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Please find enclosed
our latest company news letter. We
have included as many items as we can to inform and update you with work
related matters. We hope that you find
it informative. If you have any suggestions of how we could improve this
please contact your manager at your convenience.
Tools
for the Job
We have recently
promoted Ed Sturgeon to the role of company driver trainer. In early January
he was sent on a course to gain a formal qualification and I am very pleased
to inform you that he has passed and is now a fully qualified driver
Instructor/Trainer
Ed has been given
several duties as part of his role company wide including assessing all
drivers periodically, cab and vehicle audits and legislative compliance.
I would ask every
driver to work with him in his duties and please remember that his main
function is help you get it right. Ed has asked that the following message is
included in this letter;
Driver
Trainers message
“During the past few months I have been listening to drivers discussing
the EU drivers hours. It is apparent that there seems to be some confusion as
to how the hours affect a driver.
I have heard all sorts of discussions about daily and weekly rest
periods, compensation in weekly rest, changes in drivers breaks and It is
understandable how you can become confused. I recently had a driver call me
because a police officer has told him he is breaking the law because he
did not have a break after 4 1/2 hours duty!! (the police officer was put
right the following day).
As your driver trainer I am here to answer your questions and offer
help and instruction when ever it is needed. My phone number is programmed
into your cab phone under Resource and Contracts. My phone is normally
switched on between 6am and 9pm.
To help get a picture where we are at the moment I recently put out a
vehicle audit sheet. There was a good response and I would like to thank the
majority of you for completing the form and returning it to me. Should any
driver require equipment, I will be coordinating its issue in the coming
weeks.
Our vehicle fitter, Shaun will be looking at the fire extinguishers
that require servicing on a rolling basis. This will start immediately. If
yours has not been inspected in the last 12 months you should report it next time
you are in Felixstowe or if you are working remotely to you normal office
contact.”
Out Of Hours
The
traffic office is manned by skeleton staff between the hours of 1800 and 0800
Monday to Friday. Please consider if
your call is necessary before making it, especially during periods of reduced
levels of manning.
It
happens too frequently that the night men or operators get drawn into issues
needlessly due to drivers calling in at the wrong time.
Defects
Trailer
damage gremlins are still amongst us.
Un-reported wing damage, balding or low treaded tyres are common
occurrences. To remind you that as a
driver you may be prosecuted by VOSA for failing to document defects and
provide satisfactory evidence that you are checking for them.
We
have a lot of new equipment and it will only stay in a good state of repair
if you help with it’s maintenance by checking it correctly treaded
tyres are common occurrences. To
remind you that as a driver you may be prosecuted by VOSA for failing to
document defects and provide satisfactory evidence that you are checking for
them.
We
have a lot of new equipment and it will only stay in a good state of repair
if you help with it’s maintenance by checking it correctly.
It wasn’t me…..Honest
As
our business develops there will be a greater requirement for you to change
trailers as the number of drop and swap operations increase. On every occasion and before you connect to a trailer a full trailer interchange
and defect report must be completed.
Any
damage discovered on any trailer that has not been recorded via an
interchange and verbally notified to the office at that time will be
apportioned to the last driver. You
have been warned.
Moving on up
We
have during the second half of 2009 made changes to the traffic desk in
Felixstowe and promoted Luke Grayling to Traffic Supervisor. Luke has been with us for over 2 years and
has demonstrated the inclination and ability to want to make a difference and
I am confident that he will achieve this with your help.
The
container market has become the most challenging it has ever been with rates
at levels they were 5 or 6 years ago.
Making any profit is a challenge and with the support of Dave
Deverell, the Felixstowe Operations Manager Luke’s role will be to ensure we
maximise the resources we have to gain the most productivity.
Luke
has asked that the following message is passed out to you all
“Can I take
this opportunity to thank all of you for the fantastic support you
have all offered this year, our traffic team are very thankful to you
guys (I know we don't always show it but we all appreciate your efforts
without exception).
I know how
tough the past 12 months have been on us all. It has been a year of
highs and lows and we have had to react immediately to all challenges
this year for little in the way of reward. As we are all to aware work has
been a little unpredictable which nobody could have predicted. Last
Year certainly opened my eyes to how fast the markets move or should I say
stop! I have never experienced anything like this past year and it has
certainly reminded me that nothing can be taken for granted.
It is not
all gloom and maybe we have some bloom to follow, during the past 12 months
we have tried many ways to make Deben Transport more efficient and reactive
which is a huge benefit to us all.
Please
remember that we all need each other, without you and your support we
wouldn't be here.”
Lock it or lose it!
Every
driver should have a ‘bulldog’ container lock to ensure that whenever they carry
a loaded container they place additional security safeguards on the load.
It
is becoming evident that not all drivers fully understand the importance of
this and therefore we need to raise the profile of container locks and loaded
containers.
At
the point of collection or loading, a container lock must be placed on the
rear doors of the container. At no time during a loaded containers transit on
a vehicle controlled or operated by us should there be a container on the
road that is not secured by a lock.
This
rule is very simple. Ensure that you
adhere to this and do not take risks that could otherwise jeopardise
business.
And Finally
2009
was the hardest year anyone can remember in recent times in our
industry. The bottom fell out of the
market and at times no one could see when it would end.
