Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1179108
W EEKLY EDITION OCTOBER 23, 2019 Quality Control in the Field By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director …continued from page 2 Opinions differ on whether you should give your drivers plenty of advanced notice that a leader will be riding with them or simply let them know the morning it will happen. Either way, be sure your drivers know what to expect and answer their questions before the day of the ride along. It should go without saying – but we'll say it any way just to be safe: Make sure you have properly oriented your drivers and ridden along with them during the training phase. The QC ride along should be a routine follow up process for your whole team, not the first time anyone goes out with a driver. Beca use the QC checks should apply equally to newer and more seasoned drivers, you may also want to do some refresher training in the weeks before you start your QC checks just to ensure everyone is on the same page about current expectations. Make sure you h ave a standardized QC checklist that is used for all QC ride alongs. This ensures you are checking the same things for everyone, makes it less likely you'll miss or forget something important, and creates a record. Your checklist should cover everything yo u want the driver to do, and might be divided into sections. The sections might include: • Items they should do or attend to on the yard before leaving for the day. • Several identical sections for monitoring what they should do on each of several sites. If t hey get it right on the first site, do they do it the same way every time? You'll want to document this. • Sections covering safety while driving and safety during loading/unloading and/or service. • Items they should do or attend to when they return to the y ard. • Ideas for spot checks – random things to check in the field that are important areas of quality control but may not apply to every site. • Open comment sections for noting the quality of customer interaction and problem solving. The company leader that is conducting the ride along should introduce him - or herself to the site contact and explain the reason for the visit. This will give you a chance to get feedback from that person and may also favorably impress them with your company's commitment to qual ity. P AGE 16 CONTINUED ON PAGE 1 7