< Previous20 // www.womendrivingchangemagazine.ca regulations through the CCMTA, there- by addressing any concerns about the rules governing ELDs. “Now that we have a starting point, we must keep pushing so that we’re enforcing this equally across the country,” says Mil- lian. “We’ve got to get to the point where every province and territory has adopted this, and we can get equal enforcement where points are applied to carrier safety ratings for those that don’t want to comply. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there.” and there’s still huge opportunities for their non-driving activities to be falsified on a log.” Now that it is being enforced for federal and – increasingly – provincial carriers, the response to the ELD regulation has been mixed. While there are many companies that are ahead of the curve and are excited for ELDs, others are a little less enthusiastic, perhaps worried about ‘Big Brother’ watch- ing over their shoulders, may be averse to adopting new technologies, or had drivers who were being ‘creative’ on their paper logbooks and know that the ELD will put an end to that practice. “I find the argument weak from those who say, ‘Now I can’t do my job because of the ELDs.’ If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place because now you’re just being held more accountable,” says Fulgham. “Even so, most drivers I talk to – once they get accus- tomed to using an ELD – shift from ‘I’m never going to use one,’ to ‘I’m never going to switch back to paper logs.’” The road ahead Going forward, industry will contin- ue to have the ability to participate in conversations that shape and improve weigh scale, which only gives me a few data points in a day to verify that a driver is being true and accurate,” says Fulgham. “An ELD automatical- ly identifies when the vehicle starts, detects when the vehicle is in motion, if it exceeds a set speed, or if there is nobody logged into the device. There are just more tools now for road- side enforcement, investigators, and auditors to verify the authenticity of records and give them the confidence to issue violations to the bad apples who are in non-compliance.” Despite these new tools, there are still gaps in the regulation for many commercial drivers to slip through. “I think the regulation was built with the idea that all commercial vehicles are the long-haul truckers who are driving across Canada, driving the same truck to get a load from one end of the country to the next,” says Fulgham. “There are more people who operate commercial vehicles who are using the commercial vehicle as a secondary task in their job, where a lot of their time is not spent behind the wheel of the commercial vehicle, but they are still fatigued. They need to track their time just like a normal long-haul commercial driver, TRANSPORT CANADA’S OFFICIAL ELD LIST: https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/electronic- logging-devices/list-certified-electronic-logging-devices MIKE MILLIAN, PRIVATE MOTOR TRUCK COUNCIL OF CANADA: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-millian- a25b0a9a/ KRIS FULGHAM, CERTIFIED THIRD PARTY AUDITOR (ALBERTA TRANSPORTATION) AT CAYCAN SAFETY CONSULTING LTD.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kfulgham / https://www.caycan.ca DIGITAL CONNECTIONSWomen Driving Change Magazine // 23 ased in Moncton, New Brunswick, Armour Transportation has been recognized as an Employer of Choice and Top Fleet Employer, and has been one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 19 years running. Armour’s driv- ing force is their people and the team at Armour has worked hard to foster an inclusive work culture where women’s careers thrive, and their achievements are celebrated. Eleven per cent of Armour employees identify as female, and 27 per cent of Armour’s management team, and an impressive 50 per cent of its executive leadership team, is comprised of women. “There is no hesitation to promote women into key roles,” says Ruby Mur- phy-Collins, Chief Operating Officer for Armour Transportation Systems and a 28-year industry veteran. “It’s part of our brand and our strength. We take By Jenna Collignon, Women Driving Change staff writer A deliberate decision to hire women FEATURE B Ruby Murphy-Collins, Chief Operating Officer for Armour Transportation Systems, and 28- year industry veteran. Maryse Doucet, Vice President of LTL & Terminal Operations for Armour Transportation Systems, and 20-year industry veteran. Amanda Loomer, a professional LCV (long combination vehicle) driver for Armour Transportation Systems. Lori Ogden, a professional driver with Armour Courier Services.24 // www.womendrivingchangemagazine.ca a multifaceted approach to attracting women and traditionally underrepre- sented groups to our company.” “For me, it happened organically,” explains Maryse Doucet, Vice Presi- dent of LTL & Terminal Operations for Armour Transportation Systems. Doucet has been in the transportation industry for close to 20 years and hap- pened to connect with Murphy-Collins through industry events. “Ruby is a strong leader, and I knew I wanted to work closely with her even before I had the opportunity to work at Armour. She ended up being the perfect mentor for me, which opened the door for me to work with Armour and continue to grow my experience and career.” “The Armour work