SAN DIEGO — Rick Miller, senior vice president of operations for Guelph, Ont.-based MacKinnon Transport, took charge of the Truckload Carriers Association’s (TCA) Open Deck Division.

The announcement was made at the TCA’s annual conference in San Diego.

Miller replaces Gary Salisbury, Fikes Truck Line CEO and the founder of the Open Deck Division.

Salisbury was named the 2011-2012 chairman of the organization.

Miller served as the division’s vice chairman last year.

The Open Deck Division is described by TCA as a "special subgroup that allows member carriers who operate open haul equipment to meet with their peers to discuss problems, share ideas, and seek solutions unique to their specialized area of operations."

In addition to Open Deck, TCA maintains three other divisions: Independent Contractor, Refrigerated, and Safety & Security.

Miller foresees a busy year for the Open Deck Division as it addresses issues affecting the efficiency and profitability of its members.

Among other goals, the group will work to get the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to recognize that special provisions need to be considered for open deck carriers under CSA rulings.

"Another focus will be training drivers on how to prevent workplace injuries and making sure they use three points of contact and can recognize unsafe situations."

Also, he says that the ages of flatbed drivers are steadily increasing. "We’ll need to contribute to TCA’s initiatives to improve overall industry image as the catalyst for finding new ways to bring in younger drivers," he said.