Trip Planning - Weather

          I find it ironic that this week’s post is about weather.  I have spent all day dealing with the effects of winter storm Stella.  This morning, I started out with about 460 miles to drive today and by the time I got here, I had less than an hour left on my 14 hour clock.  It’s been a long day.  I’ve known since I left Florida, two days ago, that weather would be a factor today.

          During the summer months, I typically only check the weather enough to know how to dress, but the rest of the year is a different story.  When I lived in Wyoming, I watched snow fly from September all the way through May.  The higher the elevation, the better chances of seeing snow when you normally wouldn’t expect it.

          On the first day in my truck, if a trainee doesn’t have a weather app on their phone, I have them download one.  Starting with the first trip, I have them note the major cities on our route and look them up on the app so we know what we’re getting into.  This is especially helpful with the geographically challenged, it gives them another way to learn the country.

          Knowing the weather where you’re going helps you plan so you can still make a delivery on time (if possible), but it also keeps you from having to unexpectedly throw chains.  With all the technology available to us, there is no excuse for “having” to throw chains.  Chain if you want, but don’t chain because you got caught unaware.

Time Management in Reverse

                One important habit I try to instill into my trainees is to get close to where they are delivering early enough to get in a full 10 hour break before delivering.  I want them to still have enough time available after delivery to get the next load picked up and knock at least a couple of hours out before they are out of hours for the day.  The only time I am more than 2 hours from delivery the night before is when my logs won’t allow it.

          I teach them to figure out how close we can get the night before and work our way back from there so we can figure out how much we have to accomplish each day to make that happen.

          Using OKC to City of Industry again, leaving OKC with a full clock Tuesday morning with a 7:00 am delivery on Thursday. 

I won’t drive down into the LA Basin the night before a delivery, parking is too much of a challenge down there.  I usually stop the night before in Barstow.  I give myself two hours to drive the final 90 miles from Barstow down to the delivery and I route myself in to all appointments an hour early to give time for any problems like traffic, construction, inaccurate directions or even problems getting checked in.

If I want to be in Barstow Wednesday night, I know I must make it to at least Grants, NM by Tuesday night.  With a 7:00 am (PST) delivery in CofI, I want to be parked in Barstow and my break started no later than 8:00 pm (CST) to be able to get there an hour early and with as many hours available as possible.  I need to be leaving Grants by 8:00 (CST) Wednesday, because remember, it takes 12 hours to run an 11 hour shift.

I usually have at least 6 extra hours on a load, sometimes as much as 24.  I teach them to take most of those extra hours with the last break before delivery.  By saving their extra time to the end, if they blow a tire (say in Kingman, using our example load) they have time to get it fixed without risking being late for their delivery.  I also tell them it’s totally okay to take one of those extra hours at one of the casinos in New Mexico if they want, just don’t take them all there!

Time Management (trip planning 101)

          Time management can be tricky.   Most of the trainees I get don’t understand that even on days that we don’t pick up or deliver, we still need to cover X amount of ground.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the average person’s experience with cross country driving is to plan on getting there on a certain day.  The idea of having to plan and arrive by X time on that day is foreign.  When you couple that with a very loose understanding of hours of service laws, it’s a recipe for disaster.

          One of the questions in the Depart Shipper message that we send in once we’re loaded is “I can make the next stop on time?” The only options the QC will accept is “Y” for yes, or “N” for no.  Sometimes I wish it would accept “M” for maybe or “?” for no idea!  Seriously, we have some loads that are scheduled so tight that I’m not sure I can make it until I get under one drive shift out from delivery.  Usually my DM knows if I can’t make it before I do.  He’s good like that.  So how do we figure out if we can make the next stop on time?

          If the Load Info and GPS mileage match, we know that the GPS is routing us about the same way as the company routing.  If they don’t match, we use the mileage from the Load Info.

    1.   Using 60 mph as the average, we know that for every 600 miles we will drive 10 hours.  A 1,300-mile trip will take about 22 hours of drive time.  We plan 10-hour drive shifts as opposed to 11 because I’m rarely lucky enough to have a place to stop exactly where my 11-hour clock is going to run out.

    2.   For every 10 hours of driving, we add in an hour to the day for fuel stop, 30-minute break, another potty break and a post-trip inspection.  Even if I can combine the fuel stop with the 30-minute break, we figure in 3 stops during a shift.  For every drive shift, we also need a 10-hour rest break.

          If we leave OKC at noon on Tuesday (CST), can we make it to City of Industry, CA, 1,300 miles away by Thursday morning at 7:00 am (PST)? 

22 hours of straight driving takes us to 10:00am Wednesday.  2 hours of fuel/potty/etc takes us to noon Wednesday.  Add in two 10 hour breaks and that takes us to 10:00am Thursday, which is 8:00 am Pacific time.  That is logging as a solo driver.  A solo driver could not make on time delivery.  Since I’m teaching this to a trainee, we have two drivers in the truck, which means we have two log books so yes, we can make it.  FYI: we factor everything on Central time because that’s what we log, we then adjust for crossing time zones.

I’m going to stop here and share the really confusing part next week!

Routing

Actual, physical routing is one of the easiest things to teach.  The part that I had trouble wrapping my brain around was why there is a need to teach it. 

I remember being in 3^rd or 4^th grade Social Studies learning how to read a map.  I also remember being given a board puzzle of the United States around the same time.  By the time I got rid of it, most of the pieces were loose because I’d taken it apart and put it back together so many times.

It never fails to amaze me when a new driver gets in this truck with very few map skills and even less knowledge of US Geography.  When I ask them to open the atlas to the US map, they can identify their home state and maybe a couple of states around it, California and Florida.  They have no understanding of what a map key is.

