SERVICES

Our Consulting Services team works closely with our clients to identify risks and analyze training needs. Our highly qualified professionals will help your company adopt the safety programs and policies set out in the Ministry of Transportation and National Safety Code guidelines.

Our solutions are tailored to your unique operations and developed in conjunction with provincial and federal regulatory requirements. These services include, but are not limited to:

    ●        Specialized Services

    ●        Outsource services

 Specialized Services

We offer consulting services on a wide range of topics as per the requirements of Ministry of Transportation Ontario and National Safety Codes. Furthermore, we have partnerships with additional consultants when we need to provide immediate and focused delivery of services. We provide the expertise and direction to assist your company in maintaining and sustaining a “Satisfactory” Safety Rating with the Ministry of Transportation.

Our consulting services include the following:

     ●        Carrier Safety Risk Analysis/Compliance Review

Risk management begins with risk assessment. Risk assessment should help determine what is needed to protect a carrier from hazards. It should also lead to operational changes that reduce risks through a strategy of continual risk assessment, risk avoidance, risk reduction, and risk allocation or transfer.

Our consultant will visit the carrier facility and/or terminals to perform an on-site analysis. During the assessment, the following key areas will be explored:

●        Safety management analysis

●        Driver hiring

●        Maintenance procedures

●        Accident analysis

●        Carrier profile analysis

●        Hours of service

●        Self-audit

●        Terminal and fleet security

●        Driver incentive and retention programs

●        Orientation

Our review will identify high-risk areas that have the potential to severely impact your business operations. JD Consulting will then work with you to develop and implement strategies and best practices that will address key areas of concerns.

     ●        Facility Audit

The implementation of best practices is intended as a method to minimize risk, but best practices must be used in addition to being compliant with the Highway Traffic Act. To determine compliance with the HTA regulations, a carrier should undergo a self-audit.

Ontario’s Facility Audit takes a “risk-based” approach when examining the elements of an operator’s safety programs and practices. The National Safety Code Standards and provincially legislated requirements are measured and scored. During an MTO Facility Audit, the following three profiles are examined and totalled for overall compliance.

The Qualifications, Records and Reporting Profile documents the operator’s record keeping and reporting practices in the areas of Qualified Drivers (valid license, proper class, endorsements and appropriate certifications), Records (location and retention of abstracts, collision and conviction records), and Reporting (operator collisions, driver convictions and collisions)

The Hours of Service Profile examines and measures driver/operator compliance with the requirements of Highway Traffic Act O/Reg 555/06. Non-compliance is quantified and expressed as a percentage of the driver’s monthly activity. Administrative Data items (Form, Manner and Content. Location and Retention), Programs and Records are examined for compliance within, but not to exceed, a 6-month period from the date of the audit.

The Vehicle Maintenance Profile examines the operator’s preventative maintenance and reporting programs in the areas of defect reporting and resolution of trip inspection reports, compliance with intervals of operator’s PM and annual inspections. Programs and records are examined for compliance within, but not to exceed, a 24-month period from the date of the audit.

Scoring: The three Profile Compliance Rates are expressed collectively as Audit Compliance Achieved (ACA).

 Pass - if the ACA is greater than 55% and no Profile Compliance Rate is below 50%

 Excellent - if the ACA is greater than 80% and no Profile Compliance Rate is below 70%

 Fail - if any Profile Compliance Rate is below 50%

JD Consulting is operated by a highly competent and experienced consultant, a recently retired MTO Auditor and Investigator. We will conduct on-site audits in a similar fashion to that of a Ministry facility audit. Audits will consist of full review of driver logs, daily inspection reports, vehicle maintenance files, driver qualification and monitoring files, safety and training files, violation and collision files, and all applicable supporting documents. At the conclusion of the audit, the consultant will provide you with detailed audit findings and recommendations for areas of improvement.

