During the 72 hour period between June 2nd and June 4th, over 10,000 enforcement officers across North America will be conducting Level 1 inspectionsof nearly 75,000 commercial motor vehicles.
If the averages from the last few years are maintained, around 20% of those vehicles inspected will be placed out of service for a variety of reasons.
After violations for brakes, tires and lighting, cargo and equipment securement violations are the fourth largest reason a vehicle is placed out of service. These types of violations represent around 13% of all out of service violations.
The good news is that most of these violations are pretty simple to notice during the driver's pre-trip inspection or during their 50 mile/150 mile inspections.
In case you may not be familiar with that particular regulation (CFR Part 392.9), it requires all drivers to complete a pre-trip inspection of their vehicle, the cargo and all load securement equipment.
During the Level 1 inspection, you can expect that the driver will be off of the road for around 1 hour while the enforcement officer completes the 37 point inspection of the driver, vehicle and cargo.
The 28th annual CVSA International Roadcheck is coming up between June 2-June 4. Are you ready?
This was sent by MillerCoors, one of our Truckload customers:
Sometimes we lose track of what Memorial Day is all about. This coming weekend, grills will fire up, beach goers will flock to the coast, and friends and families will come together to kick off what is notoriously thought of as the official start of summer. But Memorial Day is about so much more. It is an occasion to honor the men and women who died while serving this great country. Men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice and who never made it home.
To all of our carrier members of the United States Armed Services, past and present, on behalf of the MillerCoors Logistics and Transportation organization, thank you for your service.
Last Friday we had a driver without a trailer. It was after 5:00 P.M. and it would have been easy to walk out the door. These 3 ladies did nothing of the sort. They worked the problem Here is the team in action:
It's 5:33 somewhere. Bettye Ann Kisor providing selfless leadership
The no complaint team....happily working to solve a problem. This is Brooke Guffey, Area Service Manager, and Elaina Robinson, our Utilization Analyst II.
Recently we were contacted by one of our driver's wives concerning a 3 Million Mile Safe Driver. He had lost his J.B. Hunt ring 8 years ago and it was one of his biggest regrets. The couple was celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary and she wanted to replace his ring. Unfortunately the original ring cast plates had been destroyed and cannot be duplicated. But, Michael C. Fina does offer a modern version of the driver ring. We paid for the ring and made a happy anniversary for all!
Here is the original facebook message:
Hi Steve,
My name is Becky and I am the wife of XXXXX. I wanted to ask something of you. XXXX and I are coming up on our 39th anniversary. When we moved from Southern to Northern Kentucky something happened to his J.B. Hunt ring. He took a lot of pride in this ring and what it stood for. It still bothers him to the day that he doesn't have his ring. Its been 8 years and he mentions it quite often. I would like to know if there is any way you could get this replaced. I would love to give it to him for our anniversary. I know I am asking a lot. I also know you have a way of getting things done and he thinks highly of J.B. Hunt managers. Thank you for taking the time to read this and doing what you can to help. XXXXX has no idea I'm asking for this so please keep this between us.
Daimler Trucks North America introduced its new autonomous Freightliner Inspiration Truck Tuesday night at Hoover Dam, using the historic dam as the world's largest projection screen in its dramatic premier.
The Freightliner Inspiration Truck is the first licensed autonomous commercial truck to operate on an open public highway in the United States. The technology has the potential to reduce accidents, improve fuel consumption, cut highway congestion, and safeguard the environment, according to the company.
The Hoover Dam was selected for the unveiling because it represents America’s ability to dream big and accomplish amazing things, even in the midst of adversity. Built during the Great Depression under harsh conditions, it took fewer than five years to complete. The largest dam of its time, the Hoover Dam still stands as an engineering marvel eight decades later. The Inspiration Truck drove on top of the dam, presenting itself to the world, while the dam was used as an emotional large-scale projection surface.
This projection – at 1.17 million lumens – earned Freightliner the Guinness World Record of highest light output projection ever.
"America and Freightliner share the same values, the same DNA," said Wolfgang Bernhard chief of Daimler Trucks and Buses, "a can-do attitude … that anything is possible, that's our common spirit. This spirit has changed the world many times over. 120 year ago the first automobile hit the road and the world become more mobile … 44 yeas ago the first microprocessor was plugged in and the world became smarter…. 24 years ago the first web browser went live and the world became more connected. Tonight we combine all of these know-hows, the vehicle, the hip, the networking, into another historical moment."
