September 5, 2006

Note: To print this newsletter in its entirety, simply press the print button on your web browser.

CLICK HERE to send us your comments about this newsletter.

Headline News

• Training Grant Will Support Trucking Industry's Need for Drivers
• FMCSA Receives 66 Diabetes Exemption Requests
• CVSA to Reconsider Roadside Brake Test
• TCA Chairman Update
• Media’s Reckless Portrayal of Trucking - American Public Taken for a Ride
• Understand Implications of Your Actions
• Suspicious' Truck-Driving Student Faces Deportation
• U.S.-Canada Border Cracks Down on Lunch Bags
• Proposals near on intermodal equipment, new entrants
• DOT Says Get Creative on Congestion
• Show You Care by Helping Your Drivers in an Emergency
• It’s What You Don’t Say That Can Often Do The Most Damage
• 6th Annual TCA/Multimedia-ACS Recruitment and Retention Conference
• The Scholarship Fund Needs Your Immediate Support

Training Grant Will Support Trucking Industry’s Need for Drivers

According to an article in the Oregon Trucking Associations’ Hot Sheet, a new federal grant at Clackamas Community College will support the serious need for trained truck drivers in Oregon. The college learned last week that it has been named the recipient of an $848,486 Community-Based Job Training Grant from the US Dept. of Labor. The Project SHIFT (Solutions and Hiring Improvements For Trucking) grant will address the driver need from several angles. The three-year project will train incumbent workers, such as warehouse employees, to become truck drivers and provide entry-level training for job seekers in the areas of truck driving safety, customer service and delivery skills. The grant will also be used to develop performance-based curiculum for both incumbent and entry-level workers and to provide age-appropriate truck driver pathway activities to elementary and high school students. Project SHIFT arose from the work of the Truck Driver Solutions Consortium, a group of representatives from industry, education and employment and youth services united to find solutions for the current and long-term shortage of adequately trained truck drivers. Peggy Falkenstein of CCC’s Customized Training & Development Dept. is cochair of the consortium, along with Bob Russell, OTA President. For more information about the grant or the consortium, contact Peggy at 503-657-6958, ext. 3290, or Bob Russell at russell@ortrucking.org.

Top

FMCSA Receives 66 Diabetes Exemption Requests

FMCSA has announced the receipt of applications from 66 individuals for exemptions from the prohibition against persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. Accordingly, the Agency will evaluate the qualifications of each applicant to determine whether granting the exemption will achieve the required level of safety mandated by the statute.  

If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals with ITDM to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce.  

Click here to review the list of drivers that have requested an exemption as it appeared in the Federal Register.

Top

CVSA to Reconsider Roadside Brake Test

The performance-based brake testers that inspectors use in some states for roadside brake checks now are used simply as screening devices to let the inspector know if he needs to take a closer look.

Next year, however, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance -- which sets inspection standards and out-of-service criteria -- is expected to reconsider a proposal that would allow inspectors to put trucks out of service, based solely on data from the performance-based brake testers. Using the data from the testers was voted on by CVSA in 2006, but the proposal was rejected.

"If the data from the machines can be used to place a truck out of service, then a trucker who gets a passing grade on the automated brake test should not have to undergo any other testing to pass the brake portion of an inspection," says Rick Craig, director of regulatory affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, an associate member of CVSA. Written by eTrucker Staff .

Top

TCA Chairman Update

On December 7 and 8 TCA held a Board of Directors Policy Symposium in Alexandria, Virginia. The first day of the meeting, Symposium attendees broke into three groups to tackle the particular issues that had been identified by TCA’s Officers at the ATA MC&E meeting in October; and the second day was spent with each group chair giving an overview of the group’s discussion and how they felt TCA needed to move forward on the particular issue, with an open discussion throughout the session.

Over the two days, we had good discussions on the issues at hand and the Symposium attendees that were in attendance provided good strategic planning on issues that will then need to either be brought back to a particular TCA Committee, or discussed at the TCA Board of Directors meeting in February that will be held in conjunction with the ATA Winter Leadership meeting.

