FedEx Freight | Other News

[Redracer3136]

I agree on the stepped progression, in terms of learning more skill, then being molded into responsible professionals.

I'm not so sure that the city is the best place for the true rookie. It's certainly not the safest. All of the concerns mentioned are multiplied in terms of quantity. More hazards, more often. The road has different challenges that also need experience to conquer. Probably the worst place to learn, while the most common, would be OTR (irregular route), IMHO.

LTL probably provides the best mix, if introduced properly, methodically, etc. 1st Yard, then swaps, short line haul, etc. all provide known challenges. The key element is caring enough to introduce new challenges, as appropriate, starting with the foundation. Too many get thrown to the wolves, placing everyone at risk.

I'm not so sure that starting on the dock contributes anything to becoming a safe and responsible (defensive) driver. It does provide perspective on cause and effect on the cargo, which is valuable knowledge, but does dock experience translate one directly into a "safer" driver?

All valid points to which I couldn’t disagree but I will say however (you knew it was coming), I think the dock is the perfect fist step to becoming a driver. That’s where not only do they learn the proper way to load freight so the trailers will ride best (not to heavy in the nose, heavier freight to the left side to counteract the crown of the road, etc...), but also the proper way to secure the freight...there’s nothing like having a one ton reel rocking side to side when making turns or going around curves!! Also, its where they properly learn hazmat and how to load, secure, and placard and unplacard a trailer...all areas of major concern that drivers deal with on a daily basis!!

 

[Canadian Flyer]

All valid points to which I couldn’t disagree but I will say however (you knew it was coming), I think the dock is the perfect fist step to becoming a driver. That’s where not only do they learn the proper way to load freight so the trailers will ride best (not to heavy in the nose, heavier freight to the left side to counteract the crown of the road, etc...), but also the proper way to secure the freight...there’s nothing like having a one ton reel rocking side to side when making turns or going around curves!! Also, its where they properly learn hazmat and how to load, secure, and placard and unplacard a trailer...all areas of major concern that drivers deal with on a daily basis!!

As an admitted bypasser of my own theory (never been on a forklift in my life), I also agree. I took the time, while I was at FedEx, to witness and understand how trailers are loaded and the importance of proper load security. Even contributed a time or two when an extra pair of hands was needed to deck or strap something. I've carried that knowledge with me and have had to make up for other people's poor loading jobs with straps and bars. This is knowledge a driver needs so when he looks inside that trailer he knows if he needs to do something because someone else did not. If a poorly secured drum breaks loose and spills in transit, that's on the driver!

 

[SwampRatt]

All valid points to which I couldn’t disagree but I will say however (you knew it was coming), I think the dock is the perfect fist step to becoming a driver. That’s where not only do they learn the proper way to load freight so the trailers will ride best (not to heavy in the nose, heavier freight to the left side to counteract the crown of the road, etc...), but also the proper way to secure the freight...there’s nothing like having a one ton reel rocking side to side when making turns or going around curves!! Also, its where they properly learn hazmat and how to load, secure, and placard and unplacard a trailer...all areas of major concern that drivers deal with on a daily basis!!

Absolutely. Very good & valid points.

I was looking at it in terms of general driver training, not so much LTL specific. Truckload and/or private carrier drivers may never see much, or any, of the more complex and variable aspects faced in LTL. They can still be top shelf (and SAFE) drivers without any dock experience, at all.

Still, there is no denying the value of competent (LTL) dock training. Competent training, by people who care, can put the classroom instruction into real world perspective/practice. In LTL, some level of dock training should probably be required.

 

[LTLIndentured]

All valid points to which I couldn’t disagree but I will say however (you knew it was coming), I think the dock is the perfect fist step to becoming a driver. That’s where not only do they learn the proper way to load freight so the trailers will ride best (not to heavy in the nose, heavier freight to the left side to counteract the crown of the road, etc...), but also the proper way to secure the freight...there’s nothing like having a one ton reel rocking side to side when making turns or going around curves!! Also, its where they properly learn hazmat and how to load, secure, and placard and unplacard a trailer...all areas of major concern that drivers deal with on a daily basis!!

