Truck Driver Health: A New Competitive Advantage

In this episode, we explore the intricate correlation between mental and physical health, highlighting how fatigue, heat stress, financial trouble, and marital problems can adversely affect both. 

We discuss the unique challenges individuals face in diverse fields, including long haul, last mile, and field services, often called industrial athletes.

How to reach our guests: 
Jeff Martin, VP of Global Sales Strategy, Lytx
  / jeff-martin-43239b198  
https://www.lytx.com/

Dr. Mark Manera, founder and CEO, Offshift
  / truckingcompanywellnessprogram-truck-drive...  
https://offshift.ai/


Your Hosts:
John Farquhar
Summit Risk Solutions: summitrisksolutions.ca
1 226 802-2762
John@summitrisksolutions.ca


Chris Harris
Safety Dawg Inc: safetydawg.com
Chris@SafetyDawg.com
1 905 973 7056



00:00 Introduction to Mental and Physical Health Correlation
00:07 Challenges Faced by Industrial Athletes
00:15 Impairment Possibilities and Distractions
00:27 Impact of Personal Issues on Mindset

Keeping it Safety Dawg Simple!
#trucksafety #truckinsurance #truckpodcast

Do you need a "Truck Driver Safety Policy?" Get it today! https://safetydawg.com/policy

Transcript

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 0:00

And welcome to this week's episode of the Trucking Risk and Insurance podcast. This week, we've got Jeff Martin, who is the Vice President of Lytx for Global Sales. And hey, we've upgraded the show. We got a doctor, Dr. Dr. Mark Manera of Offshift on the show. And we are talking about how to increase your retention through paying attention. That's next. Welcome to the Trekking Risk and Insurance Podcast. Hey boys, welcome to the Trucking Risk and Insurance podcast. Jeff from Lenox, can you introduce yourself please?

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 0:45

Yes, first of all, thank you for having me today. I'm really excited about this opportunity to have a great discussion. Obviously, VP for Linux for the past two years now. After a short retirement, which 25 year career with Waste Management, where I served as Director of Operations, Director of Safety. In the last 12 years before my retirement at the end of 21 as the VP of Waste Management Safety Services, where I had a great opportunity and responsibility to be responsible for 35, 000 frontline employees across North America and, uh, It was a hell of an experience with 30, 000 vehicles, uh, because each one poses its own risk besides the industrial athlete side of it, if you will. Uh, but it's a great opportunity to learn firsthand, uh, from those uh, drivers and frontline managers. Uh, and, uh, real excited to be here today to share some of my experience with

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 1:41

you. Thanks, Jeff. Mark. Dr. Mark Manera.

Dr. Mark Manera: 1:45

Uh, no, you can call me Mark. It's all good. It's all good. I appreciate it, John and Chris. Thank you so much for having me. And, uh, yeah, so my name is Mark Manera. I'm the founder of, uh, Offshift. We're a digital health company built for the trucking industry. My background is not in the truck. Trucking and transportation industry as a whole. I have a doctorate degree in physical therapy and four and a half, five years ago, I was working in a PT clinic here in St. Louis and in walked in a bunch of truck drivers and it was my first time getting to know some people on some drivers on a personal level and First time seeing what 20, 30 years behind the wheel can do to someone's health. And it just threw me down this rabbit hole. And, uh, funny enough, Chris was one of the first people I met in the industry and I was on his podcast. So if you want to laugh, go back four years and watch the episode. And, uh, I haven't looked back since.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 2:37

Well, it's good to have you back Mark. And we were introduced to each other through the Alberta, um, Trucking Association. Josh Hannaberry introduced us, if you recall. I digress. Guys, um, Lytics, what the hell did you reach out to Mark for? What's this relationship all about?

