How many of us actually liked our teachers when we were in school? Truthfully.

Sure, sure, there was that grade-nine (insert subject here) hero who today we all claim changed our lives. But overall, truckers aren’t generally delighted by the thought of spending consecutive hours stuck behind a desk.

Or else — like your 28-year-old son or daughter majoring in liberal arts –they’d still be there, trying to figure out how Postmodern Re-constructionist Theory of Humanity 101 is going to put food on their table.

Knowing that drivers and owner-ops would much rather be on the road making miles or at home with the wife and kids than in a classroom — but also recognizing the need for fleets to have drivers evolve with the rapidly changing trucking landscape — Mark Murrell, president of Markham, Ont.-based CarriersEdge, is shopping one of the more complete e-learning systems specifically for the trucking industry.

CarriersEdge, developed with consultation from driver training schools, trucking carriers, and insurers, is a comprehensive online training solution for Canadian carriers, covering regulatory and safety topics, as well as professional development issues such as fuel management and financial planning.

The so-called qualified driver shortage discussed at water coolers for decades in this industry isn’t just a recruitment issue, but also a professional-development challenge.

“Many fleets are starting to ask themselves not just ‘where do I get more professional drivers,’ but also ‘what do I do with the ones I have now?'” says Murrell.

While adaptable veteran drivers are the hottest manpower commodities in trucking, there’s a huge pool of journeymen who perhaps have let the industry pass them by, increasing carrier’s costs in compliance and productivity at the same time.

“The issue for many employers is always about getting better drivers –which is good — but many people don’t realize they already have a good quality fleet, they just need to pull it out.”

The beauty of CarriersEdge, says Murrell, is that it appeals to young, more digitally educated drivers, but also to veteran employees and their managers — neither of whom like sacrificing pay miles or home time for retraining.

“Unfortunately, traditional delivery methods for these programs hamper the effort by forcing unwelcome compromises,” says Murrell. “With [e-learning], drivers can do it during downtime, in 15-minute sessions. Or if they have to do it at home, well, at least they’re still with the family.”

The interface of CarriersEdge is so simple, it
won’t overwhelm less tech-savvy drivers.

Furthermore, Web-based systems eliminate the loads of paper literature or CD programs a fleet manager has to maintain and keep tabs on.

So far, the courses packaged with CarriersEdge (see carriersedge.com for more info) are mainly focused on safety and compliance: defensive driving; logbooks and hours-of-service; pre-trip inspections; TDG; border crossing regs; and cargo securement.

Other “business management and finance 101 stuff” is on the radar, such as learning how to establish rate-per-mile, controlling costs, and understanding contracts.

Another bonus of an Internet-based system is that it’s completely forward compatible with the ever-changing regulatory environment.
“You basically log in the next day and the new features are in there. It’s updated,” says Murrell.

It’s also completely customizable for specific fleet preferences. “We’ve got a framework for adding additional training models. We can drop other people’s content in there for their own custom suite.”

The interface is simple so it won’t overwhelm less tech-savvy drivers. The content has been vetted by industry professionals, training schools, and even carriers with “in the trenches experience” so that the programs make sense in real-world scenarios.

Commands are clear and text is in plain language. Audio voiceovers often complement the text, and visuals, diagrams, and virtual walkthroughs are used to illustrate content as much as possible.

After each component in a particular course, there’s a short quiz. The final step is to summarize all the main points throughout every part of the course in a review before taking a final exam. Throughout the whole process, a supervisor can log on and monitor the driver’s progress and even offer assistance if it’s needed.

The ROI on such a system is obviously a smarter, more profitable driver. But now insurers are offering direct incentives too. In January, CarriersEdge entered into a multi-year, national agreement with Marsh Canada to provide Marsh customers a customized version of the driver development system, as well as preferred pricing on all services — not to mention the improved fleet risk assessment an underwriter is likely to consider for carriers that administer the system to drivers.

In this business, that kind of grade goes a long way.