MPC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	The Effects of Technologies on Commercial Vehicle Company Safety and Service: A Supply Chain Perspective
Authors:	Brenda M. Lantz
University:	North Dakota State University
Publication Date:	Dec 2006
Report #:	MPC-06-186
Project #:	MPC-175
TRID #:	01053572
Keywords:	automated clearance, commercial vehicles, government agencies, highway safety, regression analysis, supply chain management, technology

Abstract

Because of the importance of safety, and the potential benefits for both the general public and the commercial vehicle industry of improving safety, the main goal of this project is to identify those commercial vehicle-related technologies that, through successful adoption, have had a positive impact on the safety of motor carrier companies. This is examined through two perspectives?one simply examining the effect of a technology implementation on safety and the second identifying the effect of a successful adoption of a technology on safety. It is hypothesized that technologies with factors that lead to successful adoption will have a greater safety impact.

The main implication of this study for both commercial vehicle companies and government agencies is that simply implementing a technology, or advocating implementing a technology, may not give a desired result, and in some cases may even result in a negative impact on safety. The company needs to take the time to learn the technology and integrate it fully into the company in the right way for it to have a positive impact. Similarly, government agencies should examine companies have successfully implemented certain technologies and that have a good safety record to determine the steps they took during the implementation. Providing this information to other companies examining implementation of a technology could prove very useful and assist toward a positive safety impact from the technology.