Trucking Tips
Knowing the people that your employees deal with — especially the decision makers — is important, especially when a problem arises or a quick decision is needed.
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Trucking
Building a good relationship between a transportation company and an aggregates operation is about good communication, happy drivers, and accessibility.
by Tina Grady Barbaccia, Digital/News Editor
Photos courtesy of Titan America/Pennsuco facility
uilding and maintaining good communication between aggregates operations and the trucking transportation companies that deliver the material can be likened to longtime residents of southern states preparing for a hurricane. It’s all common sense and has been repeated many times, but it’s not always adhered to or practiced. “I’m a longtime resident [of Florida], and every year people talk about hurricane preparedness,” says John Lyon, loadout manager for Titan America’s Pennsuco facility in Medley, Fla. “I’ve been here for lots of them. Of course I have a plan, an emergency plan within the plan, and emergency supplies. But as obvious as it seems to have these things, people need to be reminded about them. Sometimes the most obvious stuff is the stuff that slips by.” And though it would seem unnecessary to continue repeating hurricane readiness directives, Lyon says, it’s important for continual reminders and communication. The same goes for building relationships between quarries and the transportation companies. Titan America has a trucking arm to its company — Silver Sand Transportation — and even though the quarry and the trucking company have the same parent company, relationships still
need to be developed. Lyon says Silver Sand Trucking Co. is treated just like any other transportation provider — so that any issues are addressed and not pushed aside because it is a sister company. Lyon says this is important because, if a driver has any influence on where material is picked up, happy drivers with good communication established may make a difference. Some of the “obvious stuff” is taking time to personally talk to scale masters. “The guys who are running the scales have years and years of experience, and they know all the drivers and companies,” Lyon says. “It’s really good to get their feedback on who the good companies to work with are, who they have trouble with, and what the truck drivers complain about so the issues can be addressed. They [the scale masters] are on the ground level and always talking to the haulers so they know what’s going on. You need to know the people that your people have to deal with — especially the decision makers. My weigh masters will typically work with dispatchers, and when I get to know an owner, he is the guy a dispatcher will usually go to. You need to get to know them and make sure they understand that it’s our No.1 priority that the customer — whether internal or external — is happy.”