I am just amazed at how these highly trained staff manage to plan our routes.
Last night I started work at the usual time 1800 so by the time I have done my drivers checks and completed the mountain of company paperwork cross referencing my manifest and order number etc (they are always wrong) I leave the yard to start my run from Normanton West Yorkshire at about 1830.
My planning dept. young lady planned these times for me
1840 arrive at Aldi Darlington
(she must have forgot that at aldi you load/unload) because her next line was
21.30 Manchester for tip and reload
23.30 at Nelson
01:00 finish at Normanton
What actually happened was
Left yard at 18:35
Arrived at Aldi Darlington 20:30 finished loading at 2200 Break for WTD/drivers hours 30 minutes
Left 22:30 to go to Manchester A1 is closed southbound (I keep telling them )
So Barnard Castle, A66 M6 M61 M60 (closed detour)
Another break at Lancaster services 30 minutes at 01:40
Arrived at Manchester for tip and reload at 03:00
Left Manchester at 04:00 and took the load back to depot
I think planning people are a real asset to companies
alder:
I am just amazed at how these highly trained staff manage to plan our routes.
Last night I started work at the usual time 1800 so by the time I have done my drivers checks and completed the mountain of company paperwork cross referencing my manifest and order number etc (they are always wrong) I leave the yard to start my run from Normanton West Yorkshire at about 1830.
My planning dept. young lady planned these times for me
1840 arrive at Aldi Darlington
(she must have forgot that at aldi you load/unload) because her next line was
21.30 Manchester for tip and reload
23.30 at Nelson
01:00 finish at Normanton
What actually happened was
Left yard at 18:35
Arrived at Aldi Darlington 20:30 finished loading at 2200 Break for WTD/drivers hours 30 minutes
Left 22:30 to go to Manchester A1 is closed southbound (I keep telling them )
So Barnard Castle, A66 M6 M61 M60 (closed detour)
Another break at Lancaster services 30 minutes at 01:40
Arrived at Manchester for tip and reload at 03:00
Left Manchester at 04:00 and took the load back to depot
I think planning people are a real asset to companies
I knew I was going over 6 hours. Between 6 - 9 hours you need to show a break of 30 minutes. My next break was at 01:40 which I had not planned for since I was expecting to be at the Manchester depot. So I needed a 30 minute for WTD and then at 01:40 I needed another 30 minutes for drivers hours (delays roadworks etc.) as I had 4 hours driving and needed to clear my tacho.
The best planner is the driver themselves. Fortunately I am left to plan my own day, with a list of tasks they would like doing. Works for me and works for the haulier. No need for phone calls or anything else. Job done!!!
alder:
Arrived at Aldi Darlington 20:30 finished loading at 2200 Break for WTD/drivers hours 30 minutes
Left 22:30 to go to Manchester A1 is closed southbound (I keep telling them )
So Barnard Castle, A66 M6 M61 M60 (closed detour)
Why the hell did you go that way? Don’t you know where you’re going or summat?
Out of Darlington, down the A167 to Northallerton then either A684 back out onto the A1 or A168 to Thirsk and back out onto the A1 that way.
Hell even if you’d gone the A66 Eastbound back to the A19 at Middlesborough then down the A19 onto the A1 it would’ve been quicker than the way you chose to go.
You literally added almost an hours driving you didn’t need to.
Disagree I needed to get to the north west side of Manchester and taking the long A167 down to Thirsk on the wrong side of the country and gambling that the A1 J43 is not closed (it was on 3 occasions last week) to get on the M62 to get all the way across would not have saved me anymore time. So I took the decision to go the M6 but hey ho you post on this forum and you always get know it alls with hindsight who are fixated with gaining fame That’s why they still drive a lorry
Barnet for 8am, Wandsworth before 12pm, Croydon paper for before 12pm, Croydon Whitgift before 2pm, London E1 before 4pm and a collection out of SE26 all in the same day, not to mention a 4 hour drive from Immingham first.
I got sent to Hirwuan, (near Merthyr) 100 odd miles, from somewhere down the M5, over the Bridge £19.20 only to be told that the load wasn’t due to be collected until the following week. Lol. (Came all the way back to MK with a trailer full of Fresh Air)
Same Planner sent me to Bedford today (23rd September) from Leicester, for a Non Existent Load, apparently there’s a load due on the 19th of October, I told them that I didn’t mind waiting, as long as they let me go home at nights, but they wouldn’t let me [emoji26] Miserable Gits.
Start Dublin Ireland 7.30pm ,1st drop Bradford market,2nd drop Leeds mrkt,3rd drop Sheffield mrkt,4th drop country fresh Sheffield,5th drop Derby mrkt,6th an final drop Costco Lutterworth, all to be done before 10.30 am the following morning.
That’s why they still drive a lorry 
