ABF | US Army ABF TMAP Training Diary

[FamilyGuy]

Are you training these recruits in all aspects of the LTL industry? Or at least, as many as you can? Or are you just teaching them how to drive the truck and maybe unload the truck. i e are you teaching them how to pay attention to their body positions and movements when lifting and moving freight? It may sound trivial and ridiculous but our bodies are at least as much at risk as the freight, the trucks and the motoring public. Sure, it's easy to say, "Keep your back straight and lift with your knees", but what do they do with that 80 lb 10' long box that shows up and has to go into that 3/4 loaded pup? That scenario right there is a broken back waiting to happen. Are you hammering into their heads "body first, freight last"? You should be, it's sad to see a 30 year old worker end his career with one wrong move.

And how about those residential deliveries? Are you explaining the services rendered and the obligations that go with each level of service? What is that driver to do when the homeowner shows them a staircase, up or down, and says, "it goes up/down there"? Do you provide them with weight limits on what they should wrestle down off of a trailer? i e a washer, dryer, refrigerator, generator, etc? Or do you just tell them, "See what you can do with it", like they always tell me? And one more thing that I strongly urge you to teach them...how to get that #2200 pallet of 8' long wood flooring, rubber mulch, ceramic tile, etc on and off of that liftgate safely. And not just on a good concrete or asphalt pad, train them how it's done safely on an upgrade driveway with stones and holes in the asphalt.

You're probably thinking that I'm just being a smart ass right now but I am not. These are serious, real life scenarios that we encounter and endure on a daily basis and nobody but us cares about it. My advice to the man, if you see something that will stretch the physical capabilities of your body, refuse to do it. If you wouldn't do it for yourself at home, refuse to do it, it's not your freight, it's not your problem and while you're querying the elders for information and advice look at what shape their bodies are in and how they walk, this is serious business that is not taken seriously enough.

I stress to the TMAP Students that Training does not just start and stop with that TMAP program. A great example is new drivers get on these Trucker boards or Facebook pages and see our drivers screwing off and doing the wrong thing. Bullfrog just recently had a driver filming himself riding a pallet jack down a customers driveway! Really?! Or how about filming yourself with a phone in your hand while driving across a narrow bridge and traffics coming at him! These actions are not to be seen by the new hires because that sets the standard in the new drivers eyes.
I know from what our TMAP driver has said about the program that they are limited on the Military bases because they have no liftgate, can't get freight through the front gate without a bill going to an address on the base. He also said they do a good job at trying to explain or showing as much realistic videos as possible.
Nothing can prepare a New Driver better than getting to the specific "terminal" and getting LTL training from an experienced and safe driver.

 

[canaryinthemine]

I'm military myself,.....but that was a long time ago. We were still carrying spears, I believe...... However, prior to my getting my military "exposure" way back in the early '70's,......I was a typical punk know-it-all, and a high-school dropout. Do I think the military changed the way I approached problems? Yes, I do,.....or either I was growing up......

40- some years later, my youngest son has decided to go into the Navy,.....this was after 3 years of Division III and Division I football (Go Pitt!)...Long and involved story, and no time for it here,.....But I think he enjoys the structure and responsibility of military life.......It's similar to the high school and college football regimen. He's very responsible and a great decision-maker....( but then so are my other 3 children....)

My opinion:.......The military gives you a better perspective on responsibility that seems to be lacking in a parochial education. Can the trucking industry use more of that? Heck, yeah!

Those private home deliveries, and the access to residential and rural areas where trucks are seldom seen,.......The odd, unusual, and labor-intensive-just -to-move-safely shipments,..........All that calls for individuals with a high sense of personal responsibility and liability...........and I'm not talking about AVOIDANCE of either the liability or responsibility,...I'm talking about getting the job done within that framework. NOT using a high level of difficulty to avoid the work, and blaming it on too much liability or responsibility,.....

Most of us in LTL have developed those "skills" over the years. But since LTL companies have only been hiring experienced LTL guys from companies going out of business in the last 20 years,.......and completely dismissing the possibility that they may need a training program for that "distant" future when the experienced LTL guys are no longer in the job market,...........now those skill sets,.....or something similar that can be adapted to LTL,....are in desperately high demand......

My concern about the TMAP program is that,....in their desperation,......... companies are going to spend the bare minimum training these former military people......who are USED to a MODICUM of RESPECT for a job well done,...........and they are going to throw these men and women,.......into a culture that the EMPLOYERS have created over the years,...........of DISDAIN for their skills.....a matter-of-fact attitude from management for a job that requires FAR MORE on a daily basis, than any other blue collar occupation out there,...... and that these formerly highly respected military people will become quickly disillusioned once confronted with the daily disrespect, ignorance, and frustration that we LTL guys experience as normal every day.

Watch a new driver in a tight dock at a food warehouse,........... How much help will he or she get?...........See a 53'er going down a 10 ton country lane with no hope of turning it around........... Think his dispatcher will yell and call him stupid? Or fire him if there's damage of any sort?........... Liftgate delivery with an irate and ignorant homeowner, who is just waiting for the slightest misstep or damage,.....so he can call your employer and file a claim in the hope of getting his shipment for free? Whose side will management take on that?,........ and will it change if the dollar amount of the claim is significant?

There is NO OTHER blue-collar occupation that piles on this much INDIVIDUAL responsibility and liability,......with VERY LITTLE guidance or help from management.....( ...namely because if they "offered" guidance or help, or even written instructions, they would share in the liability......Can't have that!....)..........And we experienced LTL guys take this in stride every day........

I'm not sure very many military people would be comfortable with this. There are many other blue collar occupations that reward responsibility. Trucking is designed on the "Seargent Schultz" principle............Management says: "I know NOTHING,....NOTHING!"............until there's liability and money involved.....And usually at that point, the employer, the Feds, and local laws all presume the driver did something wrong,........

Schneider has tried a program similar with TMAP,........... and they still have a 90% turnover rate on a yearly basis........ As drivers we all know why,.....and much of their turnover rate has to do with respect and liability......

 

[MaLsR_JDS]

Well, I knocked out my DOT physical and drug test today. It was fairly straightforward and only took about 45 minutes of my time. Since I already keep myself in pretty decent shape, I didn't have any trouble getting a 2 year card. After a quick trip to a local Kinko's, I have a laminated copy in my wallet.