Throughout
this time we continued to support you and our customers in equal
measure. We went out into the market
to find new customers and new lines of business. We renewed some of the older
vehicles and brought in the latest specifications and laid out plans to renew
more during 2010 and beyond. We have entered into a long term hire deal with Hireco to supply our trailers and as a result put 80 new
trailers on the road. All at a time
when other companies were scaling back, we have invested in yours and our
future.
Because
of this effort and the support we have been given by everyone we are now
in
a position to move forward and make up the lost ground of 2009.
From
all of the Directors and Shareholders of Deben Transport we want to express
our gratitude to you all for supporting us during the hard times and we hope
that we will soon be able to look towards better times and that our business
will continue to develop and grow during 2010 with you all.
Tim Wray
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Holiday
With
the start of a new year everyone’s holiday accrual is reset and we start
again. Can I remind everyone of the
requirement to book and approve holiday in advance and that it should be
split into a week in the 1st quarter of the year, 2 weeks in the
middle 2 quarters and a week in the final quarter.
Do
not leave it too late otherwise you may miss out on the dates you would like.
Deben - Central
On
Monday the 04th of January 2010 Deben Transport opened for
business at Hams Hall. It is
anticipated that by opening a depot in the Midlands area we will attract
extra work through the railheads at Tamworth, Landor Street and Hams Hall.
Lee Davies has taken on the challenge as Depot Manager and with his
background in the container industry we are confident that he will make it a
success.
Hull or Bust?
Since opening in January 2009, our northern
operation which is based in Hull has continued to grow and develop into a
sound stand alone operation. With
Garry starting up on his own in January 2009 he now has a team of 2 with
Terry and Steve taking on new business focusing on the northern rail heads
with new customers such as Escombe Lambert, UCCI
and the national rail operators.
Garry would like to extend his gratitude and
thanks to all his drivers and staff for their efforts in 2009. 2010 will be
challenging for many reasons and that the support of his team will be
critical in making 2010 just as successful.
Working Time
In
April 2005 a workforce agreement was put in place between the workforce and
Deben Transport to extend the reference period used to average working time
out to 26 weeks from 17 and to remove the night working restrictions when
starting duty before 0400 in the morning.
Every
5 years we need to renew this agreement with our drivers and now need to do
this by the end of March this year.
From
the company’s position the flexibility the agreement gave us helped Deben
Transport service its customer’s requirements and during a very difficult
trading year keep the business competitive. To ensure we keep this momentum
we need to make this agreement with you again and will be writing to you all
on this matter in the coming weeks.
Downloading digital tachograph cards
At
every opportunity drivers must ensure that they download their digital tachograph cards.
The main depots have download points at the driver reception. Remote
sites have a facility via nominated drivers.
You must ensure that you understand the options open to you and that
you download your card at least once every 2 weeks.
See
Wynn Trevor in the Midlands and Bob Coldwell in Doncaster
Reporting of Accidents / Damage
Every
incident that results in damage to a third party, vehicle or trailer must be
reported via the Incident report line programmed into your cab phone.
Presently
there is a reluctance to use the service for this purpose, especially when
noting trailer damage. Honesty is the
best policy.
I cant see you!!!!
Please
remember that at this time of year it is important that you ensure you use
your vehicle lights at times of limited visibility especially dusk, sunrise
and especially in fog and mist.
Don’t
be fooled into thinking that your lights are on when your dashboard is
illuminated. Check and be seen!!
Every penny counts
At
times of reduced revenue it is essential that we monitor and control
expenditure at every possible opportunity.
The purchase of fuel is one of the biggest costs any transport
business has next to its workforce and by reducing its spending on fuel a
company can improve its financial performance considerably.
To
monitor this it is important that we supply vehicle ‘Miles per Gallon’
figures (MPG) every week to highlight the drivers who are able to drive
economically and show those who need to work harder or identify potential maintenance
issues.
We
also provide an average figure which will identify weekly blips when compared
with yearly average. Every driver carries heavy loads, some however are
consistently hitting a regular 9 to the gallon where others struggle to make
8. Common reasons for this are excessive idling. Modern vehicles do not need
time to warm up or cool down yet each day we waste gallons by not switching
off. We will be monitoring all drivers on this issue. Engines must be
switched off, especially by those drivers who are shunting, they are often
the worst offenders!
In
calculating these figures it is important that the driver gets into a routine
that one of the last jobs completed before finishing for the week is to fill
the vehicle up at the nearest fuel site to their depot. It is not good enough
to fill up on a morning and do a days work without filling up. This will
result in incorrect costs for the week and subsequently inaccurate profit and
loss reports.
It is every drivers duty to
fill up at the end of the working week, those who fail to follow this
instruction could be subjected to formal disciplinary action, but having
explained the
reasons
for this I do hope that this will not be necessary.
Driver CPC
We
will be holding 21 sessions throughout the UK this year as part of the driver
CPC training programme. Dates and
locations will be published in advance. We also have some
opportunity
for some of our dedicated subcontract drivers.
If
you need to know any further information please contact Keith Potter.
Pay Review
In
March this year we will be speaking to the driver representatives to review
our current driver pay arrangements. It must be stressed however that any consideration will be
linked to productivity, fuel and savings in equipment damage. We will be contacting the relevant driver representatives in
early March to arrange a meeting.
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