Issue / Request for Action
Purpose
This chapter establishes uniform procedures for the processing and disposition of all Issue/Request for Action documents submitted through the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) organizational structure.
Policy
These procedures are being established in an effort to address and document proceedings before the CVSA. The following procedures are to be followed by the Executive Committee, Special Committees, Ad Hoc Committees, Work Groups and Task Forces.
Any member, associate member, or member of a committee may bring an issue to any committee, work group or task force for discussion and/or action. Rather than approach a committee chairperson with a verbal suggestion for discussion of an issue, the individual will complete the appropriate sections of the "Submission of Issue / Request for Action". The Issue / Request for Action Submission System and Database offers several advantages to members:
- Ensures that all important issues and concerns of the members are addressed by the appropriate committee(s);
- Provides a record of consideration and deliberation for all members to review, especially since it is not possible to attend all committee work sessions, and
- Encourages members to improve the efficiency of committee discussions by helping to clarify the issue, highlighting its relative importance to CVSA, and providing background information.
Control Procedures
All Issue / Request for Action must be submitted to the CVSA Executive Director. The Issue / Request for Action is specifically designed to encourage brevity when describing the subject, justification, and requested committee action. Any supporting documentation should be forwarded to the Executive Director. The Executive Director will ensure that the supporting documentation is forwarded to the appropriate committee(s). Coordination among and by committee chairs may also be necessary, depending upon the issue.
In an attempt to assist CVSA Committee Chairs in developing and managing their agendas during the CVSA Annual Conference and Fall Workshop, CVSA is establishing this policy on the submission of Issue / Requests for Action.
Issue / Requests for Action received by CVSA HQ Staff within the 30 days prior to the CVSA Annual Meeting or Fall Workshop cannot be guaranteed to be placed on committee agenda(s). If Issue / Requests for Action are received within the 30 days prior, the committee chair in question will use his or her discretion as to whether or not the Issue / Requests for Action will be covered on the agenda.
This policy is being established because CVSA HQ Staff typically receive many of these immediately before the CVSA Annual Meeting or Fall Workshop and committees often have difficulty in accommodating these requests.
This policy is not meant to discourage the submission of Issue / Requests for Action. On the contrary, it is intended to provide adequate committee preparation and agenda time for these issues to be dealt with appropriately.
Responsibilities of CVSA Headquarters Staff:
- The Executive Director, upon receipt of the Issue / Request for Action, will date stamp it on the day of receipt.
- Will acknowledge receipt of the documents indicating to which committee(s) the matter has been referred.
- Assign a Issue / Request for Action registration number from the Register.
- Forward the documents to the appropriate committee(s) for further action.
- Record on the Register any action taken by the committee(s) and notify the submitter.
- Complete Register entries upon completion of action.
Responsibilities of Committee Chairs:
- Schedule issues for committee agenda upon receipt of assignment.
- Provide interim responses to the Issue / Request for Action forms if discussions/actions are prolonged.
- Upon final action of the issue, complete the "Action by the Committee" section of the submission of Issue / Request for Action.
- Sign and date the submission.
- Forward to the Executive Director or to a coordinating committee, if further action is required of other committees.
Register
The CVSA Headquarters is responsible for maintaining a Register containing entries for all submissions of Issue / Request for Action.
All submissions of Issue / Request for Action will be assigned a registration number when received. The assigned registration number shall be issued to the Issue / Request for Action.
The registration number shall consist of five numeric digits and a three letter committee identifier e.g., 08-001-EXE. The structure and meaning of the registration number is as follows:
- 08 - Denotes calendar year in which Issue / Request for Action form was received.
- 001 - Three digit consecutive number of each Issue / Request for Action registered for the given calendar year.
- EXE - The three or four letter abbreviation for the committee to which the Issue / Request for Action was referred. In the case of multiple committees, only the lead committee will be shown on the registration number.
The three or four letter abbreviation for the various committees are as follows:
- EXE - Executive Committee
- AAC - Associate Advisory Committee
- TRN - Training Committee
- DRV - Driver-Traffic Enforcement Committee
- VEH - Vehicle Committee
- HAZ - Hazardous Materials Committee
- ITS - Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee
- INFO - Information Systems Committee
- SWC - Size & Weight Committee
- PCC - Passenger Carrier Committee
- SEC - Transportation Security Committee
- PRG - Programs Initiative Committee
- NAIC - North American Inspectors Championship
Registration numbers will run from January 1 to December 31 of the current year. The date received as recorded on the register will be the date assigned. An Issue / Request for Action received the latter part of December of a current year will be assigned a number in the calendar year in which it was received even though the discussions/actions by the appropriate committee(s) may not commence until the new year.
Interim Responses
The committee chair to which the Issue / Request for Action was originally assigned will be responsible for providing interim responses to CVSA Headquarters when the discussions/actions extend beyond the next regularly scheduled committee meeting.
Notification to Submitters
The Executive Director will be responsible for acknowledging initial receipt of the Issue / Request for Action, as well as interim responses and final notification of action(s) taken by the appropriate committee(s).
