swift orientation

So what, does Swift run you as a team when you are out with a mentor training over the road???? That doesnt seem safe to me. When I went through Schneider training, I spent a week and a half over the road with my training engineer, he would usually drive the first hour or two then I would drive the rest of the day. I did all the backing of course, but we never ran as a team, that is not right, that trainer should be in the passenger seat at all time till you get your own truck. Just my two cents

 

1.5 weeks? Is that the norm with Schneider?

I ask because 1) I'm not the easiest person to get along with, 2) I don't particularly care to share small spaces for long periods of time with people I don't know (or can't stand), and 3) Don't want to get bent over w/ low weekly pay for 6 weeks doing "training" since I tend to believe I'm a little quicker study when it comes to driving than most folks...

I could probably tolerate 1.5 weeks, especially if I don't have to sleep while someone else is on the wheel.

 

They actually have a structured training program that is supposed to progress as you do.. Now on the other hand there are mentors out there that throw that out the window and you are just a source of income so they put you to use. When I first started I got one of those, he basically said wake me up in 10 hours. I learned plenty from other people or myself, but I learned very little from him. When I trained I followed the book. They didn't like it much but I just kept telling them I wasn't a team so I would not run team loads. And how could I show my student anything if I was sleeping... Swift if the mentor lets them will run a new student/mentor truck as a team but its more the DM and planner doing that then a company policy and its up the the Mentor to put a stop to it. Most won't though because its the money thing...

 

Why would anybody want to work for a company like Swift...They have had 1992 wrecks in the last 24 months..65 fatal,650 injury,1227 property damage/ towed for a grand total of 1992.Before any wannabes jump in bed with these ratty companies ,why not do a little research.Start with www.safersys.org.

The experience you gain with these outfits doesn't really help you get a good trucking job later,in fact sometimes( not always) it does more harm to your reputation than good.Years ago I had a friend who was in charge of hiring drivers for a dump wagon outfit that paid above average wages and had you home most times nightly if thats what you wanted....If a driver applied there that had no driving school but a cdl permit and a desire to learn, he would try to find a hole for them on a team to get them rolling.If a driver applied for a position there that was a former Swift,Star,Builders Trans,Werner or grad. of any of that school of thought and had a bit exp.,he would roll his eyes and not even interview these people.At the time I thought that was unfair,so I asked him about it one day....He said he had had nothing but trouble out of these drivers and didn't intend to waste any more time or damaged trucks on them .When I pushed farther he said "I've never met ONE of these guys who knew anything about trucks or trucking and if they are stupid enough to fall for those scams,they are to stupid to take care of what I pay em to do". When I asked if that was really legal he said "If I don't think they are qualified ,I don't hire them and if thats not legal then I don't know what is. He also said they were beat down and couldn't make one decision on their own which cost him constant phone time and aggravation.Those are pretty strong words coming from a 45 + year vet in this biz and who was in charge of more than 200 power units at the time.You do realize that the gov. subs these crap companies to train you and when the gov funding runs out so does your time with the company?What follows is low miles till you walk and a disrespectful attitude towards you.They then crap on your DAC and look for their next meal ticket.I realize you have to start somewhere and if you HAVE to go into one of these companies knowing the score you can actually have a mutual exchange of fun take place.Once you get your cdl's (knowing your chance of lasting with this company a day over 6 months is slim)obey the law to the letter.If they press for illegal hours,shut it down and get the DOT on the way.REPORT every injury you sustain and back it up with a real Doctor's report, not one of their paid lackys.If they want you to run unsafe equipment,shut it down and call your friend the DOT.STAY LEGAL AT ALL TIMES!!!It won't be long before they either treat you with the respect we ALL deserve or get rid of you in a nice polite way.As I've said on here before...This is a CUT THROAT biz and anybody that survives the business aspect of it is as slick as cat crap on a tile floor.Get slick and educate yourselves.I want you all to make it and many more like me want you to make it totherwise who's gonna listen to our boring,worn out jokes.Be safe and Good Luck

 

ROFLMAO....If thats not the coolest company speak word I ever heard."TRAINING ENGINEER"...May I use that one Brink?You are good,real good. training engineer lololololololololololol..you kill me,Thanks

 

Yeah you like that, thats what schneider calls them. But the norm for SNI is two weeks classroom/truck training at the training facility, then two weeks with your "Training Engineer". Mine got cut to a week an a half cause his dad died while out on the road, he would have gotten me another TE to finish it out but he said I was ready to go.

 

That view point is very wrong IMO but some do share it. I have trained people for both driving and other jobs and what I have found this system to work very well for any training is..
1. Show them what, where, how, to do something.
2. Supervise them has they do the action.
3. Remove myself from the environment but still be close at hand for questions/corrections so that they do it by themselves.

Training drivers works the same way. Week one lead driver sits in the copilots chair. Week two he starts to remove himself so that the new driver can gain the confidence that he can handle the truck on his own.

If the trainer just sat in the copilots chair for six weeks OMG I would DIE from boredom. Next the trainee when released to solo status would suddenly find that he has to do everything himself. And some people would panic at that point. The alone time also helps to weed out people who cant cut it because how a person operates during that time will be close to the same when they go solo status.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you need to be lead around by the hand and supervised 24/7 well you don't belong in this industry in the first place. A driver must be able to think for him or herself make decisions and then act upon them on a daily basis.

 

Did you feel comfortable with the amount of time that you spent in training? By comfortable I mean did you feel as if you could back under your trailer,hook it up,get your paperwork and make it to point B with all that goes with getting to point B.Logging,fueling,checking your fluid levels,monitoring your gauges,hopefully just rolling through coops,finding your destination,getting assigned a hole to back into,finalizing your paperwork,getting the heck outta there and setting up for the next one.
We're you nervous about all that or did you feel pretty confident you could make it no prob?

 

I agree with you Ohnoo....It goes back to the old"Give em a fish,they eat for a day...Teach em to fish and they can feed themselves"...I don't want anyone to take my previous posts in this thread wrong...I'm not coming down on new hands at all,its these ratty companies taking advantage of these new hands I'm coming down on.I had one give me an unexpected laugh here a while back even.I was rolling past a U.S.unimpress truck who although he had been in the right lane for quite a spell,still had his right turn signal on.I gave him the ol'worn out"Hey U S, it looks like your fixing to run out of blinker fluid" to which he responds"10-4 I'll check it when we fuel next"...??????...I thought for a bit before going back at him....now is this guy trying to bait me into gouging him back and there by starting a drive by whooping war?I judged what I saw and heard...his radio had no echo,ants were weak looking so he probably wasn't looking for a battle.....his truck was wallering back and forth enough to make anyone in the bunk sea sick...HMMMMM..I found me some entertainment.So I went back with"Just curious ol'Hoss ,the blinker fluid reservoir on these ol'Pete's are under the passengers floorboard,you mind telling me where they might be on those newer trucks.He came back with"This is my first week out and I couldn't really tell you but my trainer will know,I'll tell him and thanks again".God bless his little heart,I'll bet his trainer either chewed him out or laughed his butt off. We all started somewhere and we've all been the butt of newbie jokes so you folks just hang in there and if a company craps on you(which they will at every chance)just chock it up and try it again elsewhere.