Schneider orientation from day 1 at Charlotte, NC

So, I figured I'd post here how things go with orientation with Schneider here in Charlotte, NC as I go through it.

I just finished up my first day and will update this thread as I go through. It will probably be kind of long but I want to be thorough.

I drove down myself on Monday and got in around 4:30pm or so.

You can check in the motel (Red Roof Inn) after 3:00pm on Monday. Schneider pays for the room. The rooms are booked double occupancy so expect to be sharing it with someone, unless you make other arrangements with the recruiter. From talking with some of the other students it sounds like me and my roommate got one of the better rooms. The only thing wrong with our room is a couple of the lamps don't work. Even in the non-smoking rooms, expect to still smell some smoke from time to time. The instructor we dealt with today was honest in telling us about the deal Schneider makes with the motel... so don't expect much. You have to ask for extra towels, shampoo, etc., as you need them, the tiny trashcan you'll be emptying yourself as the rooms only get "cleaned" twice during the first week. Apparently some others had some bigger issues as they brought it up during class today, ranging from non-working light fixtures in bathrooms, to dogs barking inside at 11pm, to a student getting paired up with a roommate that had been there by himself for a while that had used all the pillows, towels, etc., for himself. The motel does have wireless, though you have to try several different access points until you get one that actually works. We're not supposed to eat the breakfast a the motel, that isn't included in the "deal" Schneider makes apparently. No one was informed of that until during class today, myself and several other had a bowl of cereal or some (stale) mini-muffins this morning before waiting for the shuttle. None of the staff said anything though. The shuttle is an 11-passenger Ford van that leaves at 6:20-6:30 am and runs about a 5-10 minute route to the Schneider OC. Today it had to make 2 runs. The rooms do have a mini-fridge, microwave, and a small coffee maker. The mini fridge appears to be freezing our soft drinks... just watch out. Within walking distance there is a Cook-Out which has good, cheap food like burgers, chicken, hot dogs, etc. Don't expect it to be healthy. But you can get a lot of good food for under 5 dollars.

After we got to the OC on Tuesday morning, several bought a light breakfast at the cafe while we waited until classes started at 7am. This was out of their pocket as we weren't given meal tickets until during class today (Tuesday).

Class today mostly consisted of paperwork and going over procedures and company information. We got a couple of 10 minute breaks throughout the day, and several people got chewed out for being late back to class after their break. The clock in the room will differ from your cell phone clock. The instructor will go by the clock in the classroom. Best not push your luck.

We had to go through a kind of pre-work physical assessment where they check your blood pressure and heart rate before you start, then have you perform various physical activities and check your heart rate after performing the activities. I was pretty nervous throughout this morning so my heart rate was a little high, it started around 109 and the guy doing the exam commented on that. I explained that I was pretty nervous about everything and he laughed and said it would probably be no problem, since I am a skinny young guy I had plenty of headroom. My heart rate actually went down as I went through the activities, nothing was too challenging. If you are very overweight or have a hard time kneeling/bending down several of the activities may be a bit of a challenge - there is a video that the recruiter sent me after I got my conditional hire offer that you could probably get if you asked to see what was involved. I'm guessing our class is made up of about 13 people or so, no one failed this today.

Before lunchtime we were given our meal tickets for lunch and breakfast through Saturday. They won't get you much, but it was plenty for me... expect a cheeseburger, fries and a small drink, or a couple similar alternatives. You can still purchase whatever you want with cash if you prefer.

I have a nice pair of steel-toed Redwing work boots I wear all the time, but they don't specifically say "slip resistant" (or it wore off) on the sole anywhere, so I had to get a pair of the Rocky boots that the company provides. They cost $25 that is deducted from your paycheck. They aren't as nice or comfortable as my Redwings, but I don't have any choice, so I will suck it up and wear it through their orientation process. They say they are normally a $140 pair of boots, so I guess its a good deal. I think you can purchase them even if you have the appropriate footwear, so if nothing else they are a good deal on a back-up pair.

After lunch we continued with more paperwork and policies, and at the end of the day we got a quick tour of the rest of the OC. Class ended earlier today, I expect normally it will run from 7am to 7pm or so. If you want to stay later at the OC to study, exercise, etc., you can call the shuttle from a phone near the front desk and it will come pick you up. It runs between 6:30am and 10:30pm I believe. They are slow though, expect to wait about 30-45 minutes for them to arrive after the call.

So, some of the important points I gathered from today:

*Be on time. If you aren't expect the instructor to call you out on it, regardless of what time your cell phone displays compared to the clock in the classroom.
*Keep your cell phones away. Several were using them for games, texting, etc., during a video presentation about the healthcare plan, the instructor had to tell them to put their phones away.
*You won't be provided breakfast on the first day. They advise staying away from coffee or anything that could mess with your heart rate or blood pressure for the physical exam part. Taking a nutri-grain bar, etc., probably wouldn't be a bad idea.
*The motel shuttle won't take you to wal-mart, etc., it ONLY runs to the OC and back. If you drove down here, its no problem, otherwise, if you want to get out to get some food, etc., well... you can't unless you called a cab or something.
*Bring pens and pencils, you'll need both and use them a lot on day 1.
*If your work boots do not SPECIFICALLY say "OIL RESISTANT" _AND_ "SLIP RESISTANT" on them, tough luck, you'll have to purchase their company-approved boots.
*The information you are emailed before your pre-hire specifies a lot of different documents that you will need to bring and some of it conflicts slightly. So far I can say that you will need to bring your Social Security Card with you.