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 3:02

Wow, great question. Um, you know, I actually noticed Mark on LinkedIn and I saw his advocacy and his passion for driver health and well being, both the physical and mental side of it, caught my attention because it's a shared passion of mine. Having been on the front line with those folks and meeting with drivers and front line managers almost on a daily basis. I saw firsthand and actually running the business when I first started out in 1996 on the front line as a district manager in Gary, Indiana, I saw where drivers had certain stresses, whether it be, uh, they're, uh, you know, fit for duty, uh, coming in, you know, uh, physically, uh, somehow, uh, less than 100%. But also I noticed the mental, uh, side of it. Um, you know, things that might not be going well at home. Everything is, we all know from home. Financial stresses, demoral stresses, uh, you name it. Uh, but the one thing that's becoming more and more obvious today. Was the fact that, um, it can be a competitive advantage when you address it proactively and Mark's approach caught my eye and I invited Mark to join me, uh, as my, one of my responsibilities is around thought leadership with industry leaders, um, for this, for some of the top sectors, those, uh, VPs and directors that I work with on a daily basis. Want to learn about the best practices, those innovative approaches, those cutting edge opportunities that Mark provides. And so I invited Mark to a number of webinars and a round table discussions, private round table discussions, and it's been most popular. Um, and, uh, I'm very glad that we struck up the friendship, uh, because now we've got another great opportunity to share it with you today.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 4:46

Awesome. And what's the advantage for Mark? In hooking up or becoming friends with Lyttox?

Dr. Mark Manera: 4:54

Well, outside of the hype man right there. Uh, it's just, you know, the trucking industry as a whole, everyone in this industry thinks of it as a people business, right? The three and a half million drivers in the U S you know, the, the couple hundred thousand drivers up in Canada, they keep the supply chain, our whole country's running and you know, every other trucking company out there says, you know, we're a family, right? But from a risk mitigation standpoint. It is so easy for executives, carriers, and even safety professionals in the industry to only look at the equipment, preventative maintenance of the truck, look at the technology in the truck of, do we have the best ELDs, do we have X, Y, and Z. But then everyone drops the ball on the person who's actually behind the wheel and thinking about, are they showing up to work at the highest physical and mental preparedness to drive the 80, 000 pound vehicle 60 miles an hour down the highway at their highest capacity? And when I initially, you know, started the conversation with Jeff and Lytics, you know, from a technology standpoint, they have amazing safety. Uh, you know, they're very safety focused and they're always trying to stay ahead of the curve and bring their customers. You know, um, uh, different benefits that are thinking outside the box and keeping them ahead of the curve as well. And we just struck up an amazing relationship. And every time I have a conversation with Jeff, it just makes me even more excited that, uh, you know, we can do these types of things together.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 6:26

Awesome. So you're thinking, sorry, the reason part of the topic here is really important to me because within my, uh, very close family. I've had a person who wasn't a truck driver, but they committed suicide. And so mental health and mental well being is a topic that is important to me. And I think the trucking industry for the longest time, until very recently, has been ignoring, um, trucker mental health. A lot of them, a lot of different companies, um, try to encourage drivers to become more physical. Uh, physically fit, but they ignore the mental side of it. And I think they are both equally important. Um, so go ahead, Jeff, you were, you were making. You're making notes. Yeah.

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 7:29

Mark and I talk about it often. It's actually been a popular conversation in the webinars and roundtables is that the correlation between mental health and physical health and vice versa can have a detriment and take its toll. Um, you know, whether it's long haul, last mile or field services, um, a lot of these folks are also industrial athletes. So you have now other impairment possibilities of fatigue, uh, heat stress, you name it, besides, you know, uh, carrying that burden of, uh, distraction because of. Mindset with, you know, uh, you know, financial issues perhaps or marital issues. Um, you know, then it's less sleep, then it's fatigue and it just, it's a, it's a snowball that unless it's noticed. And obviously with long haul, you really don't see the guys and gals on a daily basis. So it's hard to see, you know, have a fit for duty check, right? And so how is it that we are availing, uh, Um, you know, as a leader of a company, I would be saying, what is it I can do to make sure that my drivers know if there's something going on, we have an EAP program. We have, um, you know, this awareness campaign about, you know, proper hydration, proper nutrition, proper rest, proper exercise, stretching, all these things. They sound, they sound corny, but when they're put together and put together well, at least an awareness campaign. Um, there's a sense of, uh, caring, I guess, uh, as we all know in the surveys, why drivers leave, you know, it's pay, uh, but it's also managers, it's treatment and it's, it's, it's. Do they care for me? Do they listen to me? Do they genuinely care? And these types of programs, again, they might sound corny, um, but just simply making them available, making the awareness campaign. So somebody rethinks the way that they're hydrating themselves, uh, what they're eating and how they're taking care of their bodies, the ability between runs to do some stretching, some walking. Uh, in a safe, uh, place. Um, when you put it all together, it's a winning, winning combination, as Mark will tell you. Um, and it's something that I think a lot of companies are starting to really look at today, big and

