Question About Operations

Man, i went and read the book this time based on your review, and really want my money back.

 

10 trucks here. Mostly my operations manager. We have a new driver check list we run down through to make sure nothing is missed. Start a driver file, etc.

@Deere hunter do you still run that many? I started 12 years ago and have always ran on my own money but I’ve also grown to only half the size of what your post described. I do have a brokerage atleast though which took time,effort and resources.

 

You can put me on the ignore list and thats the end of the books.

You are lucky I did not delve into FFE's operations or even that of McKesson which is really grotesque.

 

Ive come close a few times but figure if i want folks to put up with me its only right that i put up with you, Heavy.

 

Lol, perhaps I should explain. I just scrolled through it. Never read it. Shook my head, replied. Sorry you had to go through that.

 

No I run ten all o/o but me. I own trailers and trucks run my loads. Also a brokerage. I haven’t ran more than this in 10 years. Trucks all have their own authority. Got rid of so many headache, and still make a good living. I’m at the point where I don’t want to be gone anymore and thinking about selling trailers to my guys and my truck. Than just running my office and brokerage, keeping my guys loaded.
My brokerage is only for taking care of my customers when we have to many loads, I don’t play the broker game. I pay outside trucks just like I would pay my own.

 

By the way just had my worst week in probably 10 years! Not to worry thou fixing to kick off our season. Goes to show nothing in this industry or probably any other is bulletproof! Y’all be blessed!

 

After checking references, I would imaging Drivers file should be kept with Safety. Since it will need to be updated annually, and readily available for an Audit.

 

We have twenty five power units and about fifty trailers of different types. We do mostly short regional and local work. Dry bulk pneumatics, fuel, .lumber, logs, dirt, and lowbed make up most of our hauling. No vans.
Four guys in the shop full time and we hire kids out of a nearby college's mechanics course as interns. They cycle through about every three months.
There are three owners, all of whom work in the office. I own sixty percent with twenty percent belonging to each of my partners.
One partner handles the dispatching and customer contact. He also handles our equipment operation...we have some construction and road building equipment We work strictly by contract or verbal agreement with a customer base that's steady and loyal. We're very lucky to have the customers we have and we know it.
We do a lot of work for the state and the Feds. It's aggravating but once you know your way around the compliance issues it's good work.
Some of our dry bulk work is almost self dispatching. The customer and the drivers work together to make sure product inventories stay where they should be. If there's too much work or not enough to keep the truck busy the driver contacts dispatch and they fix the problem.
The other owner oversees the shop, keeps all the maintenance records up to date, handles the BIT inspection requirements, deals with vendors, and takes care of inventory for the trucks, the shop, and the office. He's our head bean-counter.
I spend most of my time either in the office or out on jobs keeping track of progress and problem solving. We do a lot of road building on logging jobs, site prep for construction, road reclamation, and logging.
All three of us partners can do any of the other guy's work that's required. We never really set it up this way. It just evolved naturally around who liked doing what and who was best at each job.
My two partners are former drivers as am I. If things get slow in the office and there's a need we also drive whenever it's called for.
We have three ladies in the office. Two of them have been with us for years, the other one we hired about five years ago. They do the general office stuff, payroll, tax payments, cost keeping, budgeting, vendor costs, research on costs, and correspondence. One lady, the last one we hired, does all of the haz-mat, contract, and HR compliance. She stays busy just on that. We hired her away from a bigger outfit and she earns her keep.
We don't have a lot of HR hiring work because we have almost no turnover. When we do hire seasonal workers she does the calling for background and references.
We could be bigger but keeping to the size we are enables us to know where every penny in costs go and to make sure that we hire and keep good people.
We're not the biggest or the fanciest but the company has been running for over thirty years and our people usually stay with us until they retire so we must be doing something right.

 

That’s awesome. Do you do anything on health care or do they get their own? Mind saying how much percentage of it that the company pays? I admire your low turnover, a lot to be learned from that.