Two issues that were discussed at the Symposium that have already yielded quick TCA staff response were tolls and the ATA Freight Corridors Initiative. ATA held a Highway Policy Committee Conference Call on December 12, at which time they were hoping to get a vote on their Toll Policy and, as it turns out, their Freight Corridor Initiative as well. TCA staff was able to provide those TCA members who are also ATA members with Policy Papers on these issues, with a section that stated some of the concerns that were brought up by Board members during the Symposium. I am pleased to report that of the 18 TCA members who sit on the ATA Highway Policy Committee, 14 participated in the Conference Call, as well as other interested TCA members.

Having more representation on the Conference Call helped get stronger opening language passed in the ATA suggested Toll Policy. Click here for the TCA Policy and BOD Action Sheet.

Original Opening Language:
Supports the objective of a toll-free National Highway System. Financing of highway improvements should rely primarily on traditional highway user taxes and receipts, exclusive of tolls, except under the following conditions:

New Opening Language:
The trucking industry supports the objective of a toll-free National Highway System. Fuel taxes and other existing highway user fees are efficient, effective and commonly accepted methods for collecting revenues for the maintenance and expansion of highways.  If toll financing is determined to be inevitable, ATA will continue to oppose tolling, and will advocate that the toll plan should incorporate the following attributes: Click here for full ATA Policy and attributes.

The ATA Policy on Increase in Fuel Tax to Support Highway Projects, specifically the Freight Corridor Initiative, was also discussed and again, by having strong representation on the call, a Sunset Clause was added under the ATA policy section on eligible activities under the FCI, as an oversight provision. Click here for Fuel Tax policy, BOD Action Sheet and updated ATA Policy.

Before I move forward on the other issues, it should be noted that the Toll issue will be brought back to the TCA Highway Policy Committee for further discussion.

On the Hours of Service issue, the Symposium attendees felt strongly that ATA’s strategy on this issue has little if any chance of success and that TCA should take back ownership over the HOS split sleeper berth issue. With that said, there was also a commitment made to continue to work with ATA to try to develop a strong statement on why the split sleeper is so important to the solo driver as well as the team drivers.

The Symposium focus group on this issue came up with a short-, mid-, and long-term strategy on how TCA should move forward on this issue and recommended that an HOS Task Force be activated immediately to work with staff to develop the strategies and have recommendations ready to discuss at the TCA Board of Directors meeting in February. Click here for HOS Policy and BOD Action Sheet.

The final report from the Board was given on Entry-Level Driver Training. The group agreed that the truckload industry must react to this issue before someone else gives us a mandate. With that thought in mind, the group will recommend to the TCA Board of Directors that TCA support minimum entry-level driver training, based on the model curriculum, and that a fixed set of hours not be set for each section of the curriculum.

It is also recommended that truckload carriers be represented on the ATA Safety & Loss Prevention Maintenance Council Entry-Level Training Work Group (ELDT WG) and that it would be helpful to have carriers on the Work Group that actually hire entry-level drivers. TCA is working presently with ATA leadership to ensure that the Work Group is evenly made up of LTL and TL carriers. Again, staff responded promptly and was able to ensure that the ATA Conference call on Entry-Level driver training held on Dec. 15 th, had eight TCA members participate in the conference call. Click here for Entry-Level Policy and BOD Action Sheet.

I also want to thank Don Oren and Jim Hardman for addressing the Symposium on the Independent Contractors/Owner Operator issue. The problem generally, is “The absence of a federal statute governing workers’ compensation in interstate motor carrier operations leaves the motor carrier in a morass of confusion with workers’ compensation statues.” TCA will be forming a Task Force to work on this issue.

