Premier safety summit of the private fleet world

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NPTC’S NATIONAL Safety Conference is Sept. 4-6 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, Florida. This is a must-attend event. After a record-breaking meeting last year, 2024 could be the largest and most advanced assembly of safety professionals in the council’s 85-year history. More than 325 fleet safety professionals and 50 exhibitors plan to register, representing fleet and allied/supplier safety practitioners across various business sectors and trade specialties.

Attendees gave rave reviews to last year’s conference and have even higher expectations for 2024: “The event was great with excellent speakers and breakout sessions. It was awesome seeing the turnout and how receptive people were to speakers and their messages. This was one of the best exhibitions at an industry trade show—the member contacts were fantastic. We were very impressed with the results and are all in for 2024.”

David Barth, CTP, chair of the NPTC Board of Directors and transportation operations manager at Wegmans Food Markets, said: “I attended my first council safety conference in 2009 and have returned many years since. Participation has more than doubled in 15 years. Repeat attendees come back year after year, joined by many first-timers. This alone is testimony to the tremendous value they discover from networking and sharing among the best safety leaders in the industry.”

Tim Eckhardt, CTP, NPTC Board secretary, director of safety at Dot Foods, and chair of NPTC’s safety committee, said: “This is the premier safety summit of the private fleet world. Its purpose is to learn about proven safety management protocols, benchmarking metrics, breakthrough technologies, and the most innovative tools leading fleets are using to keep fleet safety at an ever-higher level.”

The opening general session will start with an expert fleet panel discussing the private fleet industry’s major safety challenges. In addition, key takeaways from safety performance metrics analyzed in this year’s NPTC Benchmarking Survey Report will be discussed as well.

Topics included in general sessions include active safety technologies, in-cab cameras, building a culture of safety, effective driver coaching strategies, and how driver turnover impacts fleet safety performance.

Rick Schweitzer, NPTC government affairs representative and general counsel, will present the Washing-ton Report, sponsored by Centerline Drivers. This legislative and regulatory update highlights issues of interest to private fleets, focusing on safety-related subjects.

Among the topics covered in the safety-in-the-round break-out sessions will be driver reward and recognition programs, data integration strategies, driver performance scorecards, building the ROI of premium spec’ing, safety, electric vehicles, and the advantages of recruiting from within.

The NPTC Driver All-Star recognition ceremony, sponsored by International Truck, will take place on Sept. 5. More than two dozen drivers will be honored this year. Some 325 drivers have been recognized as National Driver All-Stars in the past 15 years.

The awards are presented to drivers who have demonstrated exemplary performance compared to their peers throughout the country in customer service, safety, adherence to company policies, regulatory compliance, and community service.

To become an All-Star driver, candidates must demonstrate characteristics, skills, and attitudes that enable their private fleet to deliver exceptional service along with safety performance at world-class standards.

NPTC’s National Safety Conference is designed to help your fleet stay on a winning path of continuous improvement with the goal of optimal safety outcomes for the long haul.

Rick Schweitzer, NPTC general counsel Photo: NPTC