Expectations

Establish reasonable expectations based on what you know rather than what you think should happen. You’ll only be able to do this if you ask a lot of questions and learn how the company works (Your driver manual is an important tool). Expectations also work both ways. You need to know what to expect from your driver manager. I’m pretty direct, so I find it easiest to simply ask the question. You’re a team. The more in tune you are with one another, the better your experience will be.

Trip planning

If you don’t know how to

• read an atlas (GPS only gives you directions; doesn’t help you plan),
• accurately figure travel time (you can’t actually average 60mph), plan for construction, traffic congestion
• plan where and when to take your breaks,
• avoid shipper/receiver delays due to incorrect pu/drop or load numbers

you won’t be able to effectively manage your time, which leads us to the next item.

Hours of service, ETAs, & PTAs

As a driver you must understand the hours of service regulations AND how to run your 70hr recap. “ETA” means, “When you’ll arrive at your final destination.” “PTA” means, “When you’ll be ready to perform your next job.” Being soft on these items means setting incorrect times and can cause you to miss out on the right load for your situation.

Paperwork & Payroll

Bottom line here: If you don’t master your paperwork, you run the risk of creating payroll issues for yourself. With the Transflo App simplifying the scanning process, paperwork errors should be a rare occurrence. Keep your loads and other financial transactions recorded in a notebook just like a check register. This makes reconciling your earnings settlement a breeze.

Communicate

Think of it like being a pilot talking to air traffic control. Your communication needs to be clear, concise, and early. This takes you back to the planning stage. How and when should you be communicating with your support team? Keep it simple & be proactive; don’t wait until the last minute to notify or ask your team for help.

Time off

As an Operations Manager at another carrier, when a new driver hit my fleet, one of the first things I did was set their time off date. But, before they were dispatched on their load home, they had to set up their next time off date AND their RTW (return to work) PTA. This allowed them to plan for appointments, family gatherings, or whatever they needed while they were off, and it allowed me to plan and dispatch them on a load while they were at home. My drivers would also call me the day before they returned to re-confirm. Everyone knew the plan.

I know you’re probably saying, “Thanks, but you didn’t tell me HOW to do any of those things.” There isn’t enough space in this article to cover it all. However, we’ll be talking about these things in greater detail via blog posts and other articles in upcoming issues of PAM Quarterly. In the meantime, don’t wait on more articles. Take a look at how you approach these topics and start a dialogue with your Driver Manager about how to improve.

Through the Driver Lifecycle program at PAM, you have some fantastic opportunities and we provide the resources you need to be successful. The route you take with your career is up to you.