In conjunction with the Board of Directors Symposium, we also held our first Young Transportation Executives Forum. The first day of the forum staff gave the group an overview of the governance and operations of TCA and all of our programs and then spent the afternoon discussing how TCA will move the YTE program forward. The second day, the YTE spent the morning at the ATA Capitol Hill office discussing the upcoming legislative agenda. This group will start to hold quarterly conference calls and possibly have guest speakers to address the issues that are affecting them on a daily basis.

As you can see, TCA members have great ownership in TCA and I want to thank all of those who participated in the Board of

Director’s Symposium and Young Transportation Executives Forum and to all those who were able to stop by the TCA Headquarters grand opening and welcoming reception. We will continue to update you on meetings and issues of importance to the truckload segment of the industry.

Best wishes to you for a Safe and Happy Holiday.

Top

Media’s Reckless Portrayal of Trucking - American Public Taken for a Ride

Alexandria, VA – December 13, 2006 – The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) responds to recent inaccurate press articles. The recent appearance of articles claiming the federal government has eased trucking regulations have portrayed the trucking industry as one comprised of large unsafe trucks traveling with reckless abandon on our nation’s highways. In fact, the federal government has done the opposite. What these articles fail to point out is that trucks travel on our nation’s highways on a daily basis and without incident. Traveling in the safest, most professional manner, the trucking industry travels approximately 115 billion miles each year. This is the equivalent of making 115,000 cross country trips per day.

Public perception driven by misrepresented statistics has made trucking an embattled industry - - an industry in which opinions expressed in such limelight display trucks in a glare of negative publicity. For every negative story that is printed about the trucking industry, there are many positive attributes often left unsaid.

Condemning an industry without expressing the whole story is misleading and irresponsible. For instance, the New York Times recently misrepresented practices in the trucking industry relative to time behind-the-wheel, but failed to inform the reader that these driving practices are well within the mandated federal regulations.

What many of these articles neglect to do is tell the full story about trucking by looking closely at the relevant statistics. Statistics that explain that the large truck fatal crash rate dropped 22% from 1993 to 2003 are not mentioned. According to a study by the AAA Foundation, in fatal crashes involving a truck and another motor vehicle, police assigned one or more unsafe driving factors to the passenger vehicle driver and no factors to the truck drivers in 73% of all the cases, again statistics that are not mentioned.

Further, with driver fatigue reported as being an ongoing concern among our nation’s truck drivers, reports fail to acknowledge that fatal accidents in which drowsiness or sleepiness is cited as a factor, the passenger vehicle driver is cited 94% of the time. Barry

Pottle, TCA Chairman and President of Pottle’s Transportation, stated that the industry has spent millions of dollars on studies regarding fatigue and technology to further safety enhancements in the rig itself and on driver training programs. He went on to say that “the industry truly believes that better education, cooperation and courtesy are critical to making our highways safer for everyone. The trucking industry is committed to continually improving highway safety in communities across America. And we stand ready to do even more.”

What is most disappointing is that these reports completely ignore the role this industry plays in the economy and the professionalism of its drivers. The trucking industry is the catalyst of the freight distribution system, hauling nearly 70% of all domestic freight transportation tonnage in the United States and accounting for more than 80% of the nation’s freight bill. Over 80% of the communities in the U.S. receive their goods exclusively from trucks. The trucking industry employs more than 8.6 million people or one in 15 civilian workers. The realization that trucking plays an important role in public safety would be an understatement. As the dominant mode of freight transportation, trucking is projected to haul 13 billion tons of freight by 2016, compared with 10 billion tons in 2005.

As TCA’s President Chris Burruss stated, “Put simply, trucking delivers virtually every product and convenience purchased in the retail marketplace. Food, construction materials, medical supplies, fuel and educational materials are but a small fraction of the goods delivered by truck.” Mr. Burruss went on to say that “The public must recognize that every truck is driven by a mother, father, brother or sister who has one goal in mind: to deliver their needed cargo, do so safely, and make it home to their loved ones. They carry the education, health and dreams of our families on their trailers each and every day, 365 days a year. They have a sense of commitment and a work ethic that is rarely seen in other industries today. Many of these drivers do so while logging in excess of a million miles without an accident. This would represent tens of thousands of trips back and forth to work for those of us who commute by car.”