environment is positive and engaging,” says Murphy- Collins. “Passionate people who love what they do, regardless of their gen- der, fostering a positive and dedicated workforce. As a woman in the industry, it can be incredibly intimidating at times. Here at Armour, we’ve created a space where people can be courageous in driv- ing their own careers.” “People see that there is coaching and mentorship opportunities available here,” says Doucet. “We have women at all levels of the organization, and a very strong supportive leadership team who champion these endeavours.” “You need sponsors,” says Murphy- Collins. “You need them internally with- in your company and in the industry at large. People who will speak for you when you’re not in the room, open doors, and promote you.” Armour provides access to high qual- ity mentoring. They have women in roles across a wide variety of disciplines who act as mentors to others looking to grow and achieve success. The opportunities for women at Armour are limitless and their proven record of the advancement of women from front-line and entry-level roles to management and senior leader- ship is a testament to the commitment Armour has made to advancing women in this industry. Armour encourages female students to enter the transportation field by offer- ing work placements and internships in a variety of fields of study. The opportunity to support young women who are looking to advance their careers has had a posi- tive impact on the organization and the company has found success in providing permanent opportunities to women who aspire to a career in the transportation and logistics industry. In this industry one of the bigger obstacles to appointing underrepresent- ed groups is unconscious bias. “Edu- cation is key at all levels of the organi- zation, especially surrounding uncon- scious bias,” says Murphy-Collins. “You can’t talk about being an equal opportu- nity employer and not have representa- tion at all levels of the organization, it needs to be front facing.” “Appointing women into leadership positions is number one,” says Doucet. “But nothing will truly change without active change. Education has to happen at all levels within companies and in the industry. If people want to see change, they must be the change.” While Armour’s leadership team acknowledges that there is still more work to do, it is tremendously proud to have women in influential roles across the organization, from drivers and fleet maintenance, to dispatchers, terminal managers, administration, and executive roles. The company is proud to offer a workplace where women are encouraged to make an impact on their organization and on this industry. “Women see women at Armour, and it’s very inspiring,” says Doucet. “They say, ‘even I can go all the way to the top. That’s possible for me.’ And it is.” ONLINE: https://armour.ca FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/armourtransport1 LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/company/ armour-transportation-systems INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/armourtransportation DIGITAL CONNECTIONS26 // www.womendrivingchangemagazine.caWomen Driving Change Magazine // 27 efore driving school, Nikki Rogers didn’t know any truck drivers – not only that, she hadn’t even stepped foot in a truck. “I am the unlikely driver,” Rogers says. Fifty-two-year-old Rogers got her first commercial driver’s licence in 2017 and worked for FedEx Express right after driving school. In November 2021, she started working for Walmart Fleet as a driver. Rogers made a career change at 46 years old. Until attending driving school, she worked in various cus- tomer service roles. “I look back, and it was all pretty much the same gig but for a few different companies,” she says. “That’s why I would consider it an unlikely career move to switch to trucking.” The transition to transportation After working in customer service for a couple decades, she was ready for a change. She wanted a job that wasn’t so complaints-orientated, which can be the case with customer service positions. Rogers has always been a curious person, plus enjoyed driving. She said she would see different vehi- cles on the road and started wondering how people learn to drive these kinds of vehicles and where one even goes to school for that? After learning there were driving schools in Otta- wa, where she lives, she spoke with the school, liked what she heard, enrolled, and that was it – she was on her way to a new career. Once she started school, it didn’t take much con- vincing to make her stay in it. “I’m pretty goal-oriented. As soon as I set my sights on something, it’s going to happen,” Rogers says. “I was determined to make it through school, and I was determined to work in the industry.” Aligned values During school, she asked every instructor about their career, learning what they liked and didn’t like about various roles they’ve had. This helped figure out the type of position Rogers was interested in. “Be open to trying different experiences and figur- ing out where your best fit is,” she says. “It’s a matter of finding a company that’s the right fit. There’s so much out there. There are so many opportunities.” ON THE ROAD WITH... Nikki Rogers, Walmart Fleet B Nikki Rogers is grateful to drive during the day and be home every evening. Her position