Proper Driver orientation - Part 1

PART ONE – PAPERWORK

As a driver, driving all over Canada and United States, and now in a position where I oversee 80 professional truck drivers, perform truck driver training duties, and related jobs, I'm often in position to hear all kind of stories from truck drivers. From professional drivers just being handed the keys to the truck and kicked out the door to the drivers with years of experience under their belt, who have, over the years, adapted "bad habits" during their travels, and require a brush-up course on how to perform some of the more basic duties and responsibilities. Not to mention the new drivers, leaving trucking schools with next to no knowledge of the transportation industry.

While every company has their own procedures and company policies, there is somewhat of an industry standard in how duties are performed. One example, being your driver envelopes and other company related paperwork is handed in, which is based on the internal company construction from departments like payroll, dispatch, and safety and compliance departments. While the paperwork varies form company to company, it is basically the same information in multiple formats.

Standardizing the industry paperwork is next to impossible, as every shipper and consignee also has different paperwork. Bill of Lading paperwork only shares the same name across the board, however, every company has their own style of invoicing, causing confusion at the driver level with something as simple as locating the bill of lading number, which paperwork to sign, or in case of international drivers, what paperwork to send to customs. Faxing industry thrives on this matter, as most companies just say: "Send it all in!", as any piece of paper may stop you from getting paid for your load, or may cause delays at customs.

If you have steady customers, it is important to pass the information on to your drivers, so they do not cause delays in payment for your hard earned dollar.

While we're on the paperwork side of things, it would be good idea to show your drivers what to look for in your truck's permit book. Having expired or missing paperwork may cause unnecessary out of service violations. There is so many combinations of equipment and differences in licensing procedures from the areas your operate in, it wouldn't hurt to show your drivers for commonly asked documents. One example of this, Saskatchewan asks for Safety Fitness Certificate, while Ontario asks for CVOR (Commercial Vehicle Operator Registration). While both are equivalent documets, if your driver is not aware of this, law enforcement may issue you a violation, as sometimes, they don't know either (this was an actual event).

In the USA, drivers must possess a valid medical certificate, while in Ontario, it is a part of your licensing. Not knowing this, a US law enforcement agency may ask your driver for a medical certificate, and your driver may get a fine for not having a document which is not required. FMCSA actually has an exemption notice on their web site, which is printable, and should be included in your truck's permit book, so it accessible to the driver.

Teaching a driver how to spot errors, expired dates, or missing permits, will reduce headache causing violations, which could have been taken care of via an occasional look through the permit book.

Speaking from a personal perspective, as a driver, I kept a list of my permits organized by State/Province, alphabetically, and with dates of expiry written on the front page in the permit book. This allowed me to keep a better, easier way of making sure I leave with proper and current permits.

Taking photocopies of harder to read and understand documents, and showing them to the drivers ahead of time may save your company a headache when collecting payments for runs performed by your drivers. Take the time. Show them the ropes.

Part two coming soon…