At McCollister’s, maintaining a culture of safety has always been front of mind. Yet, as operations have expanded across more complex transportation, warehousing, and regulated environments, our C-suite has determined that a comprehensive safety program cannot be built on strong instincts and historical performance alone. To lead responsibly, safety must be examined more deliberately and supported with formal governance.
That’s why McCollister’s has established the Safety Council, a company-wide initiative focused on proactive risk reduction, continuous improvement, and broad employee involvement.
From Core Value to Formal Commitment
The creation of the Safety Council reflects a deliberate decision to apply greater focus, consistency, and transparency to how safety is managed across the business. Safety is the first of McCollister’s core values, and it has long been more than a principle on paper.
As Ray Conlin, McCollister’s Chief Executive Officer, explains, “safety doesn’t just protect our business; it protects the communities we serve and the families who depend on our drivers every day.”
Rather than reacting to isolated incidents, the Safety Council operates as a standing forum for reviewing trends, sharing insight, and identifying opportunities to reduce risk before outcomes occur. It formalizes conversations that often happen off the record and gives them a defined cadence, ownership, and accountability.
In practical terms, the Safety Council allows McCollister’s to move beyond compliance-focused safety management toward a more intentional, forward-looking model, one that treats safety as a shared responsibility across leadership, operations, and the field.
A Clear Mission, Applied Broadly
The mission of the Safety Council is straightforward but expansive: to promote a culture of safety, health, and compliance across all McCollister’s operations.
Its scope includes:
- All drivers, vehicles, warehouses, and operational environments
- Department of Transportation (DOT)-regulated requirements such as Hours of Service, inspections, and drug and alcohol testing
- Workplace safety, ergonomics, and incident prevention
Review and evaluation of incidents, near-misses, accountability measures, and mitigation programs
Instead of focusing on single events, the Safety Council looks across systems, behaviors, and trends to reduce risk before incidents occur.
From Data to Dialogue
A key responsibility of the Safety Council is the ongoing review and analysis of safety metrics and incidents. Monthly meetings are used to examine data sets that include Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) scores, coaching insights, injury reports, and accident trends.
These reviews are not limited to compliance checks. They support learning and improvement by addressing difficult but necessary questions:
- What actually happened, and why?
- Were contributing factors within our control?
- What changes to training, equipment, or procedures could reduce recurrence?
By treating incident analysis as a driver of improvement rather than punishment, McCollister’s is reinforcing a proactive safety mindset across our organization.
Governance That Supports Accountability
The Safety Council’s structure reflects its role within McCollister’s broader governance framework.
Led by Chairperson Tom Yoos Jr., McCollister’s Senior Vice President of Operations, the Safety Council brings together leadership from operations, safety, and human resources, alongside rotating frontline representation. Meetings follow a defined cadence that includes monthly reviews, breakout action sessions to implement initiatives, and regular reporting to executive leadership.
Over time, the Safety Council is expected to deliver:
- Consistent improvement across safety performance metrics
- Quantifiable cost savings tied to incident reduction
- A sustained shift from reactive to proactive safety practices
- Increased visibility through business intelligence (BI)-powered safety scorecards
This governance model encourages continuity, accountability, and transparency, even as operations continue to evolve.
Elevating Frontline Perspective
One of the most important elements of the Safety Council is its inclusion of rotating driver representation. Drivers from McCollister’s major fleets participate directly, offering operational insight that enriches our understanding of day-to-day realities.
Chairperson Tom Yoos Jr. notes that driver involvement has fundamentally changed the quality of discussion within meetings. Direct and honest feedback from the field provides insight into how policies translate into real working conditions and highlights where adjustments may be needed.
When we integrate these firsthand perspectives with data and leadership analysis, our safety decisions reflect both strategic priorities and the realities faced by those closest to the work.
A Living System, Built to Endure
The Safety Council is designed to develop alongside McCollister’s operations. As our work becomes more complex and our footprint expands, the Safety Council provides a consistent framework for evaluating risk, strengthening practices, and learning from experience.
We keep safety active and visible by grounding decisions in data, incorporating frontline insight, and maintaining leadership accountability. Over time, this discipline enables stronger decisions, clearer expectations, and better outcomes across the organization.
By formalizing our approach, we reinforce safety as a core operating principle—central to how we support our people, serve our customers, and earn trust in the communities where we work.