I have been reading some off the postings with regards to doing drops at R D Centres, i know that there will be a reason for it, but it sounds like you have to leave your truck and hand over your keys to somebody else ?.
Is this what you have to do at these places, when making a drop there ? For what reason ? Are you not allowed back in your vechicle our what ? what about personal stuff in your cab etc ?
Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question, but with only passing my C + E the other day, it sounds like i have loads off stuff yet to learn about the job.
Its not an ideal situation at all, no one said you have to give them your truck keys though, my car keys will do unless I have a spare set for the lorry.
There is no health and safety rules in the world that say I must leave my truck unlocked and hand the keys to a stranger while not able to keep an eye on my belongings.
I have fuel cards, passports, credit cards, computers and ■■■■■■■■■■■ to look after.
If i cant stay in the truck then that is different as I can lock it up and hand my keys over, the best system I have seen is that you hang the keys on the roller shutter door. when the fork truck driver lifts the door the keys go up with the door, when it comes back down you take your keys and drive off
I’m quite relaxed about it because I carry very little personal stuff of any value. I’m sure that if I ever got mugged for my mobile phone, they’d hand it back out of sympathy, and to ensure that I couldn’t claim for a better one on the ‘insurance’.
RDC’s tend to be secure, with Security and CCTV coverage, so it’s not as though Joe Scrote is going to have the opportunity of wandering in and having a rifle through your belongings.
As to going back to your vehicle, the depots, as opposed to the companies, from what I’ve experienced, are again fairly relaxed providing you don’t abuse a degree of latitude. If you need to change your tacho mode, or get something else to read, or fetch something that you’ve forgotten, then they are unlikely to get ‘■■■■’ about it.
The funniest thing I saw/experienced was, some years ago, at, what is now Morrisons, Droitwich. A warm sunny day, but with a rather large black cloud approaching from the right.
And when the rain spots came. They were the size of soup plates. And they weren’t vertical. They were almost horizontal.
For those of us with electric windows, there was a mad dash to reclaim keys.
Whilst this was happening, the unloading continued.
As the saying goes, “Rules are for the blind obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men.”
Krankee:
RDC’s tend to be secure, with Security and CCTV coverage, so it’s not as though Joe Scrote is going to have the opportunity of wandering in and having a rifle through your belongings.
As the saying goes, “Rules are for the blind obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men.”
There are a lot of Joe Scrotes driving trucks though, who do you think slashes all the curtains in secure lorry parks?
I have been reading some off the postings with regards to doing drops at R D Centres, i know that there will be a reason for it, but it sounds like you have to leave your truck and hand over your keys to somebody else ?.
Is this what you have to do at these places, when making a drop there ? For what reason ? Are you not allowed back in your vechicle our what ? what about personal stuff in your cab etc ?
Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question, but with only passing my C + E the other day, it sounds like i have loads off stuff yet to learn about the job.
Many Thanks,
Pan Man
Some RDCs have a rule where they won’t start unloading until they have the vehicle keys some RDCs are more relaxed about it.
The reason they have your vehicle keys off you is safety, there have been plenty of cases where a driver has pulled off a bay whist the warehouse staff have been still working inside the vehicle, imagine someone pulling off a pallet with a pump truck when the vehicle unexpectedly pulls off the bay and you’ll understand the point of having to hand in your keys, as unlikely as that situation seems believe me it has happened and still happens, you would think that the light system that some RDCs have would be enough to stop accidents but unfortunately there are drivers out there who seem to be colour blind
I don’t think there are many places where they don’t let you stay in the truck as long as you hand in the keys, that may or may not mean you leaving the vehicle unlocked
It’s standard practise and I have no idea why anyone would have a problem with it. Those that bleat and moan tend to be the over-militant type who bleat and moan about every little thing, are as unhelpful as possible when dealing with the staff at these places, and then can’t understand why they get treated like dirt and tipped slowly. Not a problem I tend to have, personally.
It’s because there’s always some numpty who can’t read/ recognise the difference between red and green lights/ engage his brain. But that’s true of most of the more inconvenient little things about transport.
tachograph:
Some RDCs have a rule where they won’t start unloading until they have the vehicle keys some RDCs are more relaxed about it.