 ·         Representation at MTO & DOT Facility Audit

When an operator's overall CVOR violation rate exceeds 50%, the MTO system will generate an automatic audit notification. You are a candidate for a facility audit if your company has a significant recent event. Although the Ministry may provide the operator an audit notification ranging from 2 to 10 days, there is no such requirement on the part of the Ministry auditor to provide the carrier with any advance notice.

As your consultant, we will provide on-site representation during MTO/DOT Facility Audits to assist you in complying with requests for documentation and support you throughout the audit process. We will work with you in the preparation of the audit, while you can focus on the day-to-operation of your business.

·         Representation during MTO Interviews

A carrier may be called upon to attend a Ministry-initiated interview when the carrier reaches 85% of their overall CVOR violation threshold. The interview will be conducted by the staff at the Office of the Deputy Registrar of Motor Vehicles. At the interview, ministry staff may cover a wide range of topics concerning the operational problems and contributing factors, results of previous audits, accident prevention, vehicle maintenance and pre-trip inspections, driver's qualifications, training, hours of service, and related topics.

We will provide representation at these meetings if the carrier is committed to making changes in their operation based on an action plan proposed by JD Consulting. To avail this service the carrier must be prepared to sign a long-term retainer agreement with JD Consulting, as this will require ongoing monitoring of safety performance.

·         Representation at Show Cause Hearings

When a carrier's overall CVOR violation rate exceeds 100%, the Registrar may call the carrier to a meeting to explain why it's CVOR certificate should not be suspended or cancelled. While this policy is set out in various publications and legislation, it is the Registrar's duty to take appropriate steps at any time in the interests of promoting highway safety and protecting the public from unsafe operators.

JD Consulting will undertake a full review of the carrier's past performance in facility audits and on-road activities. Based on the review, we will identify key problem areas and prepare an action plan on behalf of the carrier with implementation dates for submission at the Show Cause Hearing. The plan will also include the involvement of JD Consulting as a partner for ongoing monitoring of safety performance.

·         License Appeal Tribunal Hearings

Despite various Ministry interventions, if the carrier's violation rate continues to exceed 100% of CVOR threshold, the Ministry may impose sanctions against the company. Sanctions may result in fleet limitation, plate seizure suspension or cancellation of a carrier's operating privileges. Sanctions that have been ordered may be appealed to the Licence Appeal Tribunal. The Licence Appeal Tribunal is an adjudicative agency that provides a fair efficient impartial and independent means to appeal decisions concerning licensing activities regulated by the Ministry of Transportation.

After a full review of the carrier's past safety performance, JD Consulting may be in a position to represent the carrier at the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

 ●        CVSA

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is representative of state, federal, and provincial law enforcement agencies and the trucking industry in general, and applies not only to Canada, but also to the United States and Mexico. The CVSA has developed uniform inspection procedures and enforcement standards used by the Ministry of Transportation.

Poor results from a single roadside inspection can put a vehicle and the driver out of service. Too many violations and defects by one carrier may result in a full-scale in-house compliance audit. Audits can be costly. They can seriously affect the company’s safety rating, make for bad public relations, or even worse, shut down the company altogether.

JD Consulting offers a full range of CVSA Inspections on a carrier’s fleet at your facility or yard, including surprise inspections to ensure that your drivers and mechanics keep the fleet maintained in safe operating condition at all times. These surprise inspections are conducted in the same manner as CVSA Roadside Inspections. At the end of said inspections, the carrier will receive a full report with our findings and observations, as well as recommendations for corrective measures, if applicable.

Review of Audit Charges

If JD Consulting is your consultant on record, we will review all your audit charges and other HTA charges. Based on our review of evidence against the company and/or driver, we will provide you with the best course of action. In most cases, JD Consulting may be in a position to resolve the issues with the crown prior to the trial. If we identify that you need legal representation, we will recommend the most qualified firm that specializes in POA charges to act on your behalf. Protecting your CVOR record is our primary goal.

Maintain Driver & Vehicle Safety and MTO Compliance

Quality Service - Extraordinary Results

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