That is only true if you have motivated trainers with the appropriate skills doing the training. Don’t know about your company but ours has hired kids straight out of college, trained them for a month or two then given those kids the responsibility of training our new hires how to do a job they barely understand. Damages and claims are up. Customers are firing us because people aren’t putting effort or knowledge into blocking or bracing or strapping. World is ending if they have to get off a forklift to strap to a wall. Your company may be training better, but if it’s like mine then just putting a new hire on the dock may not benefit them as much as you think. Let them ride with a driver mentor for a few weeks. A guy who takes pride in his job and has the heart of a teacher and your new hire will fare best

 

[Canadian Flyer]

That is only true if you have motivated trainers with the appropriate skills doing the training. Don’t know about your company but ours has hired kids straight out of college, trained them for a month or two then given those kids the responsibility of training our new hires how to do a job they barely understand. Damages and claims are up. Customers are firing us because people aren’t putting effort or knowledge into blocking or bracing or strapping. World is ending if they have to get off a forklift to strap to a wall. Your company may be training better, but if it’s like mine then just putting a new hire on the dock may not benefit them as much as you think. Let them ride with a driver mentor for a few weeks. A guy who takes pride in his job and has the heart of a teacher and your new hire will fare best

And that's the problem with the training programs that exist today.

 

[SwampRatt]

This is knowledge a driver needs so when he looks inside that trailer he knows if he needs to do something because someone else did not. If a poorly secured drum breaks loose and spills in transit, that's on the driver!

I'm not absolutely certain the Driver can be held accountable for the proper securement of the contents of a sealed trailer. Imagine the fun of breaking seals and trying to put eyes on every HazMat ship in these linehaul trailers. Often it's not even possible...

Then we also have to consider the fact that there are securement rules for all shipments, not just HazMat.

 

[Canadian Flyer]

I'm not absolutely certain the Driver can be held accountable for the proper securement of the contents of a sealed trailer. Imagine the fun of breaking seals and trying to put eyes on every HazMat ship in these linehaul trailers. Often it's not even possible...

Then we also have to consider the fact that there are securement rules for all shipments, not just HazMat.

The buck stops at the driver, as far as the DOT is concerned. I used an extreme example, but it's no different if something heavy breaks loose and damages the trailer wall.

If the trailer is sealed, you can get away with saying you didn't know, but sealed trailers aren't actually all that common in the grand scheme of things. Usually the driver seals the trailer, supposedly after ensuring the load is secured. So if there's damage it's pretty much on you. Some carriers even bill drivers for damages.

 

[Redracer3136]

I'm not absolutely certain the Driver can be held accountable for the proper securement of the contents of a sealed trailer. Imagine the fun of breaking seals and trying to put eyes on every HazMat ship in these linehaul trailers. Often it's not even possible...

Then we also have to consider the fact that there are securement rules for all shipments, not just HazMat.

Au contraire mon frere...we had a driver in the past who was stopped at the scales for a DOT inspection. They saw the bills/placards and opened his sealed trailer to make sure the load was secure. When it wasn’t secure to their liking, he was put out of service and he, the driver, was fined for unsecured hazmat. I think ultimately the company paid the fine on his behalf but in today’s time he would’ve gotten the CSA points...for a sealed trailer!!

CF is correct, the driver is the last line of defense...even on sealed trailers!!

 

[SwampRatt]

With all due respect, Red an CF are both wrong. To be fair, I did say that I was NOT absolutely certain.

BUT, any reasonable person must agree that a driver cannot be held accountable for something which he has no control of, or ability to inspect.

According to both FMCSA and the North American Cargo Securement Standard:

"Note: (Section 2.3.3) The inspection rules in 2.3.2 do not apply to the driver of a sealed commercial motor vehicle who has been ordered not to open it to inspect its cargo or to the driver of a commercial motor vehicle that has been loaded in a manner that makes inspection of its cargo impracticable."

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulatio...securement-chapter-2-general-cargo-securement

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmc.../Drivers_Handbook_Cargo_Securement_508CLN.pdf

Then, the question of who ACTUALLY IS responsible, in such cases...


"49 CFR 177.834(a) requires packages of hazardous materials to be secured against shifting within the vehicle and between the packages under normal transportation conditions. If you offer a hazardous material for transportation (a shipper) to be transported by another company (a carrier), you may be surprised to learn that the shipper may be fined instead of or along with the carrier if the shipment of HazMat is found to be improperly secured.

This is because any person who performs, or is responsible for performing, a regulated function – such as loading and securing packages of hazardous materials on a truck – is responsible for compliance with all the applicable requirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR)."

https://danielstraining.com/who-is-...n-a-motor-vehicle-the-shipper-or-the-carrier/

Now we can be fairly certain.

 

[SwampRatt]

I think ultimately the company paid the fine on his behalf but in today’s time he would’ve gotten the CSA points

The officer can issue a citation, that doesn't mean it is correct. And any CSA points can and should be disputed, and expunged from the driver's record. https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/Default.aspx?enc=4orUr4VSakAlYsjxOmHrCeQ158IknHedB20QvqZJtcw=

 

[mattbob]

Don't you know that you can't tell Red that he is wrong, his daddy might get upset.