Anyway, thats the update from Day 1. Tomorrow we start with a class on logbooks (during orientation you will use paper logs) and as far as I understand we will be assigned to an instructor (they say they aim for 2-3 people per instructor, sometimes 1 more or 1 less) and will probably be working in the yard.

Time to get some sleep...

 

Alright, here's how day #2 went:

The shuttle from the motel left at 6:30 today, there wasn't enough room for everyone and I'm sure it had to go back for a second trip. It really needs to leave at 6:20 for the first run to give people time to get some breakfast before class if they're on the second run from the motel.

Anyway, we started off with about a several hour class on paper logbooks as even though Schneider uses electronic logs, all your logging during orientation is done on paper logs and they want people prepared to use the paper logs in case their Qualcomm fails. We were also given some homework and a big book to help with some of the homework from, I can't remember off-hand what work the book was needed for. Make sure to bring a backpack as you'll have to carry this all around along with anything else you might need.

After that, we watched a PowerPoint about how the instructors will expect us to make turns, and then we split up into groups with our instructors. First he showed us how Schneider expects us to uncouple/couple and then we had lunch. After lunch some headed straight out on the road with an instructor and some others worked on pre-trips and others worked on backing. My group (myself and 2 others) went straight out on the road with the instructor driving the truck for about an hour, he went over various expectations and explanations. After that he brought myself and one other back to the yard to work on backing while the instructor went out with the other from our group for some extra driving practice.

The "obstacle course" consists of 3 45* backups, with the distance between the 2 outside trailers getting smaller and smaller as you go down the line. Then you have to go around a corner, pull through 2 trailers and make another sharp turn, then pull up almost all the way through 2 more trailers, reverse back through them, turn hard and then go around and back up to the starting line. I told the instructor that my school didn't teach the 45, we learned the straight, offset, and 90, and asked him for some suggestions. He offered a couple and then sent me out to try it. The first one he had to offer some tips, less on the second, and the 3rd I was able to do myself. The rest of the course wasn't too bad, but I did have to pull up a second time on the pull through to get to a place where I was comfortable being lined up. With a little more practice I'm confident that I can have it down.

After that we waited around for a bit watching others do the obstacle course and then my instructor came back and we went out on the road. The 10spd took a little getting used to, as I learned on a 9spd from Carolina Trucking Academy. Even though the school had 10spd trucks, not once did we get to use them. However, I didn't have many issues other than a little grinding and a couple recoveries. I drove for about an hour through what I'm guessing was some part downtown Charlotte making lots of tight turns. The trailer was not loaded. I told the instructor I wanted to practice the 6-4 downshift a lot and so he gave me plenty of opportunities to do that. They don't seem to want drivers to do a lot of single-gear downshifts when coming to a stop. You are expected to shift low-range gears at 1300 RPM and high-range gears at 1600. We are expected to start in second gear. After that the other in my group drove us back to the school, we did a post trip and finished up our logbooks. Today we ended at about 6:15. The weather is supposed to get real bad. At the end the instructor told the other student and I that we did a nice job, which felt good considering I hadn't spent any time on the 10 speed. I really like my instructor I've been driving with. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a fair bit more of behind the wheel time and get much comfortable with it.

At the end of the day the shuttle from the motel said it would be 7:30 before they could pick us up from the OC. The instructor I drove with today was nice enough to drive the group back here in a van instead. I think a lot of people (both the students and the Schneider people) are starting to get frustrated with the service from the motel, I imagine someone from Schneider will be having a talk with the people that run the motel some time soon.

So... some important things I noticed today:
*Definitely bring a backpack with you, you'll have a lot of papers and books
*You will have some "homework" you can work on at the end of the day waiting for the shuttle/back at the motel, etc.
*If you haven't had any time on a 10spd and you school has them in some of the trucks, bug the heck out of the school to give you some time in the truck. If you are someone that had trouble learning how to shift the first time around, the shift pattern on the 10spd is pretty different from a 9spd after 5th gear, so really push the school for some practice if learning a new shifting pattern isn't one of your strong points. The gears are much closer together (both ratio wise and the throw of the shifter), too.
*There is definitely some tension between the instructors, you can tell they don't all get along with eachother. Just remember that if you get some bad feedback from one instructor - don't worry - others (including other instructors) deal with it too, take a bad attitude with a grain of salt. Listen to what they are saying, take their advice, beyond that if they want to be negative... well that's their problem. Don't let it get to you.