Photo: Jim Park
Based on a series production Freightliner Cascadia Evolution, the Freightliner Inspiration Truck is equipped with the Highway Pilot sensors and computer hardware. The Highway Pilot links together a sophisticated set of camera technology and radar systems with lane stability, collision avoidance, speed control, braking, steering and other monitoring systems.
The Freightliner Inspiration Truck operates on highways at what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines as Level 3 of autonomous vehicle capabilities, enabling the driver to cede full control of all safety-critical functions under certain traffic or environmental conditions. The autonomous vehicle system is responsible for maintaining legal speed, staying in the selected lane, keeping a safe braking distance from other vehicles, and slowing or stopping the vehicle based on traffic and road conditions. The vehicle monitors changes in conditions that require transition back to driver control when necessary in highway settings. The driver is in control of the vehicle for exiting the highway, on local roads and in docking for making deliveries.
After displaying Freightliner milestones from the 1942 "shovelnose" to this year's SuperTruck DTNA President and CEO Martin Daum said, "Now you may ask yourself… where is the future of commercial transportation headed? Well, we have inspiration, so we'd like to show you a short movie which in our minds is the future of trucking -- One in which a driver is free to do whatever he wants but still is in complete control. Does that sound far fetched? After watching this, maybe not so much."
In July of last year, Daimler Trucks provided the world´s first demonstration of an autonomous truck in action when the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 drove along a cordoned-off section of the A14 autobahn near Magdeburg.
The Freightliner Inspiration Truck underwent extensive testing before the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles granted it a license to operate on public roads in the state.
There are two trucks with this equipment, and trucking industry analysts and international media will be given the chance to ride in the two trucks on public roads near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday as the vehicle operates in autonomous mode.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Congratulations to our April 2015 Drivers of the Month!
Christopher has a tremendous work ethic. He takes pride in his job. He is also a great pleasure to work with. If we need something done right we can always call on him. His performance speaks volumes about how much he cares about doing things right.
Stats:
Miles 12,465
Fuel Mileage- 7.29 MPG
Variance- 1.51%
Idle- 24%
This driver is willing to run all loads given to him, picking them up and delivering them as quickly as possible. The driver represents J.B. Hunt in a professional manner.
Stats:
Miles- 10,093
Fuel Mileage- 8.13 MPG
Variance- 7.47%
Idle- 9.39%
Cecil provides 100% customer service to our Ford Motor plant in Claycomo, MO. He always has a can-do attitude!
Driver Charles Dye- I am at Georgia Pacific and we have 15-20 loaded trailers here, but no empty available. Three of us from J.B. Hunt are looking for a trailer to use. It seems that we are being used for storage. I want to stay at J.B.. Help!
We tackled this challenge immediately with the help of Todd Copeland.
Driver Alec Shroyer- I have been with the company almost 12 years. The major problem I have is not knowing if the customer has overnight parking or where is the nearest overnight parking close to the customer. This information will allow me to start the day nearer to the customer and that will let me start my 14 hour clock later (so I can driver longer that day).
Simply a great idea. No two ways about it. Part of this solution is coming quickly. We have a flag in place so our driver can identify parking availability at every shipper and receiver. It is part of our new workflow. The parking around the customer is a YELP type feature that we want to deliver with our mobile app project.
Driver Andrew McFadden----I have had close to 30 Fleet Managers over the past 15 years. I can tell a good one from a bad one. David Groves is one of the best I have had in my experience at J.B. Hunt. He works hard for me and his other drivers.
How amazing is it when one of our employees gets bragged on by their drivers? I will tell you it makes all the hard work you do and hours spent on the 4th floor suddenly better. You are impacting peoples lives with your intensity and it is being noticed.
We received this note from Account Manager Joe Nagle, one of our partners in DCS, regarding Candice Anderson, one of our PCS Fleet Managers:
Received 5-14-15
Candice,
I was going through my e-mails and came across this. Over the last year you have really stepped up to help us out and going through this very volatile surge period. I wanted to again extend my thanks for everything you have done for us and continue to do for us. While I have been here you have been the one constant folks that we can look to on our support side. You help us on weekends when we thought we needed no help and you found us help. You help us when you are at work and not and we truly appreciate everything you do for us! You have proven to be the one of the best of the best at corporate for us as you have supported us through the year and we look forward to continuing to work with you as we finish out this surge period.