Dr. Mark Manera: 9:40

small. Well, and on top of that, you know, what you just said there, Jeff, as a whole, this is outside of trucking, but I think one of, when you look at some of the research on just retention as a whole at companies, one of the number one things that companies look at is does each employee have one friend at the company? And like the likelihood that they stay at the company, if they have a friend that they can reach out to and talk to. Uh, and maybe vent to every once in a while. It like skyrockets and that could be the driver manager. That could be another driver at the company. That could be whoever that is. But when it brings it back to the mental health side of things, you know, I always look at mental health as Mental and physical health go hand in hand, right? If one falls off, the other one is oftentimes right behind it. And us as humans are very complex, amazing creatures and, and, uh, people. And we are not just our physical body. We are not just our mental body. We are combined. It all works together. And when you look at it from a driver perspective, number one on the statistics, like truck drivers as a whole, especially over the road, drivers have two times the height. Higher rates of depression compared to the average U. S. worker, right? You live a isolated lifestyle, especially drivers who are maybe out for weeks or months at a time. And then on top of that, you think about just the amount of windshield time that drivers have. And, you know, you and I, we get in a fight with our spouse. You know, I was just telling Chris, I just hit my four, four year anniversary with my wife. Or you get, a driver gets a call from, you know, their kid's school and their kid just got suspended for being in a fight. And all of us can be pissed off in the moment and then go distract ourselves. But a driver who's just sitting there in their thoughts 24 seven going down the highway. It is so easy for our anxiety, for our reptilian brain, they'll say like, what the heck is going on? And just go down these crazy rabbit holes. And that does things to people. And then on top of that, you add in, The long hours, they're mentally burnt out. Say you get to a shipper and all of a sudden you have an eight hour delay. And now instead of ending at 10 o'clock at night and going to bed, you're ending at, you know, three o'clock at night. And now you're like, well, I'm out on the road. I want to maximize my salary that I'm making. Cause I need to drive as many miles as possible. So I can't just take extra breaks. I need to go. And now you're just like stuck in this survival mode until you Figure out, get on home time, and reset everything. And then by the time you're reset, you're back out on the road. And it's just like, this vicious cycle. That's so tough at times for drivers. And if there's not that empathy around the mental side of driving, like, I think that's step one for anyone in an executive role or just in a manager role of drivers.

John Farquhar, Summit Risk Solutions: 12:40

I can see how this is a huge opportunity to go not only drivers but internal staff as well. You know, operations folks and whatnot. A lot of those folks are under some stress as well to try and make sure those trucks are loaded, make sure the drivers are moving and whatnot. So this is great because this is, uh, quite a change from back in the eighties when I used to drive and it was suck it up, buttercup, put it in here and go. You know, uh, so yeah, it's, it's a breath of fresh air to be able to say, Hey, we can have teammates here to help you out.

Dr. Mark Manera: 13:15

A hundred percent. And, and, you know, the other thing I'll just add to that really quick, John, is like, The driver population as a whole is getting older and older, right? And the truth of the matter, regardless of if you want to accept it today, or you're going to wait a couple of years to accept it, is if you want the younger generation or the next generation of drivers to come work at your company and not only work there, but stay there throughout their career, you have to be talking about these types of things because mental and physical health are on that top of the list. And someone my age, Sometimes the number going to a job that has the highest pay is not the priority. Sometimes it is going to a, uh, an employer that actually cares about me. And it's thinking about outs, uh, thinking about my lifestyle, my quality of life outside of where my next load is at. And I think those are the companies who are going to retain the best talent, who are going to have the safest drivers and just, you know, cut down costs as a whole.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 14:16

Well, if a driver's mental and physical health is near peak or at peak, they are less likely to crash. Therefore, you know, they're, they're going to be around a lot longer and deliver their loads on time or do their, you know, if it's waste management, they can do their pickups and stuff. Um, a lot better. What's the implication when we're talking about truck driver wellbeing? How do we link all this together and make it wellbeing?