keeps her busy locally, which she appreciates.28 // www.womendrivingchangemagazine.ca what she should expect from an employ- er and what they should expect of her. Recognizing opportunities In her position with Walmart Fleet, Rogers works locally. She may go to Mon- treal or Cornwall, but she’s always home at the end of the day. She says one of the biggest miscon- ceptions about being a truck driver is people assume she lives in her truck. “It’s simply not true. I learned pretty quickly that I can work locally,” she says. “I’m really grateful to the over-the-road drivers who do 70 hours a week, but in reality, that’s not the lifestyle that everybody wants.” Another misconception about her job Rogers has heard is that people don’t realize different jobs have different physical require- ments. While for some companies, the driver helps to unload the trailer, for others, like in Rogers’ case, the driver has no-touch freight. This was something Rogers consid- ered as someone who switched careers in their late 40s. She is physically fit, but she says she understands that jobs with more intense physical requirements wouldn’t be a good match for her. For others interested in switching jobs – or entire careers – no matter their age, Rogers encourages people to believe in themselves, to know that if they truly want something, they can attain it. “What you put into it is what you get out of it,” she says. “I bring my best attitude to work every day. I see great people. I put in a really good day. That’s about it.” While Rogers never saw herself work- ing in the transportation sector, she’s happy she landed here. “I couldn’t have imagined being hap- pier in a career than I am now,” she says. “I love this job. I can’t say enough good things about it.” “You have to value your own driv- ing record because anything can impact it,” she says. “That’s your employability – I’m not going to mess with that.” Another thing that stands out to Rogers about companies is their support of drivers’ continued learning. With her job at FedEx Express, her first position after driving school, she asked her boss if she could come in on off days to practise. Her boss instead said she could come in early every day if she wanted, and she’d be paid to practise. “They encouraged me to improve,” Rogers says. “That really helped.” For another company she worked at, she had the opportunity to drive vari- ous trucks. She says this was important to give her an idea of how she wanted to move forward in the industry. Each position has helped her get to where she is now, in a role she enjoys. Through her experience, she’s learned At the age of 46, Nikki Rogers decided to change careers and go to trucking school. She now drives for Walmart Fleet, which is a Top Fleet Employer in Canada. “It’s a matter of finding a company that’s the right fit. There’s so much out there. There are so many opportunities.” – NIKKI ROGERS, DRIVER, WALMART FLEET ONLINE: https://careers.walmart.ca/distribution- transportation LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wal-mart- canada/jobs/ DIGITAL CONNECTIONS She has walked away from a job after working there only a short time because she was asked to drive equipment that wasn’t roadworthy. She stresses the importance of finding a company that values its own safety record, since in turn the company will let the driver value their record.Women Driving Change Magazine // 29 hen Dayna Gillis-Lynds started her first job as a mechanic, some- one told her she wouldn’t make it past the three-month probation and that she’d be forced to jump between jobs for a couple of years before eventually dropping out of the trade. That was in 2009. Today, in 2023, not only is she still in the industry but also still works at the same company. “I love proving people wrong, espe- cially those who have had any doubt in what I’m doing,” says Gillis-Lynds. In 2013, Gillis-Lynds was the first woman to get her Red Seal certifica- tion, which was in truck and transport repair. She was also the first woman to make it through the truck and trans- port repair program at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), where she graduated in 2009. In 2018, she became an instructor at NSCC, where today she teaches sec- ond-year students in the same pro- gram she completed. Though she’s always been inter- ested in mechanical work, like fixing cars, she didn’t go into the trade right away. After high school, she worked at a job search centre in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia and saw a poster for Women Unlimited. The non-profit was offer- ing a three-month course for women who were interested in the trades but weren’t sure which one they wanted to study. While in the course, the participants went to a truck and transport repair shop. She got to test the diode with a multimeter, then she asked the instruc- tor if she could start the truck. He said yes, and once she turned the keys, she was sold on pursuing truck and trans- port repair. BENEATH THE HOOD WITH... Danya Gillis-Lynds was the first woman to make it through the truck and trans port repair program at Nova Scotia Community College and she was also the first woman to get her Red Seal certifica tion, which was in truck and transport repair. Dayna Gillis-Lynds, Nova Scotia Community College By Kaitlin Vitt, Women Driving Change staff writerNext >