The reason they have your vehicle keys off you is safety, there have been plenty of cases where a driver has pulled off a bay whist the warehouse staff have been still working inside the vehicle, imagine someone pulling off a pallet with a pump truck when the vehicle unexpectedly pulls off the bay and you’ll understand the point of having to hand in your keys, as unlikely as that situation seems believe me it has happened and still happens, you would think that the light system that some RDCs have would be enough to stop accidents but unfortunately there are drivers out there who seem to be colour blind
I don’t think there are many places where they don’t let you stay in the truck as long as you hand in the keys, that may or may not mean you leaving the vehicle unlocked
makes perfect sense really, but i deliver regularly to an RDC in Melbourne where they insist you hand in the keys before theyll touch you, now the only thing I dont get is that 99% of the trailers they get in there are curtainsiders and are all unloaded from the sides…so i dunno what their game is lol
No problem leaving them with the warehouse staff if I’m going back to the cab, but just make sure you can close your leccy window without the keys when the wind and rain start
I like the system that Eagle Global Logistic in Thurrock use…
They issue you with a “lock” for the Emergency air connection on the trailer. The lock is operated by a key which is also used to open the loading bay door.
Pull onto bay, pull the red line and fit the lock to the trailer, go to office and hand in paperwork and the key for the lock. You can then go back to your unit and you still have your keys and full use of the electrics…
A very handy system if you’re on the door for a few hours.
Iggy:
I like the system that Eagle Global Logistic in Thurrock use…
They issue you with a “lock” for the Emergency air connection on the trailer. The lock is operated by a key which is also used to open the loading bay door.
Pull onto bay, pull the red line and fit the lock to the trailer, go to office and hand in paperwork and the key for the lock. You can then go back to your unit and you still have your keys and full use of the electrics…
A very handy system if you’re on the door for a few hours.
You also have full use of your vehicle.
The system, which I have had experience of, is called Salvo, and takes no account of the fact that if you want to move the vehicle, you can simply push in the ‘shunt’ and go wherever you wish (within a limited distance. )
In fact, to avoid getting ‘all mucked up’ scrabbling between the headboard and the trailer, I remove the red line and fit the Salvo whilst the vehicle is still cranked, and then, when tipped, pull forward and crank the vehicle again before removing the device and re-attaching the air line.
Yeah - Brilliant system.
Or rather, Brilliant Salespersons and some pretty gullible Operations Managers.
Due to the culture of “No win- No fee” lawyers about nowadays that is one of the reasons why you have to hand in your keys when being tipped / loaded.
Another reason is because there have been occasions where a vehicle has been driven off the bay with staff / equipment in the back and in one instance in Morrisons @ Bellshill a couple of years ago a trailer was driven off the bay with a loader in the back and the loader / truck came off and the loader died from his injuries when the truck fell on him.
They were held responsible for the accident under H & S regs. as they were at fault totally but that didn,t help the poor widow and his children as he was a young guy.
I personally don,t see a problem with handing your keys in as in all companies they have a duty in law to protect the safety of ALL EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS working on their sites and have the right to issue any rules or regulations to ensure compliance even if the persons concerned don,t agree with them as they will tell you “If you don,t like the rules don,t come back” as they will refuse you service.
I agree some do seem a bit overprotective but why should ANY co. risk being prosecuted just to please the staff or contractors as if you were an employee don,t you have the right to expect your boss to ENSURE your safety on a daily basis, just ask yourself would you want to end up in court on manslaughter charges just because you didn,t bother about safety at your company ?
What would you say to your boss if he told you to do something in your opinion was unsafe OK boss I will do it or no I am not doing that get the safety matters put right first ?
And also all the money in the world won,t bring back a dead body just think about your family as when I go out in the morning and say bye-bye to my petal I like to think that I am not saying my LAST goodbye for ever to return home in a coffin!
I can’t remember where, but one newly built RDC I was at last year, has what appeared to be the only failsafe system to stop trailers being moved whilst still being loaded or unloaded.
