Planners have a difficult job without dout phone constantly ringing e mails requesting loads ect loads changing and times being alterd. Drivers are coping with traffic awkward customers far to many driving and wtd regs to stick to whilst still trying to make a planners plan work out. This is where the problems betweeen drivers and office staff come from so would it be an idear for drivers to spend time in the office and planners to go on the road for a while with a driver so we all have an understanding of each others roles surley this would help a company run with more understanding
I regularly see drivers doing short periods in the office learning the ropes, (Ive been there done it myself, which is why I have both CPCs)
But yet Ive never seen office staff going out on the road with drivers to see the other side of the job. The other aspect of drivers working in the office is they slowly become corrupted by the power, and when they become corrupted by the power, they become little hitler types. just recently I encountered a driver whod spent time in the office, but this day we where both sat at one of the satellite storage warehouses, and because Id got "his truck" he wanted me to swop trucks, he stated that because he was now a transport shift "manager" he had every right to insist we swopped over there and then, hed even phoned the office to make sure the run sheet was altered to show he was in “his truck”
it was around 7pm on saturday evening & I was running back in after 13hrs, and he was just starting his shift but had to wait 1hr to load. It also meant if I swopped Id have to sit 10-15 mins doing vehicle checks before running back to the yard 5mins down the road to fuel up and pull my card. A point he`d overlooked, & the obvious solution was to offer to follow me back, allow me to pull my card and do the swop there which would not have inconvienenced either of us
Although I work for a big company the contract I am on runs as a small contained unit with only a dozen or so staff. Most of us learn each others jobs, be it warehouse/forklift/loading or office/ planning or arranging service /repairs etc. days or nights, with a small crew you have to be flexible to cover for holidays or illness. The main man can drive trucks but that doesn’t crop up too often! 
Trev_H:
Although I work for a big company the contract I am on runs as a small contained unit with only a dozen or so staff. Most of us learn each others jobs, be it warehouse/forklift/loading or office/ planning or arranging service /repairs etc. days or nights, with a small crew you have to be flexible to cover for holidays or illness. The main man can drive trucks but that doesn’t crop up too often!
Without creating a huge derail or 75 pages of drivvle. The best system I have ever worked under was for “a Dutch company” who ran tankers mainly. Most of the planners were drivers in a former life, all were very knowledgeable and helpful and only controlled a small section of the fleet. You would complete a job for one planner and then be handed over to another, it worked well for me.
If you were on Chocolate you had a chocolate planner, if You went to Spain you had a Spanish planner. All of this was done on a cab computer which gave the job reference, the collection time and place and the cleaning instructions. It was only spoilt when the Belgians used the computer and the cab phone which very rarely tallied with each other, and three planners who were about as much use as the one I previously had. He made a decision and would stand by it, and his drivers.
I gather things have changed a little or maybe a lot, but the driver with good clear information is the happy driver which comes across to the customers too. 
By the way there is already a thread which is very similar to this one started by Rikki. This is like having too many planners
I certainly believe planners, especially those who haven’t driven LGVs, should accompany drivers, say at least 2 runs every 6 months. Its not a criticism of the planners I just think they would get a better idea of the issues facing drivers which can cause delays.
Did a run on Fri/Sat, got back planner asked “what took you”, I was 20 mins later than she’d planned. I thought I’d done bloody well but I’d had to move 22 minutes into my 45 so it became a 15 (losing 7 mins) and had to hunt around to find somewhere to park up for the other 30 (the unit park at that hub is seriously rammed at that time on a friday night), she’d also not allowed for going through security 
X2 (seem to training up some newbies just now), thank ■■■■ I didn’t have to hang about waiting for the yard dog to allocate my bay. Thankfully I’ve been doing shifts in there long enough for them to know I don’t hang it out and prefer to do the work and go home as quick as I legally can, get paid the same whether I do 1hr or 8hrs 45.
I noticed on ES trucks&trailers that young ED Stobart will be going into the planning office but only after doing a fair stint on the road
Is it the norm that ES planners have to be ex drivers?
Long term lurker and first time poster.
I have worked for a number of companies as a planner and am soon to be the holder of my very own C+E licence.
Ive worked with most of the types you find in the office, ex drivers, life term planners, 18 year old trainees etc etc and you know what? Some of them were idiots. Just because some people were ex drivers didnt make them any better at the job. One person ive worked with has never stepped foot near a truck yet is one of the best planners ive ever met. If your a numpty then your a numpty, it doesnt matter if your a manager a planner or a driver.
we all have a difficult job, i personally have 3 phones on my desk constantly ringing plus an email inbox that gets 100+ "Vital - the world will end if you dont respond now emails a day (vital being where someone else cant be bothered to look for themselves and would rather ask us, you know when we call you to ask if you are there yet? Thats because they cant be bothered to look out the window).
Now to the point! - It wont make the slightest difference if you send a planner out for a few days or even sit a driver in the office for a few days. It wont make them any better at their job. For the idiots we all work with it will just make them think they know everything about the other persons job and we all know where that will end (little hitler comes to mind)
Everyone in the office at my work has a class 1, they’ve all been there, done it and some more. Thats what you get for working for a proper old skool firm.