Dr. Mark Manera: 14:55

In the side of, uh, in the, in the, from the perspective of combining both mental health and the holistic person, or looking at it from a company standpoint of saying, how do we say, Hey, like, yeah, we want our people to be healthier, but what's the business case here?

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 15:11

Well, I think, let's talk about the business case, because, you know, that brings Lytics back in, because obviously, um, they've got a lot to say about it, so let's focus on the business case. Why is it good to talk about truck driver well being?

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 15:29

Well, I think, I think you go back to the competitive advantage for recruiting, uh, and certainly retention development. As Mark was mentioning, you know, those mentorship assignments are worth their weight in gold. But those companies are taking it on today as a competitive advantage. The decision is coming from on high because they're trying to do something different to create value. Uh, and caring for those frontline employees and managers. Uh, as well, uh, well stated earlier, that it really does affect everybody within an organization, the opportunities more than just for the drivers and technicians, it's for everybody. And so when it comes from the top up. Um, that's essential because it's not a flavor of the day. It's not an initiative that's going to come to come in tomorrow and be gone next week. Uh, it becomes the way a company does it. And so that's worth its weight in gold. But I think the one thing that's got me concerned and why the business case is there is because when you think about the fatality rate, From the last, uh, since pre COVID, uh, it's getting worse. Uh, I would love to ask drivers and frontline, uh, uh, managers, how many people think over the last three years, the roadways aren't getting any better? I have yet to have anybody ever tell me that it does. Uh, the second question I ask, uh, who I ask, how many of you think it's the same? Uh, when it comes to aggressive driving, distracted driving and impaired driving, I see it all out there. How many people think it's the same? I have a lot of people who say it's 99 percent of the people all say it's getting worse. And so you're facing those three things impairments, uh, aggression, aggressiveness and distraction, uh, distracted driving. Those three or any one of those, um, are obviously a huge concern, uh, for not only a safe operations of those employees were responsible for those frontline drivers, but also the communities in which we're operating. So it's really essential. Um, and so one of the things that's got me very concerned is, um, we've got to make sure we're putting every safeguard in place beyond technology. Get, we can have the best Linux technology, but if you don't have, as Mark mentioned before, that foundation of the organization behind it, you're not taking full advantage of what has me alarmed is. Uh, we also, uh, I believe it was in Florida last year where that driver was sentenced to 30 years for vehicular manslaughter because he was on his, I believe, an iPad while he was operating a rear ended, uh, family vehicle and killed a nine year old boy in the back seat. And then just recently, two, two weeks ago, uh, there was another, uh, uh, CDL driver who was sentenced for distracted driving, um, and for 25 years. So you're starting to see, uh, where the criminal courts are getting involved because the one thing that has companies, uh, very concerned today is not only the nuclear verdicts and settlements, it's now a huge issue when it comes to brand and reputation. And those things are starting to play a larger factor. So Um, business case wise, this is an investment in the frontline employees beyond just the drivers and technicians themselves. It's, it's an investment in the organization, but it takes away that one element because remember, impaired is not always alcohol and drugs. Impaired could be everything from fatigue to, uh, to, to just mental distractions, Mark mentioned, you know, um, If they're not coming in on their game day, because every day is a game day for a driver, right? There's no practice days. And so they have to be on their A game. They have to be operating as best they can. And so putting them in a winning position physically and mentally is a great responsibility that organizations need to take a hard look at and create that competitive advantage. for attracting the best employees of Retainial.