 

[seabreeze]

With all due respect, Red an CF are both wrong. To be fair, I did say that I was NOT absolutely certain.

BUT, any reasonable person must agree that a driver cannot be held accountable for something which he has no control of, or ability to inspect.

According to both FMCSA and the North American Cargo Securement Standard:

"Note: (Section 2.3.3) The inspection rules in 2.3.2 do not apply to the driver of a sealed commercial motor vehicle who has been ordered not to open it to inspect its cargo or to the driver of a commercial motor vehicle that has been loaded in a manner that makes inspection of its cargo impracticable."

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulatio...securement-chapter-2-general-cargo-securement

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmc.../Drivers_Handbook_Cargo_Securement_508CLN.pdf

Then, the question of who ACTUALLY IS responsible, in such cases...


"49 CFR 177.834(a) requires packages of hazardous materials to be secured against shifting within the vehicle and between the packages under normal transportation conditions. If you offer a hazardous material for transportation (a shipper) to be transported by another company (a carrier), you may be surprised to learn that the shipper may be fined instead of or along with the carrier if the shipment of HazMat is found to be improperly secured.

This is because any person who performs, or is responsible for performing, a regulated function – such as loading and securing packages of hazardous materials on a truck – is responsible for compliance with all the applicable requirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR)."

https://danielstraining.com/who-is-...n-a-motor-vehicle-the-shipper-or-the-carrier/

Now we can be fairly certain.

Problem here is todays requirements for a line driver.
A line driver should punch the clock, check his bills for hazmat, pretrip, sit behind the wheel and mash his
motor to his destination, not fuel,not hook,not work the dock, not peddle freight, just drive the truck.
I've said before, I can count on one hand the times I touched a piece of freight in 35 years.
Before I-95 was open, on old US 1, every tenth truck that crossed the scales, they broke the seal and peeked
inside, replaced the seal with Fla's. seal, signed your manifest, gave you a paper stating they replaced your seal.
If it was a government seal, they usually got the next truck to avoid a days paperwork.
You guys today should be reclassified as "Jack of all trades". you are no longer truck drivers.

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Problem here is todays requirements for a line driver.
A line driver should punch the clock, check his bills for hazmat, pretrip, sit behind the wheel and mash his
motor to his destination, not fuel,not hook,not work the dock, not peddle freight, just drive the truck.
I've said before, I can count on one hand the times I touched a piece of freight in 35 years.
Before I-95 was open, on old US 1, every tenth truck that crossed the scales, they broke the seal and peeked
inside, replaced the seal with Fla's. seal, signed your manifest, gave you a paper stating they replaced your seal.

Border patrol did the same thing back in my road days when coming back with a trailer from Mexico.

 

[SwampRatt]

...but sealed trailers aren't actually all that common in the grand scheme of things. Usually the driver seals the trailer, supposedly after ensuring the load is secured.

In my experience, line haul (LTL) trailers are almost always sealed, prior to driver being assigned hooks. Even truckload, when arranged as drop & hook, or a simple drop yard grab within a carrier operation, are sealed.

Seems to me sealed trailers are pretty common...

 

[Canadian Flyer]

In my experience, line haul (LTL) trailers are almost always sealed, prior to driver being assigned hooks. Even truckload, when arranged as drop & hook, or a simple drop yard grab within a carrier operation, are sealed.

Seems to me sealed trailers are pretty common...

FedEx seals everything before it leaves the dock. Since I left FedEx, I've been sealing my own trailers. Why? Because nobody wants to be responsible for saying it's road safe prior to handing it off to a driver.

I never said trailers aren't sealed, Swamp. What I said is that a driver receiving a sealed trailer from a shipper is rare; it's why the term Shipper's Load & Count exists. And OD doesn't seal trailers, drivers are expected to provide locks instead for more or less the same reason.

There's an important difference between seeing trailers with seals going down the road and knowing that the driver received it sealed. Truckload yard drops are the exception, not the rule, and even now as I move freight on behalf of three different LTL/parcel carriers I am the one sealing it, not them.

