The main reason why we chose J. J. Keller was their 60+ years in the industry and the experience. We have significant amount of proof that you guys are the subject-matters experts with the DOT. Some of the mock DOT audits, resources and training capabilities were available to all of our communities very quickly. J. J. Keller is really a one-stop shop for everything.
The consultants arrived in a timely manner, conducted the audits in a professional way, worked well with our staff and were able to condense the information they gathered into reports that were well put together and easy to understand. We are not experts in this area and relied heavily on our consultants.
One thing I would recommend for new clients is to focus on the DOT mock audits, so you know what to focus on to pass a DOT audit. These are really helpful to identify where your gaps are and what you need to focus on improving, so you can be prepared to pass a DOT inspection.
The first thing our consultant did was an audit of our systems and plant to identify any gaps. Our consultant put together a binder so there is a monthly approach to training, events and safety committee meetings. It basically breaks the regulatory requirements down over twelve months and gives you a plan to get it done.
You're helping us put together a management system frame-work; as well as fill in the gaps on any policies or procedures we may be missing internally. The outcome has been a number of solid wins for us. Not only have we continued to decrease injuries, we've cut our worker compensation expense by about 40%, we've improved our OSHA rates and we've improved our EMR dramatically. You guys have been a pretty strong partner in reaching those goals.