The best fleet operators never stop seeking opportunities to meet with industry peers to discuss new ideas for improving their fleet productivity and learn from expert speakers on important topics. The agenda for the PMTC’s 2010 annual conference has been designed to deliver all of those opportunities. The conference date is June 18, and it will all take place at a new venue for us -the fantastic Kingbridge Conference Centre just north of Toronto. You can visit www.kingbridgecentre.com to preview the many features this facility offers.

Over the years the PMTC annual conference has become the single best opportunity for the private trucking community to network with their peers and industry suppliers while taking in educational and instructive seminars on vital topics.

With everyone’s time at a premium these days, the PMTC conference committee pressed for a one-day conference that maintained the high standard of education and networking to which attendees have grown accustomed.

We’ve divided the conference seminars broadly across two themes: Driver Wellness and Managing the Business.

The Driver Wellness sessions will cover two extremely important topics aimed at raising awareness of the importance of the health of your drivers and how you can help them stay healthy and effective. There are many things that high-end fleet managers do to maintain a happy and productive driver pool, and among them, progressive managers are now trying to understand the science of driver health. Armed with a better understanding of the subject, they are able to coach their drivers toward healthy lifestyle habits. To that end we’ve engaged expert speakers on sleep disorders and diet/lifestyle as it affects drivers and their productivity.

We will hear a very interesting report from a fleet operator who has studied Obstructive Sleep Apnea among drivers. This fleet initiated a complete program for testing its drivers and providing assistance to any that were diagnosed with the problem. This progressive approach will be explained by David Johnson, sleep products manager with Medigas, a Praxair Company, and will clearly demonstrate the benefits that Praxair achieved.

Dave addressed the PMTC board of directors on this subject recently and the entire board enthusiastically recommended that he deliver his message to the wider trucking community. Still on the subject of driver wellness, a cardiac team from St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener will be on-hand to discuss the role of proper diet and lifestyle on driver wellness. They will also explain how, with a little coaching from a knowledgeable manager, the productivity and well-being of all your drivers can be improved.

We’ll address the second theme, Managing the Business, with two seminars. First, Dylan Short of the Calyx Transportation Group will lead a seminar entitled Health and Safety, a Business Excellence Model.

The Business Excellence Model was developed in the U.K. and provides a step-by-step approach to creating a culture of safety in an organization, utilizing a cultural diagnostic tool, and implementing and monitoring the new safety culture.

Another Managing the Business seminar will take a practical look at Ontario’s new facility audit program. This promises to be an excellent primer for any fleet that may be about to undergo an audit or simply wants to ensure that its house is in order. The new audit program will be explained by a Ministry of Transportation expert, and will then be followed by a roundtable of fleet operators who have recently undergone an audit. The candid assessment of the process by these fleet managers will provide some practical insight to the process, some lessons learned and perhaps even some tips that will help your fleet pass an audit with flying colours.

The annual awards are always highlights of the conference and we will certainly continue the tradition of celebrating some of the best that trucking has to offer.

The Private Fleet Safety Awards, sponsored by Zurich, recognize some of the safest private fleets in Canada. These awards are handed out to fleets in three different size categories and are designed to acknowledge companies that, over time, have developed and maintained a culture of safety.

We continue celebrating excellence with inductions to the Hall of Fame for Professional Drivers. The Hall of Fame is sponsored by Huron Services Group and resides on the PMTC Web site ( www.pmtc.ca) where you can see the names of those enshrined since 1990.

And of course the Vehicle Graphics Design Awards, sponsored by 3M Canada are always a crowd favourite. You’ll enjoy seeing the creative designs that carriers (private and for-hire) use to promote their products or services. It’s a colourful presentation of extremely effective marketing tools.

Conference registration information is available on our Web site ( www.pmtc.ca) or by calling the office (905-827-0587).

-The Private Motor Truck Council is the only national association dedicated to the private trucking community. Your comments or questions can be addressed to trucks@pmtc.ca.