It’s not uncommon for me to have to spend about an hour in the first few days with a new trainee to teach these basic skills.  Teaching these skills is easy; convincing a new driver that they need these skills is the hard part.  They would much rather just look it up on Google Maps.  Technology is great, but Google maps doesn’t know that I’m driving a truck that is 13’6” tall and pulling a 53’ trailer.

I have commented to other drivers that I think basic map and math skills should be part of the pre-employment screening at Freymiller.  The problem with that is it would probably disqualify about 50% of applicants immediately. 

Trip Planning 101

          A few posts back, someone asked me how I teach trip planning.  I gave a quick answer in the comments so as not to write a whole new post there, but I felt the topic deserved its own post.  Now as I sit here thinking about everything I try to instill in a new driver about trip planning, I realize that it probably won’t all fit in one post either.  This is going to end up a series of posts.

          The four main things I teach about trip planning are:

     1.   The physical routing

     2.   Time management

     3.   Weather

     4.   Fuel stops

I don’t think anyone has climbed into my truck with a solid understanding of what all goes into trip planning.  Most people’s experience with driving halfway across the country has been for vacation, if they have ever done it at all.  They go with the idea of “I will get there Tuesday,” not “I have to be there at 6:00 Tuesday morning.”  They go when they go, as far as they want, and they stop when they feel like it. 

There seems to be this incorrect notion that this job is easy.  Just get in and drive, right?  An experienced driver I know once joked, “This is the coolest job ever; I drive their truck around and they put money in my checking account!”  Trip planning is - in my opinion - baptism by fire.  It’s the first piece of evidence that this job takes more than repetitive motion.

Over the next few weeks we will dig deeper into what all goes into trip planning.

Clean That Truck!

          “A clean truck is a sign of bad miles.”

          Laugh, it’s a joke  😃

          Right before New Year’s, I walked into the shop to find Heather Dayton, our Manager of Corporate Communications, being horrified by a couple of mechanics sharing tales of disgusting trucks. I couldn’t help but laugh; she looked like she was going to forfeit her lunch at any moment.  She looked at me and said “I’ve got an idea for a blog post for you!”  I said “Oh yeah?”  She said, “How To Clean A Truck.”  Being the undiscovered comedian I am, I looked at another driver and said “how do you clean a truck?”

          I’m not going to tell you how to clean a truck.  Honestly, if you don’t know how to pick up after yourself by now… I’m not sure you can be taught.  We’re grown adults here, at least in theory.  If David Freymiller can trust you with a truck, trailer, and thousands upon thousands of dollars in freight, I’m going to assume you know how to pick up after yourself.  Instead, I want to talk about the importance of keeping a truck clean.  I don’t think it’s a lack of skill, but a lack of interest.

          Some drivers take the same level of responsibility for company trucks as renters do for rental houses.  We see the same problem in the company cars at the yard.  According to a search on truckpaper.com a new Kenworth T660 retails for about $159,500 and new Peterbilt 579’s run on average $152,000.  That would be the price if you or I went to go buy a new truck.  Freymiller, on the other hand is what could be called a “bulk shopper.”  I’m sure there are some pretty sweet deals when you’re buying 20 or more trucks at a time.  Even at a 30% discount, that’s a lot of money.  I haven’t asked, nor will I ask, how much Freymiller pays per truck because it’s not my money so it’s none of my business.  It doesn’t matter.  I’m going to treat David’s truck like I would want him to treat mine.

People just don’t care.  I can’t make you care.  I wish I could.  It’s disappointing to come to the yard and find out a driver has been terminated because of the condition of their truck.  As of this writing, we are not subjected to truck inspections.  There are companies where the drivers are subjected to truck inspections.  I hope we don’t get to the point where truck inspections become policy, but I wouldn’t blame David if it did.

Knowing My Limits

                Last week, I got stuck on I-70 in Western Colorado by winter storm whatever-its-name-was.  This doesn’t make me unique; there were a lot of us stuck there.  My personal policy is to avoid Vail like the plague during winter months, but computer routing and a discussion with my Driver Manager (dispatcher) helped convince me to violate that policy.  That’ll teach me, huh?

                I was running with another driver and on the second day of our weather induced hiatus, we started looking at alternative routes.  He suggested a route that caused my stomach to do a dog trick… roll over and play dead.  I told him to give me ten minutes.  I spent that time thinking about it and praying about it.  I told God, “if you want me to take this route, I need You to give me peace about it.”  I couldn’t get peace and just had this overwhelming feeling that this route was a bad idea.  I shared my feelings with the other driver and we stayed put another day to try to wait out the problems over Vail Pass or figure out another route.

                We got out the next day, got delivered and are both on our way somewhere else.  A few days later we were talking about how good drivers know their limits.  I don’t drive when I believe I can’t do so safely.  It doesn’t matter if it’s caused by weather or my physical condition.  When I don’t believe I’m safe, I’m not safe. I know my limits. 

                I have had several trainees who got into my truck without ever having seen snow.  One asked me “how fast should I go when there is snow?”  There is no textbook answer to that question and I told her that.  I also told her, “if you feel like you’re driving too fast… you are.”  My first winter in the truck I drove a lot slower than I do now, but I have also learned how to drive in snow.  I don’t have to drop 20 or 30 mph every time I see a snowflake now because I have learned to read the road conditions.

                A good driver knows their limits.  My limits aren’t going to be the same as your limits.  It doesn’t matter if I’m driving the big truck, my pickup or my car.  I still have limits.  I know when road conditions are outside my abilities (it doesn’t matter how good of a driver I am, I’m still going to slide on icy roads), I know when I’m getting lethargic and need to get out of the truck for a few minutes and walk around.  I know when it’s time to go to bed.  That’s what good drivers do.  They pay attention to what’s going on around them and inside of them and they do what’s necessary to stay safe.