The seventh annual Fleet Safety Conference was held Oct. 29-21 at the M Resort in Las Vegas. With an attendance of more than 220 fleet managers, EHSW and HR professionals, and other fleet safety stakeholders, the conference provided attendees with real-world, actionable ways to make fleet operations both safer and more efficient. Photos and text by Mike Antich.
2018 Fleet Safety Conference
The conference agenda included many panel discussions featuring fleet managers showcasing best practices and successful fleet safety initiatives. This panel discussion, entitled “Successful Implementation of Safety Programs that Drivers Will Embrace,” included four fleets presenting case studies of safety initiatives.
Discussing telematics as a safety tool were four fleet managers (L-R): Dave Rush of RAI Trade Marketing Services, Lee Pierce of Weatherford, Kim Cregar of Eli Lilly, and Adam Orth of General Mills. Rob Minton of Geotab moderated.
Attendees were able to test drive a Ford Fusion to get a first-hand demonstration of its suite of
safety technologies, such as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping system.
Offering insights into best practices in driver risk assessment were (L-R) Bob Mossing, fleet manager for STERIS Corp. and Ralf Wessel, manager global fleet for AGCO Corp. Moderating the discussion was Matt Betz of SambaSafety.
Twenty three companies exhibited at the 2018 Fleet Safety Conference that included telematics providers, fleet management companies, fleet safety companies, collision avoidance technology companies, and OEMs.
A forum on the future of vehicle safety featured (R-L) Jennifer Morrison of the National Transportation Safety Board, William Bensmiller of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and Guy Mangiamele of AMCI Testing.
The Fleet Safety Conference is noted for its robust interactive participation between audience members and presenters. One attendee interacting with presenters during a panel discussion on “The New Best Practices in Driver Risk Assessment” was John Dmochowsky, global fleet manager for Mondelez International.
One of the keynote speakers was Sergio Rojas of Hirschbach Motor Lines, who spoke on driver health.
Abe Stephenson, fleet manager for DISH, explains how to increase policy compliance. Other fleet manager panelists (L-R) were JJ Keig of CBRE, Blair Schober of Red Hawk, and Kristin Leary of Syneos. Moderating was Eliot Bensel of CEI.
A panel discussion entitled “Tomorrow’s Technology for a Safer Fleet Today,” featured three fleet managers (L-R): Mike Miller of Advance Auto Parts, David McCauley of Service Experts, and John Dmochowsky of Mondelez.
The winner of 2018 HDT Safety & Compliance Award sponsored by Omnitracs was (2nd from left) Michael Lasko, manager of safety and quality at Boyle Transportation. The 2018 AALA Fleet Safety Award was won by (center) Blair Schober, U.S. fleet manager for Red Hawk Fire and Security.
One of the exhibitors at the Fleet Safety Conference was Driving Dynamics. Standing far left is company president and CEO Art Liggio. The 30-year -old company specializes in providing driver and safety training and risk services.
Networking played a central role at the Fleet Safety Conference. Many networking breaks were scheduled in the conference agenda to provide attendees with ample opportunity for peer-to-peer networking and to receive product demonstrations from fleet safety suppliers operating from table top exhibits positioned around the perimeter of the main foyer of the conference area. Breakfast and lunch were also served in the foyer exhibit area.
NETS Executive Director Joe McKillips identified the “Top Five Best Practices in Fleet Safety Management.”