subject: Qualified Truck Drivers Provide Stability in Supply Chains with Dependable Delivery [print this page] Qualified Truck Drivers Provide Stability in Supply Chains with Dependable Delivery
Modern business is all about streamlining the supply chain. If warehouses only have to hold items for a short time before they are shipped to the customers, it allows for far less space being used for storage than would be the case otherwise. A big part of streamlining is being able to move goods from one place to another, quickly and securely. A company whose main business is transportation of other businesses goods must have reliable truck drivers to ensure prompt and safe delivery. Drivers are an important human resource for any transportation company, but like any other employees, drivers will need to be replaced when they move on from the company. Traditionally, the main recruiting tool for attracting new drivers has been to place an ad, or several ads, in newspapers and then hope that enough qualified drivers would apply to be able to select the drivers that were the best fit for the company. Truck driving jobs seem very common, but knowing if the right type of job exists for a single driver can be difficult. Owner-operator truck drivers are especially interesting to find the right fit of work for. Not only do they need to have a truck in good working and delivering condition, but the amount they are paid is different than what a regular driver will receive to cover the cost of their vehicle expenses. Owner-operators have the advantage of providing the ability to deliver for a company without the issues involved in acquisition of another truck for the driver to drive deliveries in. If owner-operators are used wisely by companies seeking additional drivers, the savings to the companies and the additional money paid to the drivers can be very worthwhile to both parties.
Some companies specialize in finding and qualifying dependable, excellent drivers for transportation companies. Somewhat like other 'temp' services, they can offer drivers on a temp to hire basis, a direct recruitment for a position needing immediate hire, or strictly to offer drivers to a company that needs them for temporary work. Truck drivers need to go through a series of qualifying checks including ten year employment history, criminal and background checks, clean driving checks, and motor vehicle records checks for all states. As shown by a recent commercial driving accident with foreign tourists, the company hiring the driver did not do a through investigation into the driver. If they had, they might have discovered he had only had a license for a year, he had three traffic tickets in another state and he was not qualified to be driving larger passenger vehicles. While the driving did not require a commercial driver's license, or CDL, hiring an inexperienced driver for the purpose of driving tourists for hundreds of miles across state lines was an unwise business decision. If the company had hired a driver from a qualified temp agency, the chance that three tourists were killed would have been reduced or entirely avoided.
Truck driving jobs offer the ability for many individuals who might not otherwise make as much money be able to drive trucks and provide a better living for their families. Truck driving jobs make more money than some others, like food service, some construction types, sales and customer service. Many technical schools and community colleges offer courses to train commercial drivers and prepare them to undertake the licensing process. People who wish to become commercial drivers must first demonstrate their ability to drive a commercial vehicle and provide evidence they have driven enough hours to be proficient in the operation of a commercial truck. Driving is a skill that takes time to master and be able to do for long periods every day, every week. Long haul trucking is hard on families, effectively leaving one parent home to take care of the children and other things requiring constant attention, while the other parent becomes essentially an absentee, except for the occasional home visit. Leaving the family for long periods of time is why many family drivers with children seek to become in-town and short-haul truckers. Good temp agencies will discover what type of work the driver personally wants and is suited for before introducing an opportunity to them. This saves the driver frustration they might have otherwise experienced if they felt forced to take a job that was not suited for them because that was the only job they could find.
Truck drivers wanted for driving jobs are unlike other forms of workers because they go all over North America sometimes. If a load of grain is put together in Canada, say Saskatchewan, and the grain is destined for a number of different locations in and across the United States, the driver could be looking at well over a week of driving before they return to their home. Some drivers take advantage of these types of long runs to make more money. If an owner-operator has their own truck, they might have just as many comforts and personalization as a regular house. While the footprint in the 'home' part of a truck might be smaller than a regular bedroom, the space can have several built in storage spaces, a bed, a refrigerator, and a television set. Long-haul drivers are only allowed by law to drive eleven hours a day and then must rest. This is why many long haul drivers will become team drivers, so one can rest while the other one drives. Drivers can drive no more than 70 hours within a period of 8 consecutive days. This is done for safety reasons, to help reduce driver fatigue and make the roads safer for both the truckers and the other vehicles that drive them. Drivers must keep logbooks stating how many hours they drive and the mileage of the trucks, starting and finishing their driving time. Experienced drivers have already been trained on how to be safe drivers and in the proper procedures and policies. Streamlining supply chains is just as much about having dependable deliveries as it is about having dependable profits. Using qualified drivers can make both happen for companies.
