XPO | a limit needs to be put on weight off the floor1

After years of working with the safe stacks now, all I can really say is that you need to use them as little as possible.

There are senior drivers at my terminal that share your attitude towards safe stacks..No wonder our damages are out of control. I wouldn't say it's the main reason...but a good factor.

And with the pressure to cube them out and keep the weight up

Ahhh there we go.. The main cause of our damage problem. Managements obsession with cube makes my skin crawl.
 
Was working outbound last night, watched a senior guy load 4600 lbs of flour type stuff (heavy freakin bags) in the nose of a trailer and then dropped a rack as if it were okay to just go ahead and throw more stuff on the nose. I asked him how much he planned on loading up there, he response "dock is blowing out, isn't much room" So I just chuckled and went about my business. then I was breaking a trailer, noticed a forklift in the nose. Manifest said it weighed 8k, before I could figure out how to move it (wasn't working for some reason) supervisor said "hey just keep that on there", I informed him that is said it was 8k on the nose of a trailer! And his response, not to my surprise was "they don't go by any scales". So just because a driver doesn't go by any scales make is totally appropriate to completely ignore DOT rules and regs. SOUNDS GOOD! Now I've been here for a little over a year, but this whole trailer utilization thing is absurd. I know none of what I typed was about safestack but just needed to vent my frustration of the lack of caring.
 
There are senior drivers at my terminal that share your attitude towards safe stacks..No wonder our damages are out of control. I wouldn't say it's the main reason...but a good factor.



Ahhh there we go.. The main cause of our damage problem. Managements obsession with cube makes my skin crawl.


And how many damages did the racks cause ? Freight to heavy ( just because the rack will hold 3000 lbs doesn't mean it should ) or unstable coming undone and crashing down on whatever is underneath it ? Sometimes the faith in safe stacks leads to damages. Probably not the main reason.... but a good factor.

They only need to lighten up maybe 5%-10% on the cube and damages would be cut in half. Loading Friday night/Saturday morning, every time we made head way on the cube ( the first several trailers were good and heavy, 20K + and well over 100% types ) more freight was added to the lane to compensate. I understand that the idea is to do the job and do it well. And cutting trailers and putting forth good numbers is very important to management getting their bonus. So it's going to happen. But this same mechanism has an ugly side. For example. We literally tore apart a pure trailer. All one code. 24 foot. Because the freight had to be split up to fill different lanes. To satisfy numbers. And I had more freight for that code. I could have rolled that trailer off the dock pure to that terminal. But no, we had to handle it. And when it all gets to the four different terminals it got sent to, it will be handled again by them.

The assault on common sense continues.
 
Was working outbound last night, watched a senior guy load 4600 lbs of flour type stuff (heavy freakin bags) in the nose of a trailer and then dropped a rack as if it were okay to just go ahead and throw more stuff on the nose. I asked him how much he planned on loading up there, he response "dock is blowing out, isn't much room" So I just chuckled and went about my business. then I was breaking a trailer, noticed a forklift in the nose. Manifest said it weighed 8k, before I could figure out how to move it (wasn't working for some reason) supervisor said "hey just keep that on there", I informed him that is said it was 8k on the nose of a trailer! And his response, not to my surprise was "they don't go by any scales". So just because a driver doesn't go by any scales make is totally appropriate to completely ignore DOT rules and regs. SOUNDS GOOD! Now I've been here for a little over a year, but this whole trailer utilization thing is absurd. I know none of what I typed was about safestack but just needed to vent my frustration of the lack of caring.


Get the trailer number and call corporate. The palace loves to hear about this sort of thing and will have the trailer investigated when it arrives at the FAC. I have seen this done. Whatever the reprimand is, it must be significant. It won't happen again.
 
And how many damages did the racks cause ? Freight to heavy ( just because the rack will hold 3000 lbs doesn't mean it should ) or unstable coming undone and crashing down on whatever is underneath it ? Sometimes the faith in safe stacks leads to damages. Probably not the main reason.... but a good factor.

So what exactly do you propose as a solution?.. Because having faith in freight on top of freight almost never ends well.
 
So what exactly do you propose as a solution?.. Because having faith in freight on top of freight almost never ends well.

My solution is letting up on the cube some. And also using common sense when loading.

A 100 lbs skid will ride on top of most anything. A 1000 lbs skid will usually hold a 100 lbs skid no problem.

This job is not rocket science. It's extremely simple. Very redundant.
 