Through the TCA Highway Angel program, there are many drivers who have saved the lives of thousands of individuals while on the highway, but their recognition remains inside the industry, rarely picked up in the mainstream press. The ATA Highway Watch program, trains millions of drivers to serve as the eyes for our law enforcement community, reporting suspicious highway activity as it occurs all across our nation. And still, the only recognition the drivers seem to receive are articles that misrepresent the facts and downplay the true reason they travel our nations highways; to keep our economy moving and keep us safe.

On behalf of the millions of truck drivers whose office is their truck and the highways their workplace, it is the industry’s sincere hope that these drivers will be recognized for the true nature of what they do each day and not be penalized by misleading manipulations of the truth.

Top

Suspicious' Truck-Driving Student Faces Deportation

An Indian resident attending a Rhode Island truck driving school was arrested following reports of suspicious behavior while preparing for his CDL and hazmat certification.

State police learned that the suspect, Mohammed Yusef Mullawala, 28, of Jamaica, NY, possessed driver’s licenses in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, according to police. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned his temporary student visa had expired as well. The suspect provided a false statement that he was a Rhode Island resident when he obtained his drivers license from that state, investigators stated.

The investigation of Mullawala was prompted by a report that he displayed “no interest learning the fine art of driving a tractor-trailer,” including backing up, according to a Dec. 9 story in the Providence Journal.

Immigration officials issued an administrative warrant for Mullawala. State police took him into custody Dec. 5; a hearing will be held in Boston’s Immigration Court. He faces deportation back to India and could be charged with identity theft. Written by Jill Dunn, etrucker.

Top

U.S.-Canada Border Cracks Down on Lunch Bags

Canadian truckers who travel across the U.S.-Canada border regularly now are having to check the bologna sandwich and bag of chips they packed for lunch — and it's not because they're counting their calories.

Lunch bags now are on the list of items that have to be declared at the U.S. border, according to the Niagara Falls Review. If Canadian truckers don't declare the precise contents within their sacks, they may be looking at stiff fines, the newspaper reports. Drivers told the Review they've been fined, detained and threatened with confiscation of their U.S.-issued identity cards for trying to enter the United States with undeclared food.

A member of the Ontario Trucking Association told the Canadian Press the lunch-bag crackdown is another addition to a list of new U.S. security measures aimed at stopping terrorists, smuggling and threats to the food supply. A U.S. policy posting advises travelers that all agriculture items must be removed from baggage — including meats, fruits and vegetables — to protect U.S. crops and livestock from disease.

"It all started with the Mad Cow problem a couple of years ago," Doug Switzer, OTA manager of government relations, told the Canadian Press. "But in the last six months, the target has shifted over to fruit and vegetables as well."

"It's a money grab, in my opinion," said John Christian, safety and compliance officer for G. Zavitz Ltd., a Niagara Falls, Ontario-based trucking company. "It's all about increasing the fines that will pay out another hundred-plus inspectors," he told the Review.

Kevin Corsaro, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Buffalo, told the Canadian Press that although they will seize beef and other prohibited food items from entering the country, they will not levy fines unless the traveler "purposely hides specific items."

Top

Proposals near on intermodal equipment, new entrants

The White House Office of Management and Budget has signed off on proposed regulations that would establish requirements related to the maintenance of intermodal equipment, and raise the standard of compliance for passing a new entrant safety audit.

The approval allows the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue the two notices of proposed rulemaking in the near future.