Dr. Mark Manera: 19:16

I could not agree more with Jeff. And just to kind of add a little bit more context of how I talk about the ROI of healthier workforces, looking at the life cycle of the driver. And, you know, Jeff mentioned there on like building the brand and building your organization, a culture of someone that attracts employees. People who want to be at the safest companies, who want to be at the companies that care about their employees. And so right at the start of looking at yourself and differentiating yourself during the recruiting process to get the best drivers into your company. Then once they're behind the wheel, looking at productivity of, let's be honest, trucking companies make money from their drivers moving freight. So what are the highest reasons for drivers not being behind the wheel? Sick days, short term disability, all these different things that health directly plays a role in. Okay, they are behind the wheel. Now we're looking at a work comp risk, specifically around musculoskeletal issues. If a driver has uncontrolled diabetes or is morbidly obese, no one out there can say that they are not a higher risk of a slip, fall, or pulling any muscle in their body. On top of that, behind the wheel of a fatigue issue from a showing up and being able to react at their highest capacity, the physical and mental, uh, health is, is, is. And it's very, very important. You know, I'll, I'll, you know, shout out to the United States and the healthcare system here, but for companies who hold risk on the healthcare costs, there is such a strong impact on pre diabetes, diabetes, and heart disease, uh, managing those from a lifestyle based condition and, uh, The healthcare costs that are associated with your drivers or employees who are under your health plan, not being able to manage that and ending up in the ER or hospitalized.

John Farquhar, Summit Risk Solutions: 21:05

I want to, I want to add just to kind of caveat onto that there and, and to touch back a little bit, Mark, and what you said earlier, which is so true. We have an aging demographic here in the industry, you know, older drivers. And, and I actually heard a story, uh, from one of my clients, uh, this is going back to a few years, older driver, Um, on numerous medications for whatever ailments and what not. And interesting enough Seemed to be in good health, taking his medication as he should be and whatnot, but over a bit of time they started to notice that when they were talking with him, conversing with him on the phone, operations was having a concern because it's like he sounds tired, he's slurring the odd word, and it was that moment that they said we need to have a talk with the driver and they were able to get him in front of his doctor and found out that the numerous medications he was taking, they were interacting with one another and causing these odd side effects. Where if his dispatcher had to take a note of that, you know, then we could have been in a crash situation very quickly.

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 22:09

And John, that's not uncommon, unfortunately, because sometimes they have a secondary doctor that isn't aware that they're a CDL qualified driver and they're taking disqualifying medications. I'm sorry, Devin, you're up. Please go ahead.

Dr. Mark Manera: 22:22

No, I mean, I think you're spot on. You know, I think of health as, you know, a little bit of like the hierarchy of need, right? And you know, there's some people out there that, you know, get to the top and all of a sudden they're doing all these biohacking, longevity, blah, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, all the way at the bottom is going and utilizing the healthcare system, right? Having a doctor for you. 50 percent of truck drivers don't even have a primary care doctor. Probably more of them haven't been to the doctor in 2024, uh, for an annual physical. And so just taking that time and companies. allowing drivers to take that time or allowing the flexibility to make sure they get to their doctor. You know, I know up in Canada, uh, there's some primary care shortages. And so drivers being proactive with getting on the list so that you can actually get there and then companies being flexible. So when their appointment is, they can go get that because just the getting to the doctor, getting an annual physical, the amount of things that can get proactively found before it's too late, you know, or you end up in a situation, John, like you just mentioned, where, you know, uh, the dispatcher is the one figuring that out. Um, like these all can be prevented, right? So those, that's kind of like the hierarchy, that's like the baseline. And then from there, it's, you know, how can we help people, you know, take their medication as prescribed by their doctor and making sure there's no side effects and things like that. Being more physically active, if that's stuff right in the back of their cab, You know, going for a walk, you know, we're starting to get to temperatures where most people probably don't want to get outside in Canada or probably a couple of months away from that, but regardless, and then also eating healthier, right? And I think the eating healthier part is, you know, we're not trying to be Arnold Schwarzenegger and say, Hey, I need to be, you know, do a bodybuilding contest and have, you know, uh, rock hard abs. It's how do I just find the healthiest option anywhere I drive, right? And anywhere you go. If it's McDonald's or the local truck stop, you have the Twinkie and you have the healthy granola bar, right? The healthy granola bar might not be the healthiest option in the world if you had the full resources, but the driver who picks that granola bar or that protein bar every single day for 20 years of their career over the Twinkie is looking like they have a completely different trajectory, right? And that's the mindset that I would have around some of these lifestyle changes.

John Farquhar, Summit Risk Solutions: 24:43

Dr. Mark, have you had a Twinkie?