My solution is letting up on the cube some. And also using common sense when loading.

A 100 lbs skid will ride on top of most anything. A 1000 lbs skid will usually hold a 100 lbs skid no problem.

This job is not rocket science. It's extremely simple. Very redundant.
Also , management that backs up city P&D drivers. There have been times that I've left freight on a customers dock ( dangerously top heavy , not packed right , leaking , damaged , etc ) Even after I tell dispatch , I'll see the freight sitting on our dock for outbound. Dispatch just sends another driver to get the bad freight. The cutomer hasn't fixed the issue and it's passed to linehaul then inbound.

We had an old slogan a few years ago : "Let me get that for you" I think guys get this confused and think we mean crappy freight.
 
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Get the trailer number and call corporate. The palace loves to hear about this sort of thing and will have the trailer investigated when it arrives at the FAC. I have seen this done. Whatever the reprimand is, it must be significant. It won't happen again.

Good thought but it doesn't prevent that trailer being pulled... getting an FOS in the keyster after the fact doesn't help anyone if there's an accident...
 
Also , management that backs up city P&D drivers. There have been times that I've left freight on a customers dock ( dangerously top heavy , not packed right , leaking , damaged , etc ) Even after I tell dispatch , I'll see the freight sitting on our dock for outbound. Dispatch just sends another driver to get the bad freight. The cutomer hasn't fixed the issue and it's passed to linehaul then inbound.

We had an old slogan a few years ago : "Let me get that for you" I think guys get this confused and think we mean crappy freight.


I always got with the salesman on problems like that. Would take a pic and send it to him. Still grab the freight and push it through the system. Then when they go to file a claim on the other end..... DENIED ! They shipped it like ::shit:: so you get it like ::shit::. Not our responsibility.
 
I always got with the salesman on problems like that. Would take a pic and send it to him. Still grab the freight and push it through the system. Then when they go to file a claim on the other end..... DENIED ! They shipped it like :::shit::: so you get it like :::shit:::. Not our responsibility.
I had several conversations with both acct reps and customers, often about not wrapping freight to the pallet. To no avail. The stuff would fall off before getting onto a outbound trailer. But you had a great solution, really great if it works! Must be why you make the big bucks!
 
I had several conversations with both acct reps and customers, often about not wrapping freight to the pallet. To no avail. The stuff would fall off before getting onto a outbound trailer. But you had a great solution, really great if it works! Must be why you make the big bucks!


A picture is so much more valuable. You can share it with your OS&D person also. And you can send it to your W&I person and they will take more pictures. Word of mouth won't deny a claim. But showing the freight in the condition you picked it up, and then again on the out bound dock will change the situation.

I hate when our customers try to take advantage of us. I busted my ass to take care of them. I don't believe expecting them to properly prepare THEIR FREIGHT is asking to much.

One more headache I appreciate not having to deal with; now that I'm back out here on L/H.
 
Was working outbound last night, watched a senior guy load 4600 lbs of flour type stuff (heavy freakin bags) in the nose of a trailer and then dropped a rack as if it were okay to just go ahead and throw more stuff on the nose. I asked him how much he planned on loading up there, he response "dock is blowing out, isn't much room" So I just chuckled and went about my business. then I was breaking a trailer, noticed a forklift in the nose. Manifest said it weighed 8k, before I could figure out how to move it (wasn't working for some reason) supervisor said "hey just keep that on there", I informed him that is said it was 8k on the nose of a trailer! And his response, not to my surprise was "they don't go by any scales". So just because a driver doesn't go by any scales make is totally appropriate to completely ignore DOT rules and regs. SOUNDS GOOD! Now I've been here for a little over a year, but this whole trailer utilization thing is absurd. I know none of what I typed was about safestack but just needed to vent my frustration of the lack of caring.
FYI To save time when you load a fork truck sideways in the nose of a pup a sheet of plywood on top of the fork truck will save you 4" room instead of using safe stack and top of fork truck can easily hold 4,000 lbs.
 
FYI To save time when you load a fork truck sideways in the nose of a pup a sheet of plywood on top of the fork truck will save you 4" room instead of using safe stack and top of fork truck can easily hold 4,000 lbs.
I always wondered who loads a forklift in a trailer sideways ( putting a 4000 lbs. counterweight on one side of a trailer ) personally , I won't do it. I wouldn't pull it if I know it's in there like that.

By the way , if it's one of our lifts it usually weighs 8000 lbs. In the nose? Sideways? Not even 4ft?
 
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