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This month we released a new book for Owner Operators called "Running By the Mile. To preview the book and purchase online visit my website at www.outridge.ca The book is available in paperback and eBook formats.
"Success comes to all those that make the effort to attain it."
Change is a constant, the world will never be without it, and our industry has seen a ton of it. I was just reading an article in an industry publication about the changes to the industry in various ways from CSA to technology and the article was talking about what was next down the pipe, the answer, fuel! Fuel technology has already been in the forefront as far as tires, trailer skirts, and more go but it now has come right down to the fuel itself. Companies are starting to look into ways of improving the fuel through the manufacturing process to make it better. There have been some improvements in that area but nothing striking to date. No matter where they go with new technology they will never come close to the biggest technology breakthrough we have, the driver. Improving on technology in this area may mean training instead of components.
When I learned to drive trucks, before there were many schools I was taught to drive not using a clutch and that was how many were taught to drive trucks in those days. As I went through my career technology changed in the trucks and I had to learn to use a clutch to drive. Other than the pedal there has been very few improvements for the driver in the fuel area. The control is still in that person's hands on how they drive. If a driver has a hard foot or a bouncy foot fuel usage can increase and so on. Engine manufacturers are doing their improvements, and trailer and truck manufacturers are trying to improve their components, but where is the driver improving to help in that area. If you have long term drivers in your fleet you may have many that have learned to drive a certain way. Many managers focus on idling times, but what about shifting, climbing hills, and other techniques that may make a driver more fuel efficient? This is especially true for those with small scale operations.
So if you have spent time looking at your equipment and upgrading to the latest models, you've spent money working with fuel manufacturers, and engine specialists to get the best engine specifications, but you haven't evaluated your fleet to see how your drivers drive your trucks then your missing the key link to saving fuel. Maybe its time for a driver refresher on shifting, maybe a hill climbing program needs to be put in place. Maybe drivers have gotten some bad habits over the years. Remember a chain is as strong as its weakest link, don't give the weakest link the most control or your wasting your money.
Are Your Ready to Add to Your Fleet?
As I meet many owner operators in my travels many of them have lofty ideas of starting their own small fleet of two or three trucks. There is nothing wrong with that dream and since I am a big goal person I would rather work with someone who has goals than to work with those that have nothing planned out for the future. Having specific goals are great and that is the way everyone should work. It allows you to focus your business on items that will help you attain your goals. There is one problem for those of us that are extremely focused, sometimes we can grow too fast and cause more problems than needed. Adding trucks onto your business will drastically change the dynamics of how you operate, the amount of investment required, and develop roles in the company that you may be handling all by yourself.
Think about it, right now you are the owner, the office manager, the dispatcher, the driver, the janitor, the mechanic, and any other job you can possibly find for yourself. Once you start adding other people into the mix the dynamics change and that can make you take on positions you weren't planning on. For instance think about expanding your fleet to just one truck. You now have to hire another driver which will now add payroll duties, possibly dispatch (if you are totally independent) vacation fill in and so on. You may still be driving and able to handle that but your administration work will double with two trucks possibly causing you to outsource it.
Let's assume you move to two extra trucks, you may find you are starting to work outside of the truck. That's fine if you are planning on that but if you wanted to continue to drive it may be an area you are uncomfortable with. At this point you may also need more administration staff and depending how your business is set up you may find yourself now doing sales to find enough work for the trucks. You may also have to start adding more overhead to your business, parking issues, maintenance issues, and office space can add more overhead than most people plan on.
Now going back to the beginning of this article I don't want to scare you. Many of these issue may go away depending on how you are operating your business. If you're leased on with a carrier then maybe parking, maintenance, dispatch, and sales may not be an issue. Bookkeeping and other office administrative tasks can be outsourced. The trick is to have a plan in place of how you will handle expansion.
Planning is the best thing you can do for your business and your future.
Plan for the whole year when setting out vacation time, repair time and so on. Enter it into your schedule and calendars. This way you have back up for tax issues and also have a plan for maintenance and family time.
Bruce
Referral Program
Did you know you can earn rewards just for recommending somone to the program. Here is how it works: Recommend someone to any level of the OS Program and when they sign up I will send you a $25 gift card. Make sure you tell them to say your name when signing up so you can get the reward. To receive the reward they must sign on with Outridge Consulting Services
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