want your dinner to be delivered in.
Pay attention to your bills of lading to ensure that your reefer unit is set at the appropriate
operating temperature and operating mode and if you have any concerns regarding what temperature
requirement the load should be set at, ensure you contact your operations staff and your
asset manager and they'll get with the shipper and provide you with an answer.
If you have any other questions or concerns regarding the sanitary conditions of the load
be sure that you contact your asset manager operations staff or the risk management call
center for assistance.
Guys and gals thats about it, a pretty common sense rule.
Are there any questions?
And there appear to be none.
All right I hope you all enjoy your day, we really appreciate what you do out there on
the road.
Take care.