How To Write a Corrective Action Plan After Failing Your DOT Safety Audit

To ensure safe driving standards for truckers across the country, the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association) runs occasional risk assessments. Whether due to an increase in trucking accidents or poor employee performances, failing a DOT (Department of Transportation) safety audit means that you must create and submit a corrective action process to the FMCSA. Learn what to do if you receive an audit failure notice and how to write a corrective action plan.  

How Will I Know if I Failed My Safety Audit?

When you fail a safety audit, FMCSA sends out a letter telling you the details of your failure, including:

• The date upon which FMCSA will revoke your registration if you don’t submit an approved CAP (Corrective Action Plan)
• How long you have to submit your CAP to beat the deadline (usually within 15 calendar days)
• What violations you or your team committed that caused you to fail the safety audit
• What items you should include when writing your corrective action plan

What Should I Do After Receiving a Failure Notice?

Upon receiving a Safety Audit failure letter, your next step consists of submitting a time-bound corrective action plan. This measure can confuse many trucking companies, especially if you’ve never had this problem happen before. These three steps help describe how to write a corrective action plan and what occurs after submission.

1. Come Up With Corrective Actions

Examine the letter you’ve received and note all violations listed. Each violation requires you to come up with a plan of correction, including the performance of a root cause analysis to understand what occurred and why. Once you discover the causes of your violations, design a program, system, or other process that allows you to correct these issues. 

2. Write a Corrective Action Plan

You’ll need to write an official CAP (Corrective Action Plan) to send to the FMCSA within their allotted time limit so you can retain your registration. Your CAP should show that:

• You’ve addressed each violation, including a description of your actions
• You have a quality management system intended to immediately correct the issue
• How you plan to continue ensuring that the violation doesn’t happen again

3. Send It In to the FMCSA

After you have your CAP completed, you need to submit it to the FMCSA. With your CAP, you should include:

• A copy of your failure letter
• Documentation of efforts taken to make up for and avoid the violation in the future
• A signed statement from the company owner or a corporate officer swearing to operate within FMCSA and DOT regulations

The FMCSA will let you know whether they accept your CAP or not by mail. Acceptance typically allows you to continue operations as normal, while no acceptance means you should continue working on your CAP until you get it right.

Stay Compliant With Help From FMCA Filings

When you need help on how to write a corrective action plan, you can stay compliant by working with FMCA Filings. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you with your CAP.