The rulemaking on intermodal equipment will reflect statutory changes Congress enacted last year in the major highway reauthorization bill. It would require entities that offer intermodal container chassis for transportation in interstate commerce to:

• File a Motor Carrier Identification Report (Form MCS-150);
• Display a USDOT identification number on each chassis offered for such transportation;
• Establish a systematic inspection, repair and maintenance program to ensure the safe operating condition of each chassis offered for transportation and maintain documentation of the program; and
• Provide a means for effectively responding to driver and motor carrier complaints about the condition of intermodal container chassis.
  

FMCSA is pursuing the new entrant rulemaking on its own initiative based on its experience with the current program, now several years old. In addition to tighter standards and clarification of existing rules, FMCSA will propose a separate application procedure and safety oversight system for motor carriers based outside North America.

The goal of the new entrant regulations is to improve FMCSA’s ability to identify at-risk new entrant carriers and ensure that deficiencies in basic safety management controls are corrected before the new entrant is granted permanent registration.

All new entrants would continue to receive educational information on how to comply with the safety regulations and be given an opportunity to correct any deficiencies found. For more information on this rulemaking, visit http://dms.dot.gov/search and search Docket No. 11061.

The White House still has two FMCSA proposals under consideration: use of electronic onboard recorders for hours-of-service compliance and regulation of household goods brokers.

The White House cleared in September a final rule regarding supporting documents for drivers' logs. FMCSA has delayed publishing the rule, however, saying that it needs time to train field personnel to ensure clarity and uniform enforcement nationwide. Written by Avery Vise, CCJ Magazine.

Top

DOT Says Get Creative on Congestion

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has urged states and cities to submit proposals for new ways to fight traffic congestion in major metropolitan areas.

“Our quality of life and continued economic prosperity demand that we find creative solutions to the growing burden of congestion,” Peters said Friday, Dec. 8. “We want to work with forward-thinking state and local leaders to find new ways to get people and goods moving again.”

Through new “Urban Partnership Agreements,” Peters’ agency will provide grants, loans, credit support, regulatory relief and technical assistance to test congestion-relieving technologies such as ramp metering and real-time travel information systems.

In return, states and cities will be expected to research and develop congestion-relieving strategies such as variable rush-hour tolls, mass transit and incentives for employers to encourage telecommuting and flexible work schedules.

Applications must be received by April 30, 2007 and results should be announced by Aug. 8, 2007 Peters said. Written by Brittani Tingle, CCJ Magazine.

Top

Judges Question FMCSA’s Numbers in Hours Rule

An attorney representing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest hours of service regulations Dec. 4 found himself defending the statistical models the agency relied on for guidance in its redrafting the rules.

Matthew Colette, a Justice Department lawyer representing FMCSA, also faced questions from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit regarding the impact of the rules on the industry and public.

FMCSA is fighting separate lawsuits filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and safety advocacy group Public Citizen over the August 2005 revisions to the rules that took effect in January 2004. The D.C. circuit appeals court in July 2004 had invalidated those rules. On Dec. 4, a three-judge panel –- different from the one that ruled in 2004 –- heard arguments from OOIDA, Public Citizen and FMCSA.

Paul Cullen, Jr., an attorney representing OOIDA, urged the court to send FMCSA “back to the drawing board” to reconsider the rule in three areas:

The decision not to allow breaks during the work day to stop the 14-hour clock. OOIDA has found that delivery schedules force many drivers to complete their work days without taking a break, Cullen told the judges. That’s the type of impact on driver health the court expressed worries about in 2004, Cullen said. In a member survey, OOIDA found that 60 percent said they avoid taking breaks during the 14-hour window.

The increased minimum consecutive hours in sleepers to satisfy mandatory rest. “The sleeper berth issue has caused the most concern,” especially for team drivers, Cullen told the court. He also faulted FMCSA’s procedural conduct in adopting the change even though the notice of proposed rulemaking didn’t specifically propose it. “We do not believe FMCSA gave proper notice,” Cullen said. “Either they would have to do a two-step rulemaking –- or they had plenty of time to do that –- or they would have had to better define the problem they were seeking to address.”

The effect of loading and unloading on driver fatigue, particularly extensive waiting times that force drivers to push harder once they can get on the road.

