XPO | loading P/D vans

From my own experience at my terminal, you have got to work really, really hard at getting fired to actually get fired. Speaking up about legitimate issues such as an overweight trailer will NOT get you in any trouble.
Exactly. I've been around this industry long enough to know how it works also. If you act like an idiot when addressing ANY issue with management (union or not) you can get yourself into trouble. However, when it comes to a safety issue, I've never heard of anyone getting fired for forcing a company to comply with safety regulations. And as many of us know, every company preaches safety, so what would they look like if they forced violations or punished those who forced them to comply with regulations?
My view has always been that everyone has a boss and has someone that they have to answer to. So either they play by the rules or I will go up the chain of command until they wish that they had.
None of them want to have to explain their actions to their boss.

Side note: For anyone that squats to pee, just sit back and let them kick you around......but also, get used to it, since you allowed it to go on to begin with.
 
I will say Xpo is far more anal retentive when it comes to safety than Conway ever was. Probably comes from their operations in Europe. The problem is.... We still have mostly Conway management at all levels. The old turn a blind eye and get it done mentality.

I'm not sure how to change that.. Other than getting out the broom. Don't see that happening anytime soon.
 
There was a time when we would get stopped by the DOT and get written up for something, we could just blame "the boss" and the DOT would issue them the ticket. But those days are long gone. The responsibility has been put on the drivers to keep their trucks in safe condition, and the DOT doesn't care about excuses. The person responsible for that unsafe unit is standing right in front of them, so that's who is getting the ticket.
Cover your donkey, if it's a safety issue, get it fixed before you ever leave the yard. Otherwise, every time you get stopped and your license gets run, it shows that you don't do a proper pre-trip because you have failed safety inspections........which only encourages them to do another safety inspection on you.
I think most of you have better things to do with your time than to be stopped, getting inspected every time you turn around.
 
:shhit:
Flash your putting this driver in a tight spot. This driver is an employee at will . They can tell him to go home and not come back . One of the reasons the companies like being nonunion it gives the the flexibility to manipulate its workers . Talking back to management is an exultant way of being showed the door .The longer a driver is with the company and starts to accumulate more benefits vacation etc puts a target on is back .They look for ways to get rid of seniority employees .
WOW that is the biggest pile of :shhit: I have read. The only ones that need a union are the ones who are always in trouble. There is a different between talking to management and being an a--hole. I bet you are more the a--hole type. Over the years I have expressed my opinion to my local supervisor all the way to owners of the companies and have never been show the door that's because I can act professionally and express my opinion in a professional manner. The union must really blowing smoke up you ass.
I do have one question: If the union is SOOOO great why do the union carries in MY area have sign out looking to hire anyone, Dockwork, Driver, and Mechanics? and we are hiring no one at our place?
 
:shhit:
WOW that is the biggest pile of :shhit: I have read. The only ones that need a union are the ones who are always in trouble. There is a different between talking to management and being an a--hole. I bet you are more the a--hole type. Over the years I have expressed my opinion to my local supervisor all the way to owners of the companies and have never been show the door that's because I can act professionally and express my opinion in a professional manner. The union must really blowing smoke up you ass.
I do have one question: If the union is SOOOO great why do the union carries in MY area have sign out looking to hire anyone, Dockwork, Driver, and Mechanics? and we are hiring no one at our place?
Let's not let the pro/anti Union debate pollute this thread too, ok?
 
Our inbound FOS is pretty good about overweight trailers. The one who loaded it will/does get talked too..which honestly doesn't happen often. If a van is nose heavy, sliding the tandems up usually solves the problem.
 
Northern I catch before I hit the dock and say something. I get the" I tell them till I'm blue in the face". I've said something to Safet Superviser twice. Told Safey that take the hit and get scaled and but out of service to make them do something.
Say to your it's an illigal load and you have correct it before it can leave the yard. No matter what they say they'll let you fix it or they'll give it to someone else. They won't discipline you.
 
A long time ago, a friend of mine had this same "illegal" load situation on his city peddle. He told the TM that either the load gets fixed, or his first stop will be at the State Police Post. It got fixed.
It shouldn't have to get to that point, but if they are dumb enough to challenge you on a safety issue that affects YOUR driving record, there is an easy cure.
 
