Repowers and Other Nefarious Procedures

Emulsified · Feb 22, 2013

Yes. By the time the day crew (including DMs) go home, situations in loads begin to show up.
Whereas a load looked good at 1500, by 1900 it's behind and getting worse. Those are the ones we have to work on.
We never do a repower just for the sake of a repower. We have plenty of problem childs that need work and when the night is done, we've usually covered less than half of those that NEED work.

Jonathan M. · Dec 2, 2023

Emulsified said: ↑

Repowers, or the act of moving loads between dispatchedtrucks, are done primarily to ensure on time delivery to the customer.
The act of identifying a load needing repower is accomplished by a series ofprocedures that are in constant motion.
Each load is tracked by the DM, CSR and Operations. Each time it is accessed,notes are made and these are available for everyone to read. A load isclassified by one of several tags:
No tag generally means all is well.
W means watch! The load needs close attention. Anexample is one that is borderline on schedule or a loaded call has not yet beenreceived, altho it's still viable for on time delivery. A load approaching it'sDLD, but with a shipper that's notorious for breaking those deadlines would warranta W.
R means it needs a repower
C means it's critical and needs immediate attention fora repower.
The difference between R and C is time left on the load. If a load has threemore days until delivery, it will generally have an R. A load that deliverstomorrow will likely have a C. Other criteria that may move a load directly toC status is the account.
Peterbilt will always have a C with it. That account belongs to Steve Aaron.
The last classification for a load is L. This means late, and generallymeans there is a Service Failure report attached. There are different reasonsfor a Service Failure, from weather related, to driver error. A Service Failurecan be logged against dispatch for having dispatched late, Operations forhaving failed to identify a problem, the customer for not having the load readyon time or the driver for having failed thru their fault. A service failurereport can be generated anytime, including after the load is delivered. It canalso be changed or removed.
The inside people are often held to incredibly difficult standards. When a loadfails, it must be attributed to a reason, and when a clear reason is notobvious, it's generally blamed on operations.
So people reviewing these loads often become very gun shy. Service failuresresult in poor reviews and lack of pay raises, not to mention possibledisciplinary actions and write ups.
So often a load is identified with an R just to cover one's butt.
Better to have identified it as needing a repower and it delivering on time,than having missed it and the load going in late.
The most common reasons for tagging seemingly on time load are loads on grad fleetdrivers, or those with drivers having documented service failures.
Grad Fleet drivers are a big unknown. They are new, have often not yet learnedthe procedures and haven't developed a sense of urgency. It's not uncommon tofind a Grad driver taking 11 hours to travel 350 miles with no ascertainablereason.
The longer a driver is out there, the better for us to understand their workpattern. A G3 will have some kind of record. A G1 is totally unknown.
Then there are drivers with service failures. There is absolutely NO viableexcuse for a service failure other than the driver just didn't care. Weather,shipper related or a late repower to that driver do not beget a servicefailure.
I think most drivers that read this forum are reasonably astute, responsibleand dedicated to doing a good job, if for no other reason than their personalpride.
But you would be surprised at the number of drivers that not only fail to runtheir loads, they fail to send in a repower request.
Excuses like, "Dude! I don't drive after dark." or "I wanted towatch the game" are not uncommon.
The rule of keeping a load is the scheduling. Stevens plans loads at 50mph. Ifyou can deliver your load on time, safely and legally within Stevens'parameters, you can keep your load.
We may ask you or even try and intimidate you into a repower to save anotherload, but if you can make OTD within those parameters, you can keep it.
Now that you understand how repowers are decided, here are the questions youneed to ask when called:
Where is the load going?
How many total miles will I get?
How many drops?
What are the dates of the drops?
Where are the drops? Going to Boston in the wintertime can be an issue.
Who are the consignees? This may be important. Walmart is very strict abouttimes, some receivers such as Kraft can be very flexible.
Is the final a drop or live unload? Again, a drop to Walmart is simple. A liveload is very time sensitive.
Depending on the answers, you may come up with more. An example would be adelivery to the first drop that will be late. This can affect all thesubsequent drops.
If you're being asked to take a three drop load and the first one is late, askfor additional compensation if that first one won't take you.
After agreeing to a repower, consider your word as bond. If you failed to askthe right questions, learn from it and suck it up!
I'm not talking about being lied to. I'm talking about failing to ask all thedetails.
The repower person is often like a salesperson. They'll tell you only as muchas necessary to make the sale. There may be omissions. It's your responsibilityto ask the details. If they won't answer you, then smell a rat.
The most common issue revolves around multiple and undisclosed drops. "Ineed help getting this load to Patterson NJ tomorrow morning. Can you help?"
"Sure" you say, but no one told you and you didn't ask...so thesecond drop in the Bronx and the last one in PA three days later come as asurprise.
If you agreed, be a mensch and live up to your word. And learn from it.
Sometimes it's a lousy repower. Bargain for something on the other end such asa good and immediate preplan.
I do have to tell you that repowers that come at night are just repowers.Promises of preplans, good loads and what not are just empty promises. We don'thave access to preplans. If there is a night dispatcher on duty (as there oftenis) we can go to that person and plead on your behalf. If we get one, thengreat!
Lastly, have everything put on the qualcomm. This covers your butt if you latergo to Smokie or Bonnie seeking redress.
If someone gives you promises, YOU put it on the QC!
"I understand this repower I'm offered is due tomorrow morning at 0800 inPatterson NJ, has a drop in the Bronx on tuesday at 0300 and finals in RockyHill, CT tuesday night at 2200."
This covers you.
Click to expand...

When receiving a repower, how much negotiability do we have?
With getting paid extra money for doing the repower?

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