 

[Redracer3136]

The officer can issue a citation, that doesn't mean it is correct. And any CSA points can and should be disputed, and expunged from the driver's record. https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/Default.aspx?enc=4orUr4VSakAlYsjxOmHrCeQ158IknHedB20QvqZJtcw=

I’ve personally been stopped for an inspection where the DOT Officer broke the seal to check hazmat. Like @seabreeze said, he gave me a new seal, signed my manifest, and I had to call Central to give them the new seal number. When I asked who’s responsibility it was since the trailer sealed, he said it was mine...perhaps he meant “mine” as in the company’s responsibility but I took him to mean “mine” as mine.

Guess I was wrong, thx for the clarification!

 

[Dick Dastardly]

FedEx seals everything before it leaves the dock. Since I left FedEx, I've been sealing my own trailers. Why? Because nobody wants to be responsible for saying it's road safe prior to handing it off to a driver.

I never said trailers aren't sealed, Swamp. What I said is that a driver receiving a sealed trailer from a shipper is rare; it's why the term Shipper's Load & Count exists. And OD doesn't seal trailers, drivers are expected to provide locks instead for more or less the same reason.

There's an important difference between seeing trailers with seals going down the road and knowing that the driver received it sealed. Truckload yard drops are the exception, not the rule, and even now as I move freight on behalf of three different LTL/parcel carriers I am the one sealing it, not them.

I drove six years OTR (coast to coast). I never sealed trailers. Most of our loads were preloaded and sealed before I got there. We used to run seal manifest signed by the shipper that is was sealed, and then signed by the consignee the seal was intact upon arrival. Anytime I've run linehaul in LTL they were already sealed. A driver sealing his own trailers in LTL can't verify safe loading of the trailer. You're only then given the opportunity to inspect the rear.

 

[Canadian Flyer]

I drove six years OTR (coast to coast). I never sealed trailers. Most of our loads were preloaded and sealed before I got there. We used to run seal manifest signed by the shipper that is was sealed, and then signed by the consignee the seal was intact upon arrival. Anytime I've run linehaul in LTL they were already sealed. A driver sealing his own trailers in LTL can't verify safe loading of the trailer. You're only then given the opportunity to inspect the rear.

It's not a perfect world, obviously, but the person who seals the trailer is nonetheless responsible for checking load security. If a deck collapses in the nose of a trailer behind several pieces of freight that made seeing the deck impossible, you can't really be held accountable for that. The idea with an enclosed van trailer of any kind (dry, heated, reefer) is that the door(s) are the path of least resistance and should be safeguarded. Will anything fall against the door, causing a risk to the person who opens it? Might something break loose and possibly break open the door?

It's like a circle check. You are supposed to try your best. A half-loaded smooth wall trailer doesn't leave you options unless you have a rubber footed expanding load bar, for example. Likewise, a trailer sealed by the shipper is impossible to check.

That being said, I deal with a lot of time-sensitive linehaul work, including some special commodities. The only time I've had a pre-sealed trailer was if another driver picked it up from the shipper, with the sole exception of computer equipment shipments. And I cross the border, something that mandates high security seals. Most shippers, in my experience, don't like being responsible for sealing the trailer themselves unless there's a high risk of theft.

 

[SwampRatt]

FedEx seals everything before it leaves the dock. Since I left FedEx, I've been sealing my own trailers. Why? Because nobody wants to be responsible for saying it's road safe prior to handing it off to a driver.

I never said trailers aren't sealed, Swamp. What I said is that a driver receiving a sealed trailer from a shipper is rare; it's why the term Shipper's Load & Count exists. And OD doesn't seal trailers, drivers are expected to provide locks instead for more or less the same reason.

There's an important difference between seeing trailers with seals going down the road and knowing that the driver received it sealed. Truckload yard drops are the exception, not the rule, and even now as I move freight on behalf of three different LTL/parcel carriers I am the one sealing it, not them.

Oh, I understand, BUT... The idea that the driver is somehow responsible for things beyond their ability to inspect is not reasonable.

I just want people to know, just because an inspection shows an infraction, it does NOT always fall on the driver. Even if the trailer is not sealed, it may still not be practicable to inspect. But don't argue with the inspector on the side of the road. There is a proper time & place to make the case, later.

FedEx road drivers will have very little responsibility, in any, in the area of load securement. A city driver, on the other hand, might begin his/her day unable to see the entire load. But then, at some point as deliveries are made, the driver will then be reasonably expected to inspect, secure, and correct, as required.

 

[SwampRatt]

FedEx tests blockchain for cargo tracking
Technology is "the next frontier" for supply chain operations, CEO Smith says.

http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20180514-fedex-tests-blockchain-for-cargo-tracking/

We told you about this months ago...

"Companies that fail to adopt blockchain and other new technologies will face "extinction," Smith warned."