Innovators: North America
54 Commercial Carrier Journal August 2008 cushion between the truck and surrounding vehicles. Drivers that follow these techniques not only are safer, but also are more fuel-ef-ficient, Gomes says. Linde monitors hard accelerations and hard brakes to see which drivers aren't comply-ing with the training. The DRI gives managers a quick way to determine if drivers' habits and skills are up to standard or what specific behavior needs to be modified. Sometimes, a change in behavior is due to something more complicated. Linde's managers are trained to be sensitive to drivers' personal problems. Personal problems are not some-thing you want to delve into, Gomes says. Having a personal conversation about a change in performance often leads to flareups, he says. When dis-cussing performance, drivers some-times will disclose aspects of their personal lives voluntarily. Losing one of Linde's tenured drivers due to a lapse in safety or performance for any reason is a major concern, no matter what the cause. A lot of times, (drivers) don't want to come out, but our managers are pretty good, McDonald says. They've worked with these guys for 10 to 15 years. They know who their families are. They will open up about what the issue is. For any personal issues drivers may have, managers suggest they use the com-pany's EAP called Lifeworks. If the driver is in the office with the man-ager, the manager will call Lifeworks, hand the phone to the driver and walk out, McDonald says. Any conversation the driver has with Lifeworks is confidential. The company is billed based on the amount of usage, but no other driver information is passed from the EAP to Linde, Gomes says. If you've got a guy with 10 to 15 years invested in the company, we know it is going to be very difficult to find a replacement, he says. We go the extra mile. Critical delivery Maintaining high performance from all drivers is critical for Linde, because customer service literally is a life-or-death scenario. Hospitals that contract with Linde must know that their tanks never will run dry of important medical supplies such as oxygen and cryogenic gases. Linde has developed advanced dispatch and scheduling systems, which include telemetry systems to moni-tor tank levels remotely and deter-mine precisely when deliveries need to arrive, McDonald says. We are on time, every time, he says. Linde's measurement for on-time service is a ratio of inter-ruptions per thousand deliver-ies, which includes both real and perceived interruptions from the customer's point of view. The company keeps this ratio at virtually zero, McDonald says. Linde's process for modifying driver behavior to improve fuel efficiency nearly is identical to its process for safety. The company uses the same DRI system to monitor drivers' fuel efficiency, but rather than track miles per gallon, Linde has established standards for rel-evant indicators. If (drivers) meet certain standards, we know their mpg, Gomes says. If they are driv-ing efficiently, they are using the Smith System. The company is cur-rently in the process of deploying its national fleet trainers to each loca-tion to teach drivers to use proper shifting techniques for the newer 2007 engines in the fleet. In addition to making trucks and drivers more fuel-efficient, Linde also is maximizing the use of safety technology in its vehicles. The com-pany uses roll stability systems on its tractors and trailers. In the cab, drivers use a lane departure warning system and four different cameras on the tractor and trailer. For Linde to excel at customer service and remain competitive, its managers are leaving nothing to chance. n Innovators profiles carriers and fleets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking's challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Avery Vise at avise@ccjmagazine.com or (800) 633-5953. innovators Linde North America Bulk Distribution, the largest division of the company's pri-vate fleet, operates 750 power units and 2,000 bulk and high-pressure gas trailers.