There was a time when we would get stopped by the DOT and get written up for something, we could just blame "the boss" and the DOT would issue them the ticket. But those days are long gone. The responsibility has been put on the drivers to keep their trucks in safe condition, and the DOT doesn't care about excuses. The person responsible for that unsafe unit is standing right in front of them, so that's who is getting the ticket.
Cover your donkey, if it's a safety issue, get it fixed before you ever leave the yard. Otherwise, every time you get stopped and your license gets run, it shows that you don't do a proper pre-trip because you have failed safety inspections........which only encourages them to do another safety inspection on you.
I think most of you have better things to do with your time than to be stopped, getting inspected every time you turn around.
In the 40 years I have been in this business NF, I have never seen a company given the ticket by DOT, it has always been the driver of the vehicle who is held responsible. Just saying, do your pretrip and load check and take all issues, mechanical and proper loading to supervisor before ever leaving yard. Always Cover Your A$$ First!!!!
 
In the 40 years I have been in this business NF, I have never seen a company given the ticket by DOT, it has always been the driver of the vehicle who is held responsible.
That might be your experience, but not mine. When I first started driving as a young man, we drove a bunch of junk that shouldn't have even been on the road. I knew the DOT officer by name I saw him so much. (I still remember his name to this day.) And I never once had a fine that was directed at me personally. Yes, my name was on the ticket, but the company was the one that was getting their teeth kicked in, and they paid the fine. And it NEVER hurt my driving record or affected me in any way, like it does nowadays.

Just saying, do your pretrip and load check and take all issues, mechanical and proper loading to supervisor before ever leaving yard. Always Cover Your A$$ First!!!!
Absolutely. Things have changed over the decades, everything goes on a driver's background now. So I would refuse to leave the yard with an illegal load nowadays.
 
loading city vans requires everyone to be on the same page, FOS, Dock Workers, and Drivers
1) the tare weight of a single axle tractor and 48' van is approximately 10,000 on the steers, 10,000 on the drives, and 10,000 on the trailer tandems. So most of our capacity is in the last third of the trailer. Knowing the tare weight helps us understand how much and where you can load, 500 - 600 on the steers, 8,000 to 10,000 on the drives, and 24,000 on the trailer tandems (if I roll onto the scales and my steers are heavier than 10,600 I know I'm in trouble with my drives)
2) the FOS must route not only by mapping but also by weight capacities when a route is heavy (approaching 20,000). If the FOS told me my stops are out of sequence due to weight issues I thank him for making the effort to keep me legal
3) look at the trailer tandems as a teeter-totter or balance point. Any weight you can get on or behind the tandems removes weight from the nose
4) to load 20,000 lbs, load the first third of the trailer light, try to load most of the weight in the center and rear third, getting something heavy behind the trailer tandems
5) starting at the rear of the interior of a 48' van use a tape measure and marker to measure and identify feet remaining (4 feet, 8 feet, 12 feet, etc.) writing this info on the wall. Mine's on the right wall about 5 feet up. This info can help loaders stretch the weight out without running out of room... eight heavy skids @ 16,000 need 16 feet. Focus on getting everything else loaded near or ahead of the 20 ' (20 feet remaining) mark on the wall
 
You don't know what your talking about. I am a veteran employee with lots of vacation, top scale, higher company 401k contributions etc with a big mouth. If it isn't right then its not right and I have never been afraid to tell anyone and everyone my thoughts and have never been threatend or felt as though I had a target on my back. In fact, I have always felt encouragement to speak up and many junior drivers who have don't feel comfortable speaking up will tell me the issue so that I can tell management whats up. I am not alone in my terminal, there are drivers with even more seniority than me that constantly complain to management and we are still working. How do you explain that?

"Veteran Employee" if you think XPO won't get rid of employee with Lots of Vacation, Top Scale, Higher Company 401k Contributions with Big Mouth you'd better think again. They will do it in a heart beat. The biggest target is on your back.............they can hire 2 new boys to take your place for less $$$, less benefits. XPO is all about the numbers of which you are a number that is costing them greatly. Better use your brain "Veteran Employee" you have NO protection
 
"Veteran Employee" if you think XPO won't get rid of employee with Lots of Vacation, Top Scale, Higher Company 401k Contributions with Big Mouth you'd better think again. They will do it in a heart beat. The biggest target is on your back.............they can hire 2 new boys to take your place for less $$$, less benefits. XPO is all about the numbers of which you are a number that is costing them greatly. Better use your brain "Veteran Employee" you have NO protection
You don't know what your talking about either. Keep trolling for your union though, your doing a great job.
 
I see the union pitchman are back with their fear mongering tactics. They don't work here, yet they know what it's like to work here. It's amazing how often they're wrong.
 
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