Final Mile shines at ATDC with 2 trophies

This past week 26 drivers from our Final Mile, Dedicated, Truckload and Intermodal competed for pride and bragging rights as the best of the best in Arkansas.  Our region was represented by 6 DIS's that competed in 2 classes, step van and straight truck.  Among our competitors were Andy Stierley (DETMIx), Darren Tyler(BHMIx), Eddie Ford,(FW TXx), James Hamilton(SEAWAx), Michael Smith(TULOKx), and Jerome Brown(JACFLx).

The team and thair families represented their LDC's and our region extremely well and 2 of the team members brought hardware back to their LDC's. Andy finished 3rd in the Straight Truck class and Darren finished first, qualifying for the National Competition next month in Indianapolis.

April DOM--Brian Mulheran

After reviewing several outstanding nominations, I am pleased to announce that Brian Mulheran has earned the honor of our Final Mile Services Region Driver of the Month for the month of April. Brian has successfully demonstrated the level of customer service, safety and productivity that everyone should aspire to.   Please join me in congratulating Brian on this well deserved accomplishment