Yeh, fair enough, I do accept there is some trumped up reason or another for it, because logically their way is much easier than planning and allowing plenty of time to do the job with unplanned stops factored in, and thus taking undue and unnecessary pressure off their drivers, making it a safer and less stressful job …innit.
robroy:
Yeh, fair enough, I do accept there is some trumped up reason or another for it, because logically their way is much easier than planning and allowing plenty of time to do the job with unplanned stops factored in, and thus taking undue and unnecessary pressure off their drivers, making it a safer and less stressful job …innit.
You know as well as any of us that if they planned the runs to allow for reasonable delays/stops, drivers would simply adjust their own working patterns to fill those gaps - an application of Parkinson’s Law, if you like. They would still be faced with the problems caused by drivers not calling in to report unscheduled delays.
Drivers can be their own worst enemies here, by not calling in about delays on their route until they arrive at the last drop of the day only to find it closed - by which time it’s too bloody late for anyone to do anything about it (I’ve seen this countless times from both sides of the desk).
Roymondo:
robroy:
Yeh, fair enough, I do accept there is some trumped up reason or another for it, because logically their way is much easier than planning and allowing plenty of time to do the job with unplanned stops factored in, and thus taking undue and unnecessary pressure off their drivers, making it a safer and less stressful job …innit.You know as well as any of us that if they planned the runs to allow for reasonable delays/stops, drivers would simply adjust their own working patterns to fill those gaps - an application of Parkinson’s Law, if you like. They would still be faced with the problems caused by drivers not calling in to report unscheduled delays.
Drivers can be their own worst enemies here, by not calling in about delays on their route until they arrive at the last drop of the day only to find it closed - by which time it’s too bloody late for anyone to do anything about it (I’ve seen this countless times from both sides of the desk).
So putting 15 or so extra minutes planning on a round trip, which equates to 2 or maybe 3 ■■■■ stops depending on how many Costas you have to keep awake would be a major upheaval to them would it.?..they’ll deffo tell you that, but it depends on what you believe what you’re told about neccesity of tight schedules.
If you come back with it will cost them this that or the other in production, then they HAVE got you hooked.
And if what you say is right about drivers taking advantage of those extra minutes…so what, it’s better than running stressed out under pressure.
robroy:
Roymondo:
robroy:
Yeh, fair enough, I do accept there is some trumped up reason or another for it, because logically their way is much easier than planning and allowing plenty of time to do the job with unplanned stops factored in, and thus taking undue and unnecessary pressure off their drivers, making it a safer and less stressful job …innit.You know as well as any of us that if they planned the runs to allow for reasonable delays/stops, drivers would simply adjust their own working patterns to fill those gaps - an application of Parkinson’s Law, if you like. They would still be faced with the problems caused by drivers not calling in to report unscheduled delays.
Drivers can be their own worst enemies here, by not calling in about delays on their route until they arrive at the last drop of the day only to find it closed - by which time it’s too bloody late for anyone to do anything about it (I’ve seen this countless times from both sides of the desk).
So putting 15 or so extra minutes planning on a round trip, which equates to 2 or maybe 3 ■■■■ stops depending on how many Costas you have to keep awake would be a major upheaval to them would it.?..they’ll deffo tell you that, but it depends on what you believe what you’re told about neccesity of tight schedules.
If you come back with it will cost them this that or the other in production, then they HAVE got you hooked.
And if what you say is right about drivers taking advantage of those extra minutes…so what, it’s better than running stressed out under pressure.
Ray’s point was that many drivers WILL take the ■■■■ if you give them the opportunity. I’ve certainly seen it happen at places I’ve worked on nights where night trunks of a couple of hours or so have been cocked up because the driver has decided to take a 45 on the way down and another 45 on the way back when everyone else does it in one hit and has their sleep/chat/coffee at the hub. No driver should need a “■■■■ stop” or Costa on a 2hr +/- drive. If they do then they should go see a doctor.
With regards to the stop codes, I’ve never used one. If you keep your head down and do the job you can sneak a few stops in here and there and no one will notice. The one and only time I actually rang up and asked for a code I was told not to worry about it and never bothered again.
As for going off route. Again, not a problem. If you’re on your way to Hub 3 and there’s a crash between the M6 and J1 M5 the traffic office actually get fed up of people ringing them to tell them what’s happened. They know it’s screwed and know you need to go off route. I never used to ring diversions in.
Not being able to stop at proper facilities is crap, I’ll admit that. It’s definitely a packed lunch job. But, on the flip side, all your breaks are factored in at your collections. No stressing over finding somewhere to park or places kicking you out once tipped. It’s all built in to your day. If the ■■■■ hits the fan then you’ve got to stop and this was never a problem. I’ve heard some of the knob heads in the office try and bully drivers into cracking on to the hub or depot but I just used to stop, have my break and inform them once I was ready to roll. It’s my card, not theirs. But they will try it on.
I’ve heard some of them quote “Rule 12”. Something about finding a safe stopping place when carrying high value loads. In their eyes the only safe places are hubs and depots. Screw that, I’ll stop when my card says ta very much.