Dr. Mark Manera: 24:46

Cause damn they're good. Look, I always say you do not have to hate your life to live a healthy one. And I have a sweet tooth myself, you know, most evenings. If you came over to my house, you would see my wife and I watching The Bachelorette, eating some ice cream and cookies, but it's in moderation. And the rest of the day I'm eating, I'm eating very healthy. Right? So there you go. So, Hey, I'm not saying you got a cold turkey and you know, only eat rice and chicken and broccolis. Like, uh, you know, you don't have to hate your life. Yeah, that's it.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 25:27

Jeff, were you going to add something there?

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 25:30

Yeah, I was just going to tell, ask Mark if he met the Bachelorette and he takes the moderation.

Dr. Mark Manera: 25:39

You know what, uh, you know, uh, it depends on who I'm talking to. And, uh, the, the truth is, is, uh, you know, they're addicting. I kind of like it. And, uh, I get hooked in, so it's all good.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 25:51

Yeah. I live in a house with three women and when they put that show on, cause it's on all the time, I don't believe I've watched an episode yet, cause I get up and leave.

Dr. Mark Manera: 26:04

But it's okay, Chris, you can, you can tell us, you can tell us, we can talk about it. Turn of the corner. Did Jessica really just say that? Oh my God.

John Farquhar, Summit Risk Solutions: 26:19

Ed, Chris, you could have. Chris, you can have it with a Twinkie.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 26:23

There

John Farquhar, Summit Risk Solutions: 26:23

you go.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 26:25

I'm not sure how many drivers are watching The Bachelor. Leave us a comment down below. Do you watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette? Hey, changing subjects, going almost 360 degrees. ATA, the um, there's a show coming up in October, is there not? Yes. Indeed.

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 26:49

Yeah, we're gonna be there and really excited to be joining Mark for a panel discussion. We're going to talk a lot about some of the things we touched upon today, and we're real excited because we think that this is untapped, uh, uh, waters, uh, opportunities for a lot of, uh, the, uh, industry leaders that will be in attendance. And we're really excited to bring up a topic that might, uh, give them an idea going back of what they might be able to do differently in 2025. Um, you know, it's never too late to get started with this, but more importantly, to understand whether it's starting out with a simple awareness campaign, or just simply evaluating where your organization is at and what you're doing from everything is basic for, from a fit duty, uh, fit for duty check, you know, um, uh, John brought up a great point, you know, like they took those, uh, dispatchers and the other folks to figure out the gentlemen may have had an issue going on, but you know what, there's other opportunities within an organization as Dr. Mark, uh, Well stated where you can lay out the principles around that mental and physical well being and some of the things you can do around you know, the, you know, nutrition, rest and hydration and exercise and stretching. Because at the day, whether it's long haul or field services. Uh, anywhere in between. These are still industrial athletes. Um, they're still trying their best to perform at a peak standard. And, uh, it's difficult. And, and so what is, what is it that we as leaders can do to bring this to the forefront, to have not only great conversations, but start talking about what some of today's leading companies are doing about this, and how they're taking advantage of it with programs, uh, like Dr. Marks and others.

Dr. Mark Manera: 28:30

Yeah, and I'm excited because obviously, you know, the, the conversation and, you know, across the industry, uh, you know, over the last five years of being in here, four and a half, uh, you know, I've just see the conversation happening more and more, right? And when you talk about the areas and the conferences and the associations and organizations that need to be Blaring it from, you know, the hilltops and that's where the leaders are at. You know, the, at a TA and the American Trucking Association as a whole, especially in the states, you know, you don't get much higher than that. Right. And so I'm very excited to start the conversation there. And the goal for us, and, and the goal for me during this panel is, you know, I think a lot of the executives that are gonna be sitting there listening at the conference. Probably have a sour taste in their mouth for quote unquote, wellness programs. And I really want to break down that if you've tried something in the past, was it driver specific? Did it fit the lifestyle or was it an industry agnostic solution that looked like a Netflix style of a bunch of content that no one is like doesn't pull anyone in? Doesn't speak to drivers, doesn't speak to their lifestyle, because those are two different things. And I think the goal here is to really show that if we need drivers to get engaged and we want them to live a healthier life, we need to speak their language. We need to provide them benefits that fit their lifestyle and fit the culture of the industry and get them engaged through different. The life cycle of being at your organization and not just one email that's sent on January 1st and then you don't hear about it till open enrollment later this year, right? And so that's really the goal for us and to spark that conversation internally at different companies.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 30:16

I can do a little promotion for Mark. Um, four or five years ago, you started your own business and you chose to specialize in the trucking industry and to target specifically. Truck drivers. So, uh, I, for one, thank you, Dr. Mark, for that, because we certainly need it. And then going back to Jeff, as we wrap this up, how is Lytx specifically, and I'm thinking Dash Camera, because I know Lytx has a, um, technology leading device out there. How are you helping just generally trucking companies?

