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Sittin' at the Dock All Day
Technology may help drivers, warehousers get along. Someday . . .
Article and photos by Gene Borman
Jerry Paxton, former shipping supervisor for a now defunct company in Selma, Texas, observed some years ago that, "The problem with truckers is that they are only around here for only a few minutes. I am stuck with this place day and night. I think in all honesty, I am a little jealous of them."
The battle between the "teamsters" and the shippers and receivers has been going on since the days when freight was moved by camels, horses and wagons. The responsibility for a given amount of freight changes hands at a decisive moment in the long and complex chain of events that make up the world of commerce. Just like in football, a successful pass is a moment of victory; an unsuccessful pass, whatever the reason, is a bit of a loss.
When a trucker pulls up to the dock to load or off-load, a number of dynamics are at work. First and foremost is the fact that few drivers are compensated to wait at the dock. Who wants to work for free?
Second, there is the fact that freight, coming or going, requires accountability. That accountability can involve paperwork, schedules and manpower to accomplish the task. Any glitch in the process needs to be remedied before the task can be completed.
Third, the driver and dock personnel often lack respect for each other. Drivers often have to suffer tiny waiting areas, lack of decent restrooms, broken phones, and Jesse James vending machines. At the same time, dock personnel sometimes have to suffer foul language, unkempt drivers and strangers in their workplace. While none of these factors should influence the transaction at hand, they in fact do influence the situation heavily, in psychological terms.
Fourth, and perhaps most important, is the fact that both the driver and the dock foreman are subject to the daily pressures of life. Everybody has good days and bad.
"On the truckers side of the situation," Paxton notes, "expectations are at work. Dispatch has an expectation about the readiness of the load and the time required moving it to its destination. A delay at the dock can make for a delicate situation with customers. The pressure in the cooker rises in accordance with the heat of failed expectations."
But hope is on the horizon.
The Truckload Carriers Association recently introduced a new awareness program for its members. A TCA pamphlet entitled "Just In Time…To Wait," notes that, "Van drivers who load and unload spend nearly seven hours, on average, for each shipment they pick up and deliver, and that nearly 34 hours a week is spent on activities other than driving."
Other TCA research that showed truck driver job satisfaction levels are to a major extent determined by the amount of non-compensated time spent at the dock and may be crucial to getting the problem fixed.
Although high driver turnover directly affects trucking companies, in reality it is the shippers' and receivers' problem too. A TCA spokesman summed it up by saying, "The TCA wants drivers out of the backs of the trailers, and the TCA is saying to its members that it is unrealistic to expect drivers to be unloading trailers anymore."
Another important ally of the trucker is the Owner-Operator, Independent Driver Association, based in Grain Valley, Mo. According to Todd Spencer, OOIDA vice president, "The OOIDA has kept a careful watch on shippers and receivers and is pursuing many avenues to help solve the unloading problem.
"We want to create incentives. We want drivers paid for all the time they spend at the docks and that time to be part of the hours of service program," Spencer says.
And from the drivers' point of view, things are beginning to change. Gene Wainscott, a 20-year road veteran, has worked on both sides of the shipper's desk. These days, he says that he prefers the life behind the wheel to sitting behind a desk.
"My company treats me real well, I almost never have to fingerprint a load anymore," Wainscott says. "The key in some ways has been the improvement in electronic communications.
"Now, if I have a problem at the dock, I don't care if they have a phone or not, I just get on the Qualcomm, push a few buttons, tell dispatch what the hang-up is, and pretty soon the matter is resolved. You couldn't give me a truck without up-to-date communications now."
Electronic communications are changing the whole picture of driver-shipper relations. For instance, Transportation.com offers a new resource to the solution column for dockside waiting, which gives small- to medium-sized shippers the tools to work out the logistics ahead of time. One element of the site will allow the trucker to rate service, including wait time.
"I have spent many years with a long-haul company and as director of logistics for a major company," Ed Caruso, director of operations for Transportation.com, says. "I have not experienced many intentional delays at the dock. Most delays are due to the lack or mismanagement of information.
"Our goal is to eliminate this friction, via the Internet, at a low cost." Caruso adds, "At Transportation.com the shipper and the carrier are online via the Internet and messages can posted on-screen can part of the management screen.
"We totally understand the friction caused by miscommunication at the dock. The thing that will make this system work is an effective management information stream," Caruso says.
But drivers can put some shippers in a bad mood on a personal level, regardless of the kinds of communication available.
Wainscott noted that during his tenure as a dock supervisor, "Many drivers came into my office looking like crap. They definitely were not doing the situation any good.
"A driver needs to look professional and be well mannered to make the process run smoothly," Wainscott adds. " The things I learned as a shipping supervisor have made my driving career a lot better, for sure." *
Know Before You Go
The Internet now offers truckers a way to find out what to expect at an unfamiliar shipper or receiver. The interactive Web site, www.dockreport.com, lets subscribing trucking companies post information about conditions and treatment their drivers have experienced. The site was created by CompuNet Credit Services, in conjunction with the Truckload Carriers Association. At dockreport.com, subscribers can describe the facilities, atmosphere, paperwork handling and various financial charges drivers have encountered. The online reports do not identify who posted the information, although the Web site operators do know the sources. TCA hopes the site will help reduce abuses to drivers, as well as eliminate waiting time and other inefficiencies that cost the industry an estimated $1.5 billion a year.
Drivers may spend as much as 40 hours a week waiting to load or unload, according to industry studies. This wastes an estimated $1.5 billion annually, but the cost in fatigue and frustration isn't so easy to figure.
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