FEDERAL AGENCIES and trucking associations are adding information about logistics expertise, research and development, and analysis. They are keeping their Web sites updated, rearranging their content to better serve their visitors, and adding new services. In the past, finding information about federal regulations and obtaining the latest news from associations depended on the mail service. But, today the Internet allows the groups to disseminate their information immediately.
Below is a review of a few federal and association Web sites that are staying on top of the Internet's ability to extend their resources. At the click of the mouse, carriers can access their safety records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or gain safety advice from the Volpe Center. The American Chemistry Council has posted human health data as it is related to exposure to chemicals.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association is using its Web site to promote its safety courses.
A new and improved Web site has been launched by the John A Volpe Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The center is an internationally recognized center of transportation and logistics expertise involved in research and development, engineering, and analysis.
The site introduces a section that focuses on the Department of Transportation's five strategic goals: safety, mobility, economic growth, human and natural environment, national security, and the work that the center performs in support of those goals.
A transportation strategic plans link leads to information on strategic planning within the Department of Transportation and the National Science and Technology Council.
Bibliographies of the center's final technical reports from 1970 to present can be assessed. Information also is available on global positioning systems and human factors-related documents. If visitors to the site would like to learn more about other transportation-related sites on the Web, this information is available through links. They are organized by category, including a government directory with resources on finding government information, departments, agencies, and branches; various transportation-related sites from the Department of Transportation; Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) links; aviation and research resources; and a general reference category with information on news, statistics, public policy, and more.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) online analysis and information section offers a safety Web site that provides descriptive statistics and detailed analyses about motor carrier safety, as well as the programs and countermeasures that FMCSA has implemented to promote safety. It gives trucking companies information to improve their safety programs and provides the results of recent truck safety research. It also provides a tool to help federal, state, and local enforcement officials plan safety programs and monitor motor carrier safety performance.
Among the pages are the SafeStat run results and SafeStat history for each carrier for the last six SafeStat runs. A new sub-module, Program Effectiveness, is now accessible online. This sub-module presents the analysis and results of FMCSA Program Effectiveness research. The objective of FMCSA's Program Effectiveness research is to measure the effectiveness of three FMCSA Safety Programs: Compliance Reviews, Roadside Inspections, and Traffic Enforcement.
Two new analysis reports are now available in a new section titled Carrier Registration Information. The Driver Data Report summarizes the nation's total number of drivers based on the FMCSA MCMIS Census data as of March 2, 2002. The Carrier Operational Classifications Report summarizes the nation's total number of Active Carriers according to the twelve Operational Classifications based on the MCMIS Census data as of March 4,2002.
Two new reports also are available in the Safety Programs section of Current Analysis Results: The Compliance Review Impact Assessment Model, as well as The Intervention Model: Roadside Inspection and Traffic Enforcement Effectiveness Assessment. These reports, developed as part of FMCSA Program Effectiveness Research, describe the models and present results.
The American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Long-Range Research Initiative has launched a web site that provides a comprehensive overview of the program. ACC formed the initiative to expand scientific knowledge of the potential impacts that chemicals may have on human health, wildlife populations, and the environment.
Another focus of the initiative is to expand the industry's commitment to Responsible Care, the chemical industry's global initiative to improve environment, health, and safety.
Research contracts are awarded through the initiative program to institutions through a competitive proposal request process. Information on the awards can be accessed through the site.
Also on the site are project abstracts, funding opportunities, and newsletters.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has taken advantage of the Internet to provide courses via its Web site as part of its mission to offer information to industrial hygienists, occupational and environmental health and safety professionals, and consumers.
The courses that are accessed via the Internet include video from professional development courses recorded live at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce), streaming audio, student handouts, course outline, a full transcription of the audio, multimedia slide presentations, a topic and word search function, automated testing modules, and course evaluations.
Courses vary according to scheduling, but include construction safety for industrial hygiene, respiratory program management, and applied ergonomics.