Final Mile's newest Million Mile Driver!

Tony started his career with JB Hunt in October of 2001at the Home Depot Pro account in Milwaukee. He worked for Home Depot Pro for nearly 12 years until the account shut down and he joined Final Mile.  He has been with us ever since. When he isn't working, Tony most of all enjoys spending time with his family. When the weather allows it, he loves spending time on the lake on a boat with his family. He enjoys participating in sports including bowling, going to races of all kinds (he even used to participate in competitive races himself as he used to drag race motorcycles) and playing volleyball.

We are extremely proud to have Tony on the Final Mile team.  He is a shining example of our Safety Culture at work. 

Exceptions Management

Exceptions Management

All orders that flow through our network flow through a similar lifecycle. Ultimately there are 3 components that every order experiences (or should experience).

1.) Order Creation- Order has to be created and received into our systems via some sort of portal.

2.) Order Activity- This is all the things that happens once we receive product. Scheduling, shuttling, labeling, etc.

3.) Order Closure- Order is delivered, refused/cancelled and returned/sold, or lost.

Throughout the process, there are opportunities for orders to get lost along the way. Following along with Pareto Principle, 80% of our issues are going to derive from the 20% of the exceptions. Knowing how to identify these issues and to bring resolve to them will help tremendously in reducing the volume of emails and phone calls you receive along with ultimately improving the customer service your team will deliver.

Mark Pennywitt--Client Manager, Cornerstone

 

National Truck Driver Appreciation week is coming.....How will you show your appreciation?

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, September 14-20, is when America takes the time to honor all professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment in tackling one of our economy’s most demanding and important jobs. These 3.2 million professional men and women not only deliver our goods safely, securely and on time, they also keep our highways safe.

Our delivery teams are our most important asset in our company, and the only one that is irreplacable.  We need to do everything in our power to ensure that every one of these important employees understand how we feel about them.  Please work with your OM's and RBM's to put together a plan for this week to recognize your employees.

Spotlight on Safety--Rearend collision avoidance

Urban Areas

Urban areas are considered cities with more than 50,000 in population.  Seventy five percent of us live in an urban area.  Most severe crashes involving fatalities are likely to happen in rural areas; yet the majority of non-fatality injuries, pedestrian deaths and property damage collisions occur in urban areas. 

The 5 most common types of urban accidents: 

1.     Running red light, stop signs and yield signs
 

2.     Vehicle had stopped or was in process of stopping and was rear ended (FMS has had 8 such events in the past 4 months)

3.     Running off the road and striking an object

4.     Swerving into an occupied lane

5.     Turning left and colliding with an oncoming vehicle

Half of all urban accidents happen at intersections.  Of those collisions, 52% are at intersections controlled by traffic signals and 21% are intersections equipped with stop signs. Easy ways to build a space cushion – stop a couple car lengths (15 to 20 feet) behind the vehicle ahead of you. When the light changes to green; hesitate 2 seconds after the vehicle ahead of you moves forward. This automatically builds a space cushion and helps prepare you to handle any stop and go traffic at the intersection.

J.B. Hunt on the recruiting trail

 

You may or may not know, but J.B. Hunt is always on the lookout for talent!  The photo with this article was taken on July 28^th in a Naval Flight hanger at Ft. Dix, NJ attending the Hire Our Heroes (HOH) Career Fair hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  At this career fair we spoke to candidates about ALL of the opportunities we had available from driving, office, and maintenance.  Hire our Heroes career fairs are put on for service members, and veterans to find employment after they have served (they plan to host over 1400 events nationwide in 2014) is just one of the many opportunities we use to find great people!  As we get closer to the fall we have put together a college recruiting schedule of institutions and career fairs we plan on attending and or speaking at.  This is a great opportunity for you to get out of the office, and help us bring more great people to our company.  We regularly attend classrooms, and speak to students about the transportation industry, and are represented at general career fairs throughout the country.  If you think this is something you might want to help out with or are alumni of one of these schools, even better!  Be sure to check with your chain of command, but we always welcome those who would like to participate and spread their experiences with those who want a future with JBH!  Below is our current fall college recruiting schedule for 2014, and a link to Hire Our Heroes list of events.  Matt Kaczynski – NE Regional Human Resource Manager

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/events/hiringfairs -  Hire Our Heroes

Penn State Supply Chain Career Fair (State College Campus) September 11^th (1100-1600)

Rutgers University Mega Fair! (North Brunswick, NJ) September 12^th (1200-1700)

Rutgers School of Business Meet and Greet (North Brunswick, NJ) September 17^th (1200-1600)

UMass Amherst Isenberg Career Day 2014 (Amherst, MA) September 23^rd (1100-1600)

Morgan State University Career Fair (Bowie, MD) October 8^th, 2014

University of Maryland Supply Chain Career Fair (College Park, MD) October 10^th (1000-1500)

Shippensburg College Career Fair (Shippensburg, PA) October 27^th (TBD)

York College Transportation Management Class Room Session (York, PA) October 27th (All Day)

University of Rhode Island Career Fair (Providence, RI) November 20^th (1100-1400)

GE in talks to sell appliance business

General Electric Co. (GE)’s home appliance business has drawn interest from Sweden’s Electrolux (ELUXB) AB and Quirky Inc., a consumer-product development startup, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The companies are in talks to buy the century-old unit that GE recently decided to try again to sell as Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt focuses on industrial operations, said the people, who asked not to be identified because details are private. Quirky would team up with private-equity firms to acquire a majority stake, leaving GE with a minority holding, the people said.

The appliance division may fetch about $2 billion in a sale, the people said. There’s no guarantee that the discussions will lead to an agreement, they said.

Quirky, which builds products based on ideas submitted by a community of online users, counts Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE among its financial backers after the manufacturer made a $30 million investment in November.

GE also opened up thousands of patents to New York-based Quirky when they formed a partnership last year to develop a line of smart-home devices, including an air conditioner controlled by smartphones. Electrolux is No. 2 in U.S. sales of appliances such as dishwashers, cooktops and refrigerators, behind Whirlpool Corp., according to research service Statista. GE ranked third by market share, Statista’s data show.

See the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-13/ge-appliances-said-to-draw-electrolux-quirky-as-suitors.html

Chuck's Corner....Advice from our efficiency expert.

TRAFFIC JAMS ARE EXPENSIVE!!!!

I don’t know many people who enjoy sitting in traffic.  We are either anxious to get to work, or to get home after a long day.  Why is it that we can develop a tolerance for unnecessary traffic on our loading docks?  The “conventional wisdom” is that if we throw more labor at a problem, it gets done more quickly.  Not so!  Take a look at the picture below.  How utilized would you guess this labor team is?  50%?  40%?

Rule of thumb:  Keep a load team to 2 to 3 people per door.  In an RDC, if you assign 4 or more to the Load Team, load multiple doors simultaneously.