Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 12
12
eliminates one source of driver discontent and improves driver effects on driving alertness of truck loading and unloading
retention. Improved driver retention, though outside the scope tasks (O'Neil et al. 1999). There was no consistent evidence
of this report, is itself an operational efficiency that is highly of driving fatigue resulting from the physical activity. Instead,
supportive of safety (Staplin et al. 2002; Knipling 2009). drivers complained about the time required and unplanned
delays associated with loading and unloading. Moreover,
MINIMIZING LOADING, UNLOADING, because drivers in many segments of CMV transport do not
AND RELATED DELAYS load and unload their vehicles, the question of excessive phys-
ical work is often moot. Instead, the problem revolves around
In almost any work activity, waiting is an unproductive use detention times.
of time and reduces efficiency. Excessive delays associated
with truck loading and unloading, also known as driver deten- CTBSSP Synthesis 1: Effective Commercial Truck and
tion, affect safety as well. Drivers generally are unable to use Bus Safety Management Techniques (Knipling et al. 2003)
wait times for sleep or other restorative rest. Thus, wait times asked safety-manager and other-expert respondents to rate
use up drivers' available waking hours, thereby contributing the relative importance of 20 CMV transport safety prob-
to later fatigue when they are finally driving. Further, drivers lems. The problem was stated as, "Delays associated with
may be thrown off-schedule by excessive waits, thus caus- loading and unloading (e.g., resulting in long working hours,
ing frustration and a later urge to drive faster or otherwise tight schedules, and fatigue)." In Likert scale ratings, the item
increase work speed unwisely. Under current hours-of-service was judged the fifth most important safety problem by safety
(HOS) rules, drivers' tours-of-duty are limited to 14 hours. managers and the fourth most important by other experts.
This has the benefit of preventing longer work periods, but About half of the respondents considered it one of the top five
raises the potential for drivers to rush to reach a destination problems among the 20 presented.
within 14 hours.
The MCES Inefficiencies Report (Delcan Corporation
A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability 2007b) identified operational inefficiencies recognized as
Office (GAO 2011) addresses the issue of commercial driver most pressing by motor carriers, cited evidence of their effects,
detention times. GAO's summary findings included: and evaluated potential technological solutions. These ineffi-
ciencies were defined as practices, procedures, incidents, or
· Detention of drivers at shipper or receiver facilities is a events that produce waste, generate unnecessary expenses,
prevalent problem; of 302 drivers interviewed by GAO, require excess effort, do not generate revenue, or do not con-
204 (68%) reported being detained within the past month. tribute to safe, secure, and timely cargo transport. The MCES
· Of those drivers who had experienced detention, 80% study team conducted stakeholder workshops in seven U.S.
stated that it affected their ability to meet HOS require- locations in which representatives from motor carriers, tech-
ments, and 65% reported losing revenue as a result of nology vendors, and other industry experts discussed transport
being detained. inefficiencies. Excessive waiting for loading and unloading
· Shippers and receivers control many of the factors lead- was the most frequently cited "high-priority" inefficiency
ing to driver detention, such as facility staffing, loading across the stakeholder groups. This was the top inefficiency
and unloading equipment, quality and promptness of concern of truckload (TL), less-than truckload (LTL), and
service, and the readiness of products for pickup. intermodal carriers (Belella et al. 2009). Carriers expressed
· Shippers often disagree with carriers and drivers about particular frustration regarding excessive waits for their trucks
the length of detention time and its causes. to be unloaded at consignee locations as well as at intermodal
· Carriers have some ability to mitigate the problem by terminals. Border crossing wait times were also cited.
charging detention fees to shippers, developing better
working relationships with customers, improving com- Loading and unloading inefficiency is costly for carriers
munications, and abandoning shipper accounts where and their drivers, who routinely bear the expense of waiting.
detention is a problem. Delcan Corporation (2007b) estimated the average truck wait-
· The "hook and drop" method, whereby a truck arrives ing, loading, and unloading time at pickup and delivery points
with an empty trailer and leaves with an already-loaded to be 2 hours, with much of the time spent waiting. According
trailer greatly reduces the problem, but requires more to the report, there is a potential annual financial gain of
equipment, coordination, and space. $3.1 billion for U.S. carriers and $6.6 billion for society as a
· Larger carriers have greater resources and more lever- whole from the elimination of this transport inefficiency. The
age with clients than smaller carriers, and thus are gen- most affected CMV transport operations are motor carriers of
erally able to mitigate the problem more effectively. containers (e.g., port drayage operators), regional and long-
· The quantitative contribution of driver detention to HOS haul TL carriers, and grocery and agricultural LTL carriers.
violations and to crashes is not known. For deliveries, the problem often affects private carriers as
much as it does for-hire carriers, because most of their deliv-
Under the sponsorship of the FMCSA, the Trucking eries are to customers whose trucks are treated the same as
Research Institute conducted an experimental study of the for-hire trucks. The problem is less significant for private car-