Jeff Martin, Lytx: 30:58

Yeah, I think one of the great opportunities that the, uh, Lennox video safety until max, uh, program, uh, presents as companies, the opportunity to have the right conversations with the right people at the right time for the right reason, uh, and do it constructively. And so when you have video safety and data, uh, That gives managers, frontline employees, the opportunity to have, uh, specific qualified conversations and they are, and always should be constructive because at the end of the day, it's not a gotcha game, it's about being better at our craft. Right. Like we talked earlier, every day is game day, right? And so, um, cause you know, we've got folks like Long Haul where you're driving 95 percent of the time. They've got field services where they're maybe in their truck for, you know, 25 percent of the day. But that 25 percent of the day, They can't, they can't lose their physical and mental edge, right? And so the video safety and telematics helps those supervisors and even the drivers themselves be able to review what it was and how something developed. Maybe it's following too close about a near collision. And guess what? It's not always about what you may have done wrong and how we need to improve. It's also for recognition. There are, the majority is for recognition because there's great defensive driving going on out there. And that skill, that craft is so essential as we talked earlier today about the dangers of impairments, aggressiveness and distractions on today's roadways that drivers are facing. Um, they have to be on their A game. And so, um, it's really imperative that when you use the video safety and telematics, uh, program that you obviously build that, uh, that driver's confidence, their skillset, uh, and celebrate those great things that they're doing. And then when there are opportunities for improvement, it's not a gotcha game. It's a constructive two way conversation in which you reach consensus together and understanding. That's a, that's a great opportunity where you shake hands. And, but it's also led by showing you care. How's your family doing? Hey, thanks for that great run last week. Hey, appreciate you picking up the slack when John went down, you know, with the road call, um, it's, it's little things like that. So the today's best frontline managers are having those conversations, building confidence, building, uh, you know, consensus. And, uh, those are the difference makers. Uh, those are the folks that really utilize technology and telematics to their advantage. And certainly within the organization themselves, everything from logistics to dispatch to customer service puts everybody in a winning position to have better conversations, most importantly, put drivers in a winning position.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 33:40

Thanks Jeff. And Mark, what is it that you're offering? Um, through your organization to truck drivers and to trucking companies.

Dr. Mark Manera: 33:49

Yeah, so Allshift as a whole is a digital health company that's focused on transportation. So what we do is we come in as an employee benefit. When a driver signs up, uh, it's completely free. The company's offering this as, as a paid benefit as part of their either health plan or as a part of their safety initiatives. And when a driver signs up, we pair them with a concierge health coach, Who has a touch point with the industry. They get the lifestyle trucking and the goal is for them to build a relationship with each driver. Then through our app on their phone, we create a custom health plan for them that's focused on preventative care. So it's getting ahead of musculoskeletal injuries to cut down work comp claims. It's improving medication adherence so they don't end up in the ER or hospitalized. And then it's also lifestyle changes, so nutrition habits and physical activity. And everything that we program is number one, time efficient, because that is the biggest barrier that all of these drivers face. And John mentioned earlier, anyone in this industry faces, right? And then it's also environment specific. So for an over the road driver, you know, it's things that they can do at the Love's truck stop or McDonald's attached to it. Or at, uh, from the physical activity side of things, it's stretching routines, circuit training, uh, different resistance training that they can do right in the back of their cab. Inside the truck is our most popular program. Outside of the truck or at home if they're on home time or maybe they're a field service driver that's home every single night. And it's video written instruction showing them exactly how to do it and everything's personalized to their goals, their starting point, and their preferences.

Chris Harris, Safety Dawg: 35:28

Well, with that, that's an awesome place to wrap up. Guys, Jeff Martin from Lytics and Dr. Mark. Pleasure to see you both again. Uh, thanks for coming on the show.