Prime shifting to Paperless Logs

Hmmmm.... You must be really pro-company, anti-driver then! You have to keep in mind that the economy sucks, especially in places like MI where there is no freight. My record wasn't even that bad, but Swift was the only big company that would hire me. Do you think it would be fair if only people with perfect records got hired? Do you think people should have to pay forever for mistakes they made a long time ago?

 

I meant no offense to you personally I was just pointing out the irony in the post. I have no experience in anything in witch to base an opinion from. Please except my apologies if you had taken offense in any way.

 

I wasn't offended, and you're right, it kind of seems contradictory. Swift is really bad in lots of ways, and in some ways we need them. Kinda like cops and women!!! (I'm joking)

 

Without companies like swift a lot of new drivers would never get behind the wheel of a truck... Sorry to get off topic.

 

I'm pretty sure you're not the one who got us off topic. I think it was me when I made my general statement about how I didn't understand why companies used paperless logs ... that got into Swift somehow

 

U2Exit, how far along are they in deploying the paperless system?


-steers the topic back on track-

sorry if we hijacked it

 

OK U2. So you have never been held at a shipper or receiver as your clock runs out, and you are in say, Maryland, where the nearest truck stop is 50 miles away(with a toll bridge between you and it that you have to match a toll on)... and you have to figure out how to make that work on your e-log? It would be a dream world if there were truck parking places everywhere we load or unload. This is my concern with paperless logs - no flexibility. I am glad your four months has worked out so far. Let's hope that continues. Your FM has no control if a receiver wants to make you sit for 5-6 hours (or more) while your clock runs out and you are dead in the water with nowhere to go. That has nothing to do with how well you or the FM planned the trip. That has to do with a receiver, or a shipper (meat plants come to mine) that has not a care about your hours or their supposed "appointment" time.

 

It's an "experiment" on the board that U2 and I are dispatched off of. U2 is a "test subject," I'm not. Difference is that I have an older QualComm terminal that doesn't support the graphics necessary for elogging. Since it's an "experiment," Prime isn't going so far as to re-equip the older vehicles right now.

Stated purpose by Uncle Don (Lacey) is to figure out how this works and integrate it into Prime's business model in case it becomes manditory. We hold a weekly safety meeting Friday AM... last one on 7/24, Don was implying that it really wasn't going any further at this point. OOIDA indicated the other evening that the FMCSA wasn't going to change their requirements either, other than to reduce some of the compliance requirements for carriers that went with elogging voluntarily.

Unlike say Swift or Weener (to pick on the competition!,) at Prime we're trying to make this work seamlessly with drivers, load planners, dispatch and log review - at least that seems to be where we're heading. The key looks to be lots of communication, especially by the driver. Timely reporting of issues like what Kingsson brings to the table is what is paramount to making elogging work. My own concerns with it revolve around WallyWorld (we do alot of business with them) and their requirements that we immediately leave their property, lack of parking near most of the DCs, etc. That's what Prime's experiment with elogging is about - figuring out how to make it work without creating a living hell for the drivers. BTW, this is why Prime is a really great company to work for - they're trying to get this ironed out so we drivers aren't getting the "shaft" constantly.

I'd say U2 would agree with this... it does place more emphasis on proper trip planning by the driver, and letting your FM know what that plan is. At Prime, trip planning is the driver's responsibility. The load planners at Prime are getting used to the new system so that they don't inadvertantly screw us, and we drivers have to take more responsibility for looking at loads before we commit to them - especially on the solo side. Since our (U2 and me) board is the "experiment," my FMs feedback to reefer dispatch management (Stan the Man) is monumentally important in making this all work...

Trip planning becomes much more important with elogging, as does managing your time enroute. You really have to arrive at your destination with enough line 3/4 time available to deal with the issues that Kingsson points out. You have to look at the trip before you put the metal in gear so that you understand where the slack is - if there is any - and deal with that before you commit to the load. If you can't have a fresh 14 (or nearly that) available when you arrive, then you've got a problem. Also, you have to get it in gear at the beginning of the trip so that you have some slack available for the inevitable crap that comes your way as you head down the road - with elogging, you just can't be screwing around at every other truckstop. Time - its as valuable as diesel! That's the bottom line with elogging - especially since once you are out of hours you don't have the "flexibility" that can be found in a system (paper logging) that isn't constantly "tattling" on you. That is you can't go around the system illegally - the part that the FMCSA (and other interests that really don't have the best intentions for the industry and drivers in mind) likes.

It also requires that you, the driver, pass along trip delays, inaction by shippers/receivers, etc., in a really timely manner so that your FM and sales can stick the ol' cattle prod to a tender spot at the shipper/receiver so that you don't get caught in a HOS trap with no where to go. That also helps when there is nothing else to do but pass the load onto another truck to deal with an "out of hours" situation - you've got to be proactive as a driver on this so that we don't end up with a service failure. Time is the key. If there is several hours to deal with it, then the "system" has a chance of cobbling together an ad hoc plan B. If you have 15-minutes left before your appointment and you're 300 miles away... you get the picture.

Finally, the way we work at Prime, most of us aren't going mindlessly back and forth on the same routing day in and day out. As a driver, YOU have to be much more aware of likely parking spots going into EVERY shipper and receiver enroute - in real time. I'd say that really moves getting information into the cab into a much more important position in the driving scheme of things, especially getting that information BEFORE you get yourself into a horrible HOS mess. GPS, mobile internet links, mapping apps (Mapquest, et al) etc. are not just "nice" any more, but with elogging, they become essential. Being able to SEE what is going on at a shipper/receiver in terms of location and likely parking areas BEFORE you get there is the new gold in this business.

 

Thanks Ironpony. We are still at the mercy of lazy shippers and receivers, though. Then there is the "find somewhere to park" instruction passed on by FMs so often. How is Prime with pre-plans? The driver must know where he has to get to next in order to plan his trip. Take Louisville, KY as an example. LOTS of freight moves into Louisville, but there is not a single truck stop there. There are truck stops AROUND Louisville, in each direction (N, S, E, and W), but all are between 15-30 miles out. Here is a common exchange I have had with my dispatchers. Me: "I am unloaded."
FM: "Ok, find somewhere to park while we find where you are going next.
Me: "Okay, any idea which direction to head so I know which truck stop to try and find parking?"
FM: "No idea."
There you go. Inevitably, I will head the WRONG direction, park, and waste 30-45 minutes when I get my pick-up assignment backtracking. How does a driver plan that? If the e-logging things is gonna work, load planners and FMs MUST be on top of where the driver is going next, and then LET THE DRIVER KNOW so he can plan.

 

They're really good at it when there is a backlog of loads waiting for mty drivers. Generally, I plan on what/where I'm going after mty on the way in. You can pretty much guarantee that you're going to have to get a washout before the next load... that makes it somewhat easy; go to the nearest washout facility. If none around, the nearest place to park legally. Part and parcel of trying to make sure you have some hours left at the receiver.

Eventually, the whole industry will be on elogging. Until then, the shippers and receivers can play their stupid game, and we're the chumps.