Starting Schneider Bulk

gentleroger · Nov 25, 2020

cncking2000 said: ↑

Thank you for your words of wisdom, I will be making note of this valuable information that you have provided.
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Clean mirrors work better than dirty ones, especially at night. Don't be afraid to stop and clean your mirrors before maneuvering in a lot.

drvrtech77 · Nov 25, 2020

cncking2000 said: ↑

I’ll have to get something to organize them, thanks for the suggestion.

My TE does nothing but shuttling Intermodal trailers around. We did two yesterday. Judging by the hoses on the hose rack I don’t think they get much use either, which is unfortunate for me. I do have to wonder how an intermodal tank made it to the customer without the fact it was backwards on the chassis being noticed.
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Something like this would be ideal the two fire safety cards in

cncking2000 · Nov 30, 2020

Training days 17-22 are completed.

Not much to add here for the most part. Thanksgiving was spent at the hotel in Jacksonville, and my OSR in Savannah sent a good meal via DoorDash. Today was our first HazMat load, which meant that I could not drive, and was a customer load and unload. Didn’t even leave Jacksonville. A lot of sitting in the truck.

I guess it is that time of year. I figured they would keep their trainers busy, but it has not been the case. Only 4 more days until I am sent to Savannah for SQT.

newbietrucker91 · Dec 1, 2020

SQT is easy. 1st day you take a test on load planning, and do pump offs till the end of the day where you do it for a score. 2nd is just air offs all day till you score, and on the 3rd its troubleshooting. Like how would you go about clearing a line if your air compressor goes out in a offload type stuff. That's just how it went when I went through SQT in Houston.

Then after 30 days you get to do a pump/air off all over again but for your NALCO cert.

mickeyrat · Dec 2, 2020

gentleroger said: ↑

Welcome aboard.

I know right now it seems like there is a lot of pointless BS. While there is a lot of BS, most of it has a point. We created the "Schneider Way" because we've found that it is the efficient and safe way to get stuff done. Initially it will be appealing to "just get it done and get rolling". Take your time, do things the way they need to be done. Over time you can create your own way, but before you do make sure you understand WHY Schneider does it the way they do it. My Dad taught me that before I break any rule I should know three things:

Why was the rule was created?

What is the punishment is for breaking the rule?

Am I willing to accept that punishment?

Same idea for Schneider's processes - know why it exists and make sure you are fulfilling the underlying goal. Avoid saying "I'll come back and do/fix that later", you won't remember. Fix the problem, then continue on to the next step.

Spend some time reading your "Highway to Success" book. Not just right now, but in the coming months. Right now you're being inundated with information. In a couple months you'll have a wider knowledge base and as you read the manual you'll discover"new" things, learn about things that you thought you understood, and relearn things you've forgotten.

When you go out with your trainer - listen and ask questions. If he's talking about Schneider, trucking, or customers, it's generally something you should know. Make sure you understand and don't just say "yeah I got this". When you ask questions, ask them intelligently. There is a difference between "Is this my turn?" and "Is this Oneida Street?" and "What street am I looking for again"?. The first is a brain dead question. It indicates you aren't paying attention or making an effort. The second is a clear indication that you are trying to do things right, but need help and guidance. The third is an admittance that you screwed up, but you noticed it and are trying to make things right. The more questions of the second and third type you ask, the more you'll get out of your trainer. The more brain dead questions you ask, the harder the road experience will be.

Don't be afraid to say "I'm overwhelmed" or "I'm tired". Especially when your TE says something like "We've got 150 miles to get to where we need to shut down, do you want to make the drive or would you prefer I do?". TE's understand y'all are new and can't run as hard as we do, and generally don't have a problem giving you a break - provided you communicate that you need one. One of my big pet peeves is when I ask that question and don't get an honest answer.

Other random thoughts:

Initial road tests being done with a dry van isn't because they're worried about y'all tearing up the bulk trailers - it's that there are more van trailers around and they're longer, so if you can clear your intersections with a van with the tandems at 43, then you can clear a tanker no problem. Plus you're less likely to roll the sucker by tossing it into high reverse and jacking it to 90 degrees.

Track your miles/pay. Create a spreadsheet with load number, dispatched miles, miles run, mileage pay, accessory pay, etc. Figure out which loads ACTUALLY pay you the best. On the account I'm running right now we have a guy, "Tim", who constantly whines to get the "longer runs" because "he needs the miles". Miles does not equal pay.

I run fewer miles than "Tim", burn the same amount off the 70, yet make 20% more than he does. Part of that is I run efficiently. The bigger part is I understand how I get paid and have had conversations with OPs about how I want to run. Everyone has their own style and what works for them, but so many drivers don't understand their pay structure and end up making dumb decisions.

Given a choice between a 3,000 mile week with an average length of haul of 750 miles, or a 2,000 mile week with an average length of haul of under 100 miles, I want the 2,000 mile week because I will get paid more per unit of work.

It will also make it easier for you to figure out which job offers are a step up and which are, at best, a lateral move.

It's not about the load you're on right now, it's about the next load. Set yourself up for success.

