Haulage Companies and Their Heroes - By: Norman Dulwich

All haulage companies like to think that they have personnel that can, on occasion, rise above the call of duty and perform over and above expectations. Here are a few general types that you might find familiar from your own experience.

The well-equipped driver

No, this isn't innuendo - it simply relates to the driver that actually manages to leave the depot with the equipment he or she was asked to take with them for the collection/transport. This includes things such as chains, straps, timber and tensioners that the client may have requested to secure the load. These drivers are much loved by office staff in haulage companies, as it means that they are not on the receiving end of irate calls from clients demanding to know why the vehicle doesn't have those chains that they specified as being required!

The psychic driver

These are the drivers who manage to use their clairvoyant skills to interpret the unintelligible dispatcher scribbles that masquerade as a collection address, into something that means they have a rough idea of where they are going. You can often see these drivers lined up each morning in the yard, engaging in the time-honoured ritual of looking at their sheets and shaking their heads sadly from side to side as they desperately search for psychic inspiration as to what the papers actually mean.

The mathematical genius

These tend to be office-based individuals in haulage companies. They are capable of taking the dimensions of one box, working out its cubic capacity and then multiplying that by the number of boxes in the load. These skills are not commonly found, as many drivers will attest based upon their experience of turning up with vehicles that are woefully inadequate for the consignment being collected. Some haulage companies are rumoured to be sponsoring genetic engineering to try and create an individual that has the skills of the mathematical genius combined with those of the well-equipped driver. Such a person would be guaranteed to go far in the haulage business!

The geographers

These are some, from a driver’s point of view, of the most popular of the office-based superheroes. These are the people who are actually prepared to consult a map before defining the daily collection or delivery schedule for their drivers.

The nutritionists

These are sometimes found working closely alongside the geographers in the office. They are also very popular with drivers, as they are prepared to try and persuade the geographers to build at least some allowance in their delivery schedule for them to be able to stop and eat.
There are rumours that in some companies there are single individuals in offices that are both prepared to consult a map AND build a realistic delivery schedule - but this remains the stuff of fiction for many drivers.

So, let's appreciate some of the above workers in haulage companies. They are worth their weight in gold!

About the Author

Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for haulage companies to buy and sell road transport and delivery work in the domestic and international markets.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Norman-Dulwich/96057

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