ARLINGTON, Texas — Smith System is launching Trainer Center, a new digital platform designed to modernize and expand how fleets operate, scale and sustain the Smith System Certified Trainer Program.
Trainer Center directly responds to what the market has been asking for: a way to run trainer-led safety programs with greater consistency, visibility, and proof impact, without adding administrative burden.
“Fleets don’t struggle with commitment to safety—they struggle with running safety programs at scale with consistent execution and real visibility,” said Derek Dunaway, CEO, Smith. “Trainer Center is the missing operating layer that turns trainer-led instruction into a connected system—capturing assessments, producing Smith5Keys-based driver scorecards, and creating the insights safety leaders need to coach proactively and reduce risk over time.”
Smith5Keys
According to Smith, for more than 70 years, the world’s largest fleets have adopted the Smith5Keys as the foundation of their driver safety and risk management programs. The Certified Trainer Program enables fleets to certify internal instructors to teach the Smith5Keys principles and embed them into day-to-day safety culture. Trainer Center makes that program easier to run, easier to scale, and far more measurable—by moving beyond one-time training events and bringing the entire training lifecycle into a unified system.
A Platform Built to Elevate Trainer-Led Programs
“Trainer Center is a purpose-built platform that supports the full lifecycle of trainer-led driver safety programs—including scheduling, rosters, training documentation, content assignment and program reporting—in a centralized environment aligned to the Smith5Keys methodology,” Smith said.
A core capability of Trainer Center is the digitization of driver assessments. Trainers can capture real-time observations through customizable digital forms, with results automatically generating each driver’s Smith5Keys scorecard and coaching inputs. This delivers faster feedback, stronger accountability, and more consistent coaching—turning every assessment into structured, actionable improvement, according to a Smith press release.
From Training Activity to Real Driver Insights
“Trainer Center helps fleets move from simply documenting that training occurred to clearly understanding how driver performance improved,” Smith said. “With dashboards and reporting that track activity, trends, and indicators by driver, location, or fleet, safety leaders gain visibility into where risk is emerging and where coaching and reinforcement will have the greatest impact.”
The platform also provides a foundation for integrating broader Driver Risk Management workflows—including telematics data, prescriptive coaching, and continuous training assignments—within one environment that keeps the Smith5Keys at the core.
“This is not about replacing trainers—it’s about enabling them,” Dunaway said. “Great trainers create behavior change. Trainer Center gives them the tools to run programs more efficiently, document them consistently, and clearly demonstrate results.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