Public Citizen argued that FMCSA’s statistical models in the “virtually identical” new rule gave short shrift to the effects of “time on task” –- in other words, time spent working and driving –- even though the court in 2004 criticized the agency for precisely this approach. “The model only cares about sleep,” said Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, an attorney for Public Citizen. “It’s irrelevant how much work you are doing.”

But time on task matters, Robin-Vergeer said. “We have extensive evidence about the sharp increase in crash risk after 8 hours of driving.”

“The 34-hour restart is the most pernicious provision in the new rule,” Robin-Vergeer told the appeals court. The rule allows substantially more hours driving in a week, contributing to higher cumulative fatigue and less off-duty time, Public Citizen charges. Various surveys have shown that a significant number of drivers are pushing the limits by taking only the 34-hour minimum, she said.

Public Citizen also faults FMCSA for simultaneously downplaying in the preamble to the rule the likelihood that drivers would use the 34-hour restart to maximize driving hours and playing up, in the regulatory impact analysis (RIA) accompanying the rule, the productivity gains from the restart.

Colette defended FMCSA’s position that the science shows that “length of wakefulness is a bigger factor in fatigue than time on task” and disagreed with Public Citizen that there is an inconsistency between the preamble and the RIA. FMCSA used the same estimates and assumptions in analyzing both crash risk and productivity, he said.

The government attorney also stood by FMCSA’s analysis of the 34-hour restart and how drivers are using it in practice. “They are not necessarily using it to drive a massive number of hours,”

Colette told the three-judge panel. “Rather, we believe they are using it to spend more time at home.” In any case, the number of hours driving per week is not as significant as reducing fatigue on a daily basis, he said.

Judges on the panel seemed less interested in how the rule has worked in practice than in how FMCSA justified the rule from the standpoint of safety and economic impact.

Judge Merrick Garland, for example, questioned Colette on the methodology of FMCSA’s analysis of how increased consecutive hours of driving affected crash risk. Unsatisfied with Colette’s responses, Garland chided the government attorney. “You’re not a statistician. This is a debate among statisticians.”

Colette stood by FMCSA. “Where we are statistically is within the realm of reasonableness.” But Garland responded that the analysis must be not only reasonable but also fairly transparent, noting that the appeals court has declared numerous times that the court can’t evaluate a model if the agency doesn’t expose it in the notice of proposed rulemaking.

Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg raised similar concerns, noting that the RIA doesn’t break down the components of the regulatory impact it projects. He asked, “How do the petitioners know it’s a sound number?” It’s difficult for parties to respond to FMCSA’s projections, the judge said, if the agency doesn’t disclose how the agency arrived at them. “Any number of times we have said, ‘Show your work.’”

The appeals court panel is expected to issue its ruling in the next two or three months. Written by Avery Vice, CCJ Magazine.

Top

Show You Care by Helping Your Drivers in an Emergency

Note: This article is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of the Daily Dispatch Challenge Training Guide. While it is directed to Fleet Mangers, everyone that deals with drivers will find it helpful.

Fleet managers are often required to handle emergencies with drivers, driver’s family members, and customers. A nine-step process is described for the most effective method of handling most emergencies. A realistic scenario is presented to show the proper handling of an emergency. Keep in mind that you won’t necessarily use all nine steps in every emergency.

The wife of a driver calls in to tell you that her son has become ill and has just been admitted to the hospital for tests. The child is in good condition, not critical, but she needs her husband home as soon as possible.

