USA Truck’s Award-Winning Solution to Top Trucker Woes 2021
USA Truck’s Award-Winning Solution
Congratulations to USA Truck, which is enjoying the spotlight for its 2021 Innovator of the Year award! Commercial Carrier Journal named USA Truck the winner in recognition of their powerful new load planning software. It empowers their drivers to choose their loads.
“It took courage to challenge the status quo, challenge conventional thinking, and challenge our organization.” James Reed, President, and CEO, USA Trucks
USA Truck used driver feedback to identify actual pain points throughout their fleet. They analyzed their own drivers’ top concerns and created a high-visibility load board. Drivers have access to all the available loads and can pick and choose what works best for them.
Their solution is to accommodate the needs of their employees. Their innovative software gives truck drivers more control over their workflow. By listening to their fleet, USA Truck is experiencing higher retention rates and satisfaction throughout the company.
“When Technology and solutions are born of practical approaches to long-standing challenges, we all win.” James Reed, President, and CEO, USA Trucks
The Long-Standing Challenges
USA Trucks gathered data from their internal workforce to find the actual problems faced by their employees. They asked they listened, they solved. The feedback, while specific to USA Truck’s fleet, is common in the trucking industry.
Late Getting Home
This is perhaps the biggest annoyance that truck drivers face and often results from miscommunication. It begins even before the truck driver is hired on at your company. Recruiters dole out your home time policy during the application phase. A lot of truck drivers decide which company to work for based on that policy.
The problem is that policy and reality do not always align. If a truck driver is promised to go over the road for two weeks and go home for two days, they expect to be the rule. However, long wait times, HOS gaffes, and freight surpluses can make that difficult to achieve, especially for forced dispatch companies.
USA Trucks uses their new technology to let their truck drivers pick loads themselves. This way, their home time is based on their availability and not because they were forced to stay out. The freedom to choose your workload creates an accountability scenario where blame cannot be placed on the company.
Time Between Loads
Extended periods of downtime lead to frustration for any employee. Truck drivers earn money for moving, so sitting still is not only boring, it cuts into their paycheck. If we apply this scenario to an office setting, you can see how detrimental it is to morale.
Let’s say your boss comes to you on Friday at noon. You’ve just finished a massive project and are waiting for your next assignment. Instead of directing you, your boss says, “Thanks for finishing that on time. I won’t have a new assignment for you until Monday morning. However, you can’t go home. I need you to sit at your desk over the weekend, just in case something comes up. Oh, and since you aren’t working, I am not going to pay you either.”
Ridiculous? Sure. I’m sure you wouldn’t continue your employment if that were your work environment. But truckers face this all too often. Poorly planned loads lead to overlooked drivers. They will likely have to spend the weekend parked at a truck stop without getting paid, which may or may not be safe.
USA Trucks Drive Your Plan allows company drivers and owner-operators to view all available loads in their area. This amount of visibility lets them preplan for an entire week and plan their own home time. There is also a built-in tool that helps drivers easily calculate their hours of service and whether or not they are available for specific loads.
Barriers to Communication
Let’s face it: Sometimes, it is a challenge to get in touch with your dispatcher. And sometimes, it is difficult for those dispatchers to give every driver the perfect load, especially during a driver shortage.
Out of all the loads in the U.S, a dispatcher must assign one that begins in the vicinity of the driver’s last delivery and ends in their domicile. Ideally, their assignments would have been planned a week ahead of time.
In trucking, however, that is not always the case. If a driver with upcoming home time waits for a load, the dispatcher finds themselves in a precarious situation. And the longer a driver sits waiting for a load; the higher tensions can go. Communication is critical in these situations.
USA Trucks has virtually eliminated this scenario with its technological solution. With the power in the drivers’ hands, they can keep their home time as a top priority when planning their week. This has led to a considerable reduction in turnover and an increased level of employee satisfaction.
To Our Partner in Safety – USA Truck
From all of us at Infinit-I, we want to give our sincerest congratulations to our partners in safety – USA Truck. You have found a truly modern way to connect and empower your entire fleet. The companies like you, the ones who care, are the ones who will carry the trucking industry into the future.
Enjoy your success! We couldn’t be more impressed with your concern and dedication to your fleet.
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