========================================================================= Received 5-29-14
Candice,
I just wanted to take a quick minute and thank you very much for all of your help through this surge period. I am not sure if you noticed or not but every PCS driver had a backhaul on them today. That was not just because we were heavy inbound but that I had full confidence that you would keep an eye on where the drivers were throughout the day and that you would ensure that their times were entered timely and accurately. You keep your fleet well informed of any changes and keep us updated if there are any issues as soon as they occur. You have gone above and beyond to ensure that we have all of the information that we need to report information timely and accurately. Again thank you very much for all that you do and I look forward to continue working with you as we finish up our surge period.
Please call into the Driver Hotline at 1-844-588-8785 for a re-recording of my portion of the Driver Update call from last evening. I was informed that it was difficult to understand my portion of the call and there are key elements I want to make sure are clearly communicated to every driver, contractor, and carrier.
We will be discussing recognition, detention pay upgrades, facility improvements, and maintenance changes that impact you. Thanks again for supporting the call last night. We will deliver a better product on our next call to make our communication is effective and valuable to you.
Here is the feedback from the Junior League regarding J.B. Hunt's participation in the Touch A Truck event:
Thank you! It turned out to be a great day. Junior League, drivers/event participants & families alike had a blast! It was so fun to see it come to fruition.
Thanks for all your help speaking with and organizing Grow volunteers! Rodney & Mike were literally first on the lot (even before us!!) and last to leave. It was such a pleasure to visit with both Rodney and Mike.
Katie Reeves has delivered another rousing success story. In honor of Cinco De Mayo (May 5), we created a Nacho Bar for all Truckload employees. Trust us, it was more than chips and cheese. Katie is a great owner of our floor culture.
For educational purposes:
Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States
Here is a note I received today unsolicited from one of our drivers:
Thank You for the new/free laundry machines in Little Rock, Arkansas at the facility. They are appreciated. I gave back after I finished my laundry and wiped/cleaned the washers and dryers after using. I really do value this amenity at our facilities for drivers that spend time over the road. Thank You again!
Here is more feedback about utilization and the Driver Hotline:
Hi! I was listening to the Driver Hotline and in your speech Saturday you said we are short because we are waiting for our customers to book freight. I am a driver waiting on a load and I am in a good mood. Would you please help me because I need a load!
Paul Jackman came to the rescue and took care of our driver. He is now sitting at his receiver right now and has 400 more miles under his belt since Saturday morning.
Here is some excellent feedback from one of our drivers concerning utilization (check the driver hotline at 844-588-8785 so you know the background) :
If, as you imply in your hotline, you want to improve utilization, I have two ideas (BTW, I'm just one driver; you ought to ask the more experienced guys if what I say makes sense). First, be much more aggressive about providing us with trailing equipment, when we drop at a customer or a yard that has no empty trailers. Second, take action when we have to say "no" to a preplan, instead of putting it off to a later shift. All too often (and it doesn't matter if I'm already empty or if my ETA is still days away) I say "no" to a preplan, and nothing happens, sometimes for days. The preplan doesn't get pulled, but the appointment doesn't change. I'm in limbo. I cant get dispatched because I said no, but the preplan is still on me, so the machine isn't looking for another load for me. Sometimes by the time I get told to pick up the load anyway I've missed the pick up appointment, even though it was the delivery I couldn't make. Of course, Customer Service suffers too.
Fleet Manager Greg Hampton had the chance to ride along with one of his drivers, Paul Lojewski. The dynamic duo saddled up and made a pick up over at Clorox in Rogers. Greg even called ahead and verified they could make the pick up early. Greg got a taste of doing pre trip inspections and assisted in adjusting the landing gear on the trailer.
Our professional driver Edward Rudden took his Fleet Manager Roy Paquet on a trailer move mission. "Ed was very excited to show me proper techniques like the 3 point contact method and was very patient when we were stuck in Bentonville traffic," Roy said. The team arrived at the Walmart DC and hooked their trailer so Ed could get set up on his next pick up. Nice job, Ed and Roy!
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