GOAL

this goal thing hit my inbox last weekend. like all the other morning spam, i just skipped past it without reading. 'round about tuesday morning came the first "wouldn't want to be the guy who doesn't send the message and hits something" message, so i scrolled back to see what was going on. i still haven't sent a goal message. of course, it's my mission in life to avoid backing anyway, and i have managed to park in pull-through spaces most of the week, negating the need to waste messages. when i am backing up, i'm too busy backing up to be screwing around with the qc.

 

Our terminal is really putting the heat on drivers for backing incidents as well. I have not seen anything yet about sending a GOAL message over the qualcomm though.
---sigh--- To be perfectly honest, since backing seems to be the number one issue that they are harping on right now I have been searching out the "easy" parking spots. Yes, I am capable of backing this rig into most any spot on the lot, but why accept any more risk than I need to?

 

And I suspect they'll be getting it in spades too.

Hey, I hear you. It's not like they don't know what the truck's doing anyway. And I agree, it puts a further burden on the driver. Maybe this new procedure might come back and bite them in the butt? If the driver has to stop what they're doing every time the truck is put in reverse, it could distract them to the point that they forget where they were and end up with more incidents.....who knows? What are they going to do if the driver forgets to enter it in the qualcomm? Unfortunately, it'll be something else they can put in one's personnel file and use against the driver at some later date when it suits them.

 

Every time you back, tell em your a new driver and women. Trust me, works every time as no one wants to get hit backing.

As for GOAL messages, I can understand people with accidents. But for people who do not possess any????

KH

 

Well. Here's an idea. If someone has more than one backing incident within a certain amount of time, how about putting someone else in the truck? Nothing like the threat of job loss to make someone want to be more careful. I can completely understand the push to be more careful and most backing incidents are stupid actions on the part of the driver...and completely preventable.

What I'm hearing about (from the office) are things like tearing doors off trailers when backing to those docks with the metal hoochiemagoochies sticking out on each side, rubbing someone else's trailer, attempting to create a Rocky Mountain Double out of a 53-footer and someone else's tractor and amateur body work on the DOT bumper by use of fixed objects. None of this stuff is necessary and it is all absolutely avoidable.

There are drivers who have four or more of these types of accidents who are still working for Swift. One? Yeah, mistakes can be made. Two? Didn't learn from the first one. Three or more? A chronicly careless steering-wheel-holder who might consider a career change. And I'm not talking about bumping a dock a little harder than necessary or tearing a mud flap off on a curb. You can replace a mud flap with about 20 bucks and a couple of tools. I'm talking about recordable incidents that cause real property damage.

However. This QC message thing is absurdity at its highest level and a total waste of time and broadband width. LCQT for everyone across the board as soon as mentor time is done is a better idea. It gives a different person the opportunity to evaluate a person's backing skills and reinforce training. For most, one day is all that is needed. Some need more. Some will never get it and shouldn't be in a truck. But this additional training is a great time to figure out who is who.

Just my two-bits worth. (I didn't say two bits of what.)

 

You'd be surprised... we know when you stop the truck and when you move it. And when you read a message. So its just a matter of time

 

I knew it! (can tell when stopped and when messages are read) wasn't sure but had always suspected that was the case..........haha...carry on as normal I suppose...THEY will let me know if I need to operate differently!

 

Can they tell when I fart too? Do airline pilots get monitored more than truck drivers? Or are the allowed to just fly the plane and do their jobs safely?

Like I said I can understand why Swift would do this by the looks of some of the student drivers I have seen. Hell seen one the other day that could barely walk and I asked him they let you drive like that? He said sure I still have a perfectly good other foot.


For us who do not have any accidents especially backing they should not expect us to send in a message every time. That should be reserved for the ones who are having issues.


Like the other driver who said save the money and give me a safety,fuel or whatever bonus I work hard to keep my idle down low and get the best fuel mileage I can get. How much does a message cost per word to send over the qualcomm? Anybody know?


I might be new to Swift but I am not new to the industry. I remember the days when I got paid exactly what I am being paid right now to start over 17 years ago. Safety bonus may make some of these drivers actually get out and look,take their time and so on when backing. Even if it is $100 a month