Truck safety on Arkansas roadways is "personal" to David O'Neal.
As an Arkansas native, O'Neal knows the industry's importance in a state that boasts several of the nation's largest transportation companies. The 41-year-old has dedicated his career to trucking after working 19 years in various roles with FedEx. But there's another factor driving O'Neal as he begins working with transportation companies in his new role with the Arkansas Trucking Association.
"My wife and son are on the highways every day," O'Neal said.
O'Neal is the Arkansas Trucking Association's director of safety services, a position funded by the Arkansas Commercial Truck Safety and Education Program. It awarded the association $368,000 over two years to go toward O'Neal's salary as well as the creation of two programs he'll spearhead to promote safety in the industry.
O'Neal is two months into a position where he'll serve as a safety and regulatory resource for trucking companies across the state, a liaison with governmental bodies like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and public ambassador for the industry. It's an evolving position, but one Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, believes is valuable.
"I think that in order for our industry to be perceived in a way we desire it to be, safety is such a core component of that," said Newton, who estimated half of the nation's state trucking associations have similar positions. "Fundamentally, if we don't deliver freight safely it's a failure. We can talk about infrastructure and regulatory compliance and all that stuff. All that is important. But if we're not safe, nobody cares. So it's important to demonstrate our industry is committed to safety."
Newton said O'Neal has proved his dedication to safety throughout his career, which most recently included a three-year stint as the managing director of safety at FedEx Ground in Pittsburgh.
While at FedEx Ground, O'Neal was in charge of developing the company's safety initiatives and manned a department of 120 employees. FedEx Ground also won the American Trucking Associations' President's Safety Trophy, an award that recognizes a company's superior safety programs and commitment to industrywide promotion of highway safety, during O'Neal's tenure.
The job took O'Neal out of his comfort zone professionally and personally after spending his entire career working in Arkansas. But it also proved to be an important opportunity for growth.
"You can't wallow in self-doubt because you've got to move," O'Neal said. "FedEx is a very fast moving organization in a lot of respects and clearly built on speed. But at the same time, the challenge is seeing things through to fruition. I would do it again, knowing everything I know now, I wouldn't regret going up there. But I'm very happy to be home."
O'Neal was one of four candidates considered for the director of safety services position, but the only person offered the job. Newton said his familiarity with the Arkansas Trucking Association through his previous work at FedEx Freight in Harrison was a deciding factor. Newton added that he was the right fit with the Arkansas Trucking Association's small staff.
Most of his time is expected to be devoted to smaller companies lacking the resources for staff members devoted to safety. But O'Neal's services will be available to anyone who inquires.
"He is a resource not only for our members, but for anyone who may be traveling in the state or anyone who may have a question," Newton said. "It's helpful to say, 'Yeah, we do have someone to answer that question. Hold on just a second.'"
O'Neal recently outlined his job duties during the association's safety management council, which consists of safety professionals from in-state companies, in Little Rock.
O'Neal also told the group he planned to "raise the bar for safety" because it would have a "ripple effect for the industry as a whole."
"We have a person of mass experience in transportation, a person who is willing to go out and establish standards for us," said Dennis Hilton, who is the vice president for safety and compliance at CalArk International Inc. in Little Rock. "He's willing to make visits to sites, help with establishing a training program, particularly for smaller trucking companies that don't have a full staff. I'm very excited as I know a lot of contemporaries are. We feel like our association is only going to get better."
One of O'Neal's immediate tasks is overseeing the formation of an Arkansas Road Team, which will consist of outstanding truck drivers from companies based in the state.
Applications for the program, which is built around the American Trucking Association's national road team, were accepted through Aug. 31 and finalists will be interviewed by a panel next week. The selected group will serve as ambassadors for the industry throughout the state, participating in public events like the State Fair as part of the Arkansas "Share the Road" campaign.
The programs are part of the Arkansas Trucking Association's plans -- through its new director of safety services -- to advocate and demonstrate a commitment to safety on the roadways.
"The industry is safer than it's ever been, but people don't know that," O'Neal said. "So things like the road team and 'Share the Road,' we've got a better channel to talk about all the good things that the industry does for the economy in broad strokes, and, more specifically, the safety aspect to it.
"These drivers are safe, they're well-trained, they want to get home to their families the same way I want my family to get home every day."
SundayMonday Business on 09/13/2015