By Doug Bradle, COO
Nussbaum has utilized employee surveys for several years to understand areas where we can improve. One item that has consistently shown up is how loads are planned and how that impacts your experience as a driver.
If It’s Broke – We’ll Fix It
We have been working on improving the focus that the load planners have on the driver’s experience. These issues have been named consistently:
- the amount of time that drivers have to wait between loads
- poor communication from load planners to driver managers
- poor attention to home time needs
- better utilization of drivers’ time while on the road
The Solution: Fleet Planning
The solution that we have been working on is Fleet Planning. We have always split up the US based on geography and assigned a planner to plan any loads within a particular area.
Now, we’ve changed that. One planner has been assigned to every two Driver Managers. The planner assigns loads to that group of approximately 60 drivers regardless of where they go throughout the country. Their goal is to understand that group of drivers better and try to plan them to maximize their time on the road.
Customized Load Planning
Every driver is a little different due to their domicile, driving patterns, trip planning ability, and other factors. The goal is to optimize these better. In addition, three regional planners provide backup to the fleet planners. They ensure that all loads are being focused on and that we are not missing customer commitments.
What’s Your Feedback?
We began Fleet Planning the week of September 12, 2021. So, we have a few weeks under our belts now and are looking for driver feedback. If you have noticed any difference, either for the better or worse, we welcome that information.
You’ll have the opportunity to provide feedback in new monthly surveys and our annual survey. Your Driver Manager is also someone you can give direct feedback to or reach out to Brent Martin or myself directly. We desire to improve the driver experience, and your feedback will help us do that.