Step-by-Step Process	What the Fleet Manager Might Say
Stay calm, think clearly, and don’t get caught up in the stress.	“OK, Mrs. Jones, it sounds like you are really worried about your son. He has a case of food poisoning, but seems to be doing OK now, and you want Mike to get home as quickly as possible. Be assured that I will do everything I can to get Mike home as soon as possible.”
Use empathy. Put yourself in the other person’s place.	“Mike, your wife called a few minutes ago. Your son has food poisoning and has been admitted to the hospital for some tests. She said he seems to be doing fine right now, but they need you at home ASAP.”
Let the other person acknowledge the situation.	“Mike, it sounds like this has been an ongoing problem. You must have been worried and anxious over the last few weeks. Let's see what we can do to get you home.”
Ask questions.	“Mike, what is the status of your current load? Can you deliver it or do we need to relay it? How far do you live from the receiver in St. Louis? What do you think will work best to get you home?"
Listen to the answers.	What I heard you say was that you are only 25 miles from your delivery point and it is only about 30 miles from there to where you live. Is that right? Are you saying you can complete the run and then get home quickly to be with your family?”
Identify critical information.	“I’ll contact your customer and tell him that you will be there in about 30 minutes. I’ll also make arrangements for you to just drop the trailer in his yard.”
Identify critical information.	“I’ll contact your customer and tell him that you will be there in about 30 minutes. I’ll also make arrangements for you to just drop the trailer in his yard.”
Give out company information according to policy.	Not applicable in this situation.
Use problem-solving skills.	“Since you are so close to the receiver, I’ll see if we can work things out with the customer so they will unload you ASAP and get you on the way home. I will either see if they can have a crew standing by to unload or will let you drop the trailer for unloading later. Then I’ll get another driver to pick up the trailer. Go ahead and take the tractor home tonight. How does that sound? We should have you where you need to be by late afternoon.”
Express support and reassurance.	“Mike, I’m glad we could find a way to get you home quickly. Please let me know how your son is doing. Don’t worry about the next few days. Let me know when you will be ready to go back out.”

For more information on the Daily Dispatch Challenge Training Guide (ISBN 1-4018-3227-X, $24.95 List) or CD-ROM (1-4018-5498-2, $495 List), please contact Eric Purdy National Sales Manager: Eric.Purdy@thomson.com   (518)348-2581

Top

It’s What You Don’t Say That Can Often Do The Most Damage

A couple of years ago, on an Easter weekend, my oldest son (then 4 years old) got our attention when he emerged from a makeshift bedroom that also serves as a home office at my in-laws house with a pair of scissors in his hand and a very creative self-administered haircut. He looked like he had experienced a head-on crash with a Weed eater.

Trying very hard not to laugh and maintain the stern demeanor of a concerned parent, I asked him why he had done it. His answer was, “Because I needed it.” In typical, not-thinking-before-you- speak fashion, I said, “Clayton, you’re not supposed to cut your own hair.” And in very typical 4-year-old fashion, he answered, “Daddy, you never said not to.”

Wow! That will get your attention. That phrase immediately throws you into a mental inventory of what else you haven’t told your young children not to do. When you think about it, that is a very logical response. Sure a child figures out on his or her own not to do things that will hurt them. Sometimes, they learn the hard way. But what about those things, with no obvious negative consequences; other than the need to wear a hat throughout Easter Day? What seems so obvious to us as parents, or leaders, may not be so obvious to those we parent or lead.

As we examine the issue of effective communication as a leadership tool, it is vital that we look at our business and take that same mental inventory of what we have not told our people. What information have we withheld because either we didn’t think they particularly needed to know or we just never got around to sharing it? The fact is our employees and associates cannot deal with information they don’t have. They can’t respond to a situation they don’t know about. They simply cannot meet expectations they are not aware of.

Things happen in our business every day our people need to know about. Some management experts go as far as advocating sharing all financial information with all employees in order to give them the information they need to help the company be profitable. There is debate over the effectiveness of that method - - although many companies have achieved great financial results using that concept. In fact, those same companies are very enlightened and likely would achieve some level of success whether they shared financial information with all employees or not.

That being said, I believe companies need to do a much better job of sharing company information. What kind of information? The information they need to take care of your business, including but not limited to:

- Financial information such as key indicators ownership uses to determine fiscal health.

- Key information on key customers so they can deal with each in a unique and effective manner. For instance, information that a key customer is in the middle of renegotiating its business relationships, including the one with your company.

- Management’s theory on asset utilization such as:

- when to add trucks;

- why we keep our trucks three years instead of five or vice versa;

- why we don’t maintain our own shop or why we do;

- why equipment utilization can have such an impact on financial performance.

While all this information may be obvious to you and your top managers, maybe even your dispatchers, many employees don’t understand why the company does what it does. Sharing that information can be very valuable. How do you accomplish that? You can’t just write out a memo one day that includes everything you’ve never shared with folks.

One very effective way is through a company publication or some other means in a “Did you know?” format. For instance, you might address the vehicle life cycle issue by saying, “Did you know that by trading our trucks every three years, we are able to reduce our maintenance costs by X number of dollars and, in turn, our equipment is much more dependable and we have fewer lost revenue days because of unusable equipment? In fact, since we have adopted this policy, we have increased our profit to the bottom line by X dollars.”

Again, this information is not heart-stopping in substance and is obviously not news to you and some others. However, helping the average employee better understand why the company does what it does will help empower that employee to make unsupervised decisions (let’s face it, they happen every day) with a better understanding of the company’s goals and objectives.

So the next time one of your employees walks into your office with scissors in their hands (metaphorically speaking) and a bad haircut, before you ask the question, “Why did you do that?” make sure you have been communicating effectively the information they need to make the right decisions on your behalf. Be willing, as a leader, to share important information, both good and bad. Knowledge and information equal power. Provide your people with the power they need to take care of your business and your customers.

Be a leader today and everyday!

Top

6th Annual TCA/Multimedia-ACS Recruitment and Retention Conference

JOIN US

at the 6th Annual Recruitment & Retention Conference presented by
Truckload Carriers Association and ACS MultiMedia

Monday, January 29th, 2007 - Wednesday January 31st, 2007

WHERE:
Renaissance Nashville Hotel
611 Commerce Street
Nashville, TN 37203

EVENT REGISTRATION FEE:
TCA Carrier Member: $495.00

Non-TCA Carrier Member: $595.00

Non-Carrier: $795.00

For the full Brochure and to Register Online
For More Information Contact Virginia DeRoze at vderoze@truckload.org or 703-838-1950.

Top

The Scholarship Fund Needs Your Immediate Support

It’s going to be hard to top the last two years, as the generosity of our members never seizes to amaze me stated Don Orr, Chair of the Scholarship Fund. Every year the TCA Scholarship Fund holds a fundraiser that allows it to continue to Award College scholarships to those in the trucking industry and their relatives.

Bethany Donnillon, daughter of Bill and Linda Donnillon, received a $2,000 scholarship. Bill is Facilities Manager for Dart Advantage Warehousing and Linda is a Billing Specialist at Dart a long time TCA member. Both have been employed with Dart for over 10 years.

Bethany ’s parents have helped her understand the importance of the trucking industry to the economy. She is studying Business and Spanish at the University of Saint Thomas in Minnesota, and is an intern and recruiting assistant in Dart’s Fleet Services department this summer.

Last year we held our second successful silent and live auction. The Silent Auction will be held again in the Exhibit Hall at the Bellagio Resort, in Las Vegas, NV, March 11-14, 2007, and the auction item sign-up sheets and item photos will be located in one central location in the Exhibit Hall with a framed photo of the item and the item itself [if small enough] located at each exhibitor's booth. Each participating exhibitor will also have their booth marked in a clear way to show their participation in the Auction.

The Auction is open to both carriers and those associate members who are participating in the exhibition. Click here for a silent auction donation form. We are still looking for our Live Auction Items and need many more for the Silent Auction, if you are interested in donating an item for the Live Auction, please contact Nancy O'Liddy at 703-838-1950. Please note donated items must be of a value of $500 or more.

services and logistics solutions to some 20,500 customers through a network of over 210 offices in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Top