After backing on a bay, a mechanical locking mechanism attached to the offside steel guide bar on the ground, moves forward of the front trailer wheel and wraps around it. This is done electrically before the bay’s loading ramp can lowered onto the trailer.
Unfortunately, handing over of keys is no guarantee that the trailer can’t be moved, and as has been said earlier, neither is the emergency airline lock.
I had the misfortune to be a witness last year at the new Dunelm DC in Stoke, when a visiting driver attempted to drive off a bay on a red light, leaving a ride-on pallet truck and it’s operator hanging off the back of the trailer in the 4 foot gap which resulted. Luckily in this instance the operator escaped with only a sprained ankle, but it could so easily have been fatal had the 2 tonne pallet truck landed on top of him. Needless to say, from then on keys had to be handed in by visiting drivers, but the potential for mishap remained, as detached trailers could always be moved by a Dunelm unit or shunter.
The chemicals place at Low Moor in Bradford has this system too. I forget the name of them now but it’s what used to be Allied Colloids many (many) years ago. Is it SEBA or something like that?
The only problem with those is that they have a tendancy to catch the mud flaps on the trailer and rip them clean off .
Forgot to add also that I always leave the trailer brake on if uncoupling to leave a trailer on a bay or anywhere else for that matter. I don’t care how many shunters tell me to leave the brake off, it’s the driver who left the trailer who will be up for manslaughter charges if an accident occurs because he or she left the brake off.
I always make sure the brake is on before coupling up to a trailer too to avoid the possibility of shunting backwards into somebody or something. Most tips like this I have learned from old hands with 20 or 30 years experience of working in transport. I only passed class 2 in 2006 and class 1 last February.
The best system is what Wincanton Brockworth have, you disconnect and park your unit over the other side. This means you keep your cab and they have the trailer, much better.
NEJ:
safety of ALL EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS
That includes the visiting drivers I assume and hope it includes health as well as safety. Which most of these places seem to want to forget.
DAFMAD:
The best system is what Wincanton Brockworth have, you disconnect and park your unit over the other side. This means you keep your cab and they have the trailer, much better.
I agree, but try telling Tesco Thurrock that! You disconnect your trailer, park up in front of the office … and then have to hand your keys in !!!
Rob:
I agree, but try telling Tesco Thurrock that! You disconnect your trailer, park up in front of the office … and then have to hand your keys in !!!
WTF?
I would if ever I went there. An or hand in my back shed keys.
I would say yes to the dropping of a trailer as a safe way of working but how do you stop a “drive off” if the vehicle is a rigid
As for the “Salvo” lock on the emergency line yes that is a good idea but again it is only applicable to artics.
How do you prevent rigids from being moved other than asking for keys, one way is to physically put an obstruction in the way such as a movable block which can be only moved by a fork lift truck for example but then you have to get a lift truck to move it when required and what happens when the F/L driver is on a break and you want to get out to your next delivery
There is an old adage that says “what man invents then man will find a way of beating” and all the safety systems in the world are useless if someone is that determined to find a way round it
Another way of handing keys in is to have a box at the side of the loading bay doors where the keys are placed and the door can only be opened when the box is locked with the keys inside and the driver cannot access the keys with the loading bay door open but again as one driver says he has a spare set of keys so again we have the mentality of never mind the safety aspect as I have a set of keys and (it appears) am prepared to use them if necessary
All safety systems however detailed still rely on the “human element” to make them safe and lets face it only a fool would try to beat any safety systems by using spare keys to drive off a bay, but I worked at one RDC where a driver was shouting and demanding his keys back as he had been there for x no. of hours and what he was going to do if he didn,t get them and needless to say he was given his keys asap and barred from ever coming back as they also banned his co. as well so his manager would be well pleased with the ban from a customer for all his company vehicles and presumably his products as well
i like the system they have in cullina’s MK and i think Stafford aswell were as u back up the bay a locking system come’s in front of the trailer wheels and wont relese untill the loaders put the door back down
God help us is if these groupage places abroad get these will put a stop to my trick of driving off the bays when i get sick of them messin me about
and to ensure that I couldn’t claim for a better one on the ‘insurance’. 
An or hand in my back shed keys. 
