You may nod your head in agreement.
You may dismiss it out of hand.
But believe it or not: Transport Managers have personal gripes, just like the rest of us.
Driving an HGV breeds many annoyances. Running an entire fleet, you can bet, breeds no fewer. There are things drivers do - some simple oversights, others chronic mistakes - that drive operators up the wall.
Though not all of them impact the business, some snafus can, if not monitored, become bad habits. Bad habits have the potential to impact everything; from administrative efficiency right down to the bottom line.
We know it's easy to forget how individual lapses can have an effect on the bigger picture. This post will give you a rundown of the behaviour to limit/avoid in order to ensure smooth operations; the easier life is in the head office, the easier it is in the cab.
Here are 7 of the most aggravating things drivers do, according to a cross-section of transport managers. But don't fret; we know there are more than 7 things that come to a driver's mind when thinking about management.
7. Incorrect Defect Reporting
When a driver records non-safety related issues in their defect report book - such as low AdBlue, fuel tank not filled, or lack of air conditioning - it essentially means one of two things;
- the vehicle had no actual defects, and the driver was bored, or
- the driver doesn't know what to look for on their daily walk-a-round checks.
Both are a cause for concern for a TM; either the driver doesn't have enough to do, or requires more training.
6. Not Planning Breaks Properly
Driving commercially is often chaotic. Schedules fill up, priorities change; if occasionally a driver miscalculates and goes a couple of minutes over the limit, it's easily forgiven.
Repeatedly doing so, however, quickly impacts efficiency. A TM is hard-pressed to juggle strict forwarding agendas with stricter legal requirements at the best of times. When a driver goes over the 4 1/2 hour limit without a break, they make the task that little bit harder.
5. Not Reporting In
If you don't call base before heading back from your last job, you'll cause headaches in the office.
Why? Because if you return to the yard without giving a heads-up, you've potentially missed collections and back-loads that you could have dealt with on your return journey. This means more work for the TM to schedule in for tomorrow and potential lost revenue.
4. Driving Without the Card in the Tacho
It's HGV Driving 101: make sure the driver card is in the tachograph.
Failure in this respect causes migraines aplenty. For one; because no driver will be associated with the head recording, your firm's admin and accounts staff will be unable to complete the paperwork. This is something your TM will have to justify should the authorities stop by for a cuppa and a chat. And the authorities are all about the paperwork.
3. Providing Illegitimate Reasons for Infringements
If you're using excuses like no parking spaces available, I had an extra collection and but I needed to fill the tank, you can bet your TM reckons you're winding them up.
Scenarios like those listed are not emergency situations, therefore can't be considered as genuine reasons for infringing.
2. Being Unreachable When Driving
Few things are worse for a TM than having a driver out on the road and being unable to reach them.
But before you jump in - no one's suggesting you use your phone at the wheel. The issue for the TM is: no one knows if the driver isn't picking up because they're driving, or because they don't feel like it.
To avoid this problem, it's crucial you, as the driver, keep your TM updated on your location and status regularly. Which brings us neatly to our final bellyache.
1. Misusing Tachograph Modes
Yes, you guessed it. Nothing makes fleet runners grouse more often or more loudly than when drivers select the wrong mode on their tacho.
When the driver is telling one story, and the head unit is telling another; the problems for the TM start to pile up.
Whether they're recording a Break when actually doing Other Work (in order to help the company out) or recording Other Work when they should be on a Break or POA, a driver misusing his tachograph endangers not only his own career, but that of the operator.
The grousing, therefore, is justified. Because not only does misusing tachograph modes jeopardize a TM's good repute and position in the company, it opens them up to the possibility of prosecution. Needless to say, an operator under the gun for tacho misuse is likely to bring the driver in question into the firing line too.
Well, there you have it
7 of the biggest complaints TMs have about running a fleet.
If you're thinking; these are all pretty avoidable mistakes. How can I make sure I don't fall into the trap of forgetting the small stuff?
We're glad you had that thought. We've written a little handbook that should help make life behind the V8 that much easier.
Have we missed anything? Have you been chewed out for something not listed here? Use the comments section below to give us a shout.