Pay attention to where customers are so when you need to dead head to safe/legal parking you can head in the right in the right direction

If you have to run OOR to S/L, message ops and get a routing point put in so you get paid for the miles.

Schneider will reimburse you for showers, so if you have to overnight someplace where you don't have a shower credit you can get cleaned up on Schneider's dime. That said, I generally don't use this option too often. Most of the time you can stop at a Pilot or OC the next day.

Schneider pays you to drive a truck, not abuse your body. Take breaks, take time to eat/shower, take care of yourself.

If OPs is playing games, don't be afraid to go over their head.

Hide a key outside the truck - 80% of new drivers lock themselves out in the first 90 days. The GB VTL 90 day DBL has a list of locksmiths.

Whenever you leave the truck make sure you have your wallet, cellphone, and keys. You never know when the truck next to yours will spontaneously combust and take your truck with it. If you have your wallet, cellphone, and keys you can start solving problems.

Keep your cellphone charged.

Reset your tablet every morning. Drivers get crabby with how "slow" the tablet is, but when asked "when was the last time you reset the tablet?" they give you a blank look. Some of the programs are memory hogs and will hoard RAM. Resetting avoids this problem. You should also clear the caches a least once a month (ask your TE/DTG instructor for the steps, I don't have my tablet in front of me).

Manually refresh your messages every time you stop and just before you head out. For some reason the messaging app doesn't always refresh itself.

Focus on the details - whether you're PTI-ing, signing BOLs, trip planning or anything else.

Finally, at some point (probably several points) in the next six months you will be frustrated to the point of tears or beyond. It happened to all of us. Just remember it will get easier. A few years ago my trainee and I got sent into a customer that I hadn't been to since I was a new driver. It was such a traumatic experience that I remembered the customer even after a half a million miles had passed since the last time I'd been there. I prepped my guy good, but when we got there it was anti-climatic. Everything was just as I remembered it (##### random telephone pole that wasn't connected to anything was still blocking the dock), but I had more and better skills so it wasn't bad at all. So when you're in the smelly stuff, just take a breath and know you'll get through it.
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the only thing to add to our resident TE's post is, once you know the "schneider way" and then adjust to what ultimately works best for you is to remember the "schneider way" for the check ride that comes periodically or that sometimes comes as "needed". its important to demonstrate on request (for whatever reason) the company method for accomplishing said task.

cncking2000 · Dec 2, 2020

mickeyrat said: ↑

the only thing to add to our resident TE's post is, once you know the "schneider way" and then adjust to what ultimately works best for you is to remember the "schneider way" for the check ride that comes periodically or that sometimes comes as "needed". its important to demonstrate on request (for whatever reason) the company method for accomplishing said task.
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Thanks for the advice. At this stage in my career, I don’t know what I would adjust to make things work better for me. The “Schneider Way” seems to be a pretty efficient, thorough, and safe means of accomplishing the task at hand. I have the routine down pretty well that it’s just one step to the next as I develop the muscle memory.

cncking2000 · Dec 2, 2020

Training days 23 and 24 are over.

It has been slow for my local trainer. We did manage today to do a hazmat Nalco load, wearing the corrosive suit. The TE kept his watchful eye as I performed the whole thing from beginning to end including all paperwork, the Nalco hotline, and talking to the customer. He’s pretty convinced I’m ready for a truck.

I did experience an issue with unloading in that the lines would not clear no matter what I tried. The pump on the truck didn’t seem to pull any air through the bleeder at the external valve on the trailer. The TE stepped in at this point hooked the airline up to the bleeder and blew the lines clear however I’m not sure if that was the best thing to do or why the pump wouldn’t clear the lines like it has with any other unloading I’ve done so far. The load specifically stated no air unloading due to the fact that it had a foaming agent and turned into a bubble bath.

Anyone have any ideas what was going on? This was not a very viscous product it was actually quite water like.

cncking2000 · Dec 6, 2020

Days 25 - 28 are over.

I was doing a lot of Intermodal Tanker loads for the rest of the week. Jacksonville to Savannah and back again. Trainer wouldn’t let me do the easy backs anymore and challenged me to get into more difficult spots.

Had a rear tire blow out on a loaded trailer while en-route to Jacksonville and was able to handle it without issue. Super Singles suck.

Finished my time with the trainer Friday. Traveled to Savannah Saturday. Sunday has been a day of R&R. SQT starts next week. I feel like I am the only one here doing SQT. I’ll find out more about that tomorrow. The rest of the folks in my group are in Reserve or Houston.

I am looking forward to the next stage in training, testing. Hopefully by this time next week I will be plodding along in the far right lane where I belong.

cncking2000 · Dec 7, 2020

Day one of SQT is completed.

There are two people doing SQT this week in Savannah. Started out with a trip planning exercise, pretty basic stuff.

Performed a full pretrip, coupling, drive around Savannah, backing and uncoupling. Passed that with one remark. I took an off ramp at 15 when posted at 20. I just didn’t want to be going 10 under the posted limit in traffic, but it is their rules. Nothing felt unsettled or out of control however.

Tomorrow will be air unloading!

mickeyrat · Dec 8, 2020

posted limits are maximums.......

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