BHS Safety Director Shares Communication Techniques Around Risk Assessment

April 28, 2023

Safety is Priority One at the Bennett Family of Companies.  That’s why it was important for Alicia Echols, Director of Safety and Compliance with Bennett Heavy & Specialized, LLC (BHS), to be a part of the recent Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) webinar to discuss the significance of “Making Risk Reduction a Fleetwide Initiative.” During the webinar, Alicia spoke on a variety of topics including a safety culture within Bennett, communication strategies, safety initiatives and driver engagement efforts around safety.

Bennett Heavy & Specialized, a division of the Bennett Family of Companies, was founded in 2012.  BHS provides safe and secure transportation services for HAZMAT materials and other sensitive and highly secured cargo shipments. In addition, BHS serves Aerospace, Government Freight and Commercial Explosives markets. The division is comprised of 144 team trucks and 11 local and solo drivers.

With a large fleet that hauls classified loads across America, it is even more critical to maintain a robust safety program.

“BHS has a unique approach to safety.  Our safety department and operations department work together to accomplish the safety goals.  By working together, we figure out how to communicate effectively and learn to push risk assessment ahead of risk response.  We don’t want to respond just after the fact when something happens out on the road (yes, it is important to address), but we want to see those patterns beforehand.  It is much more effective to proactively identify and mitigate risks before they occur.

We all are trying to make sure our drivers get home safely and keep the motoring public safe.  This is why I felt like it was important for other people to hear what we are doing since this is an objective that everyone in the trucking industry shares.“

said Alicia Echols, Director of Safety and Compliance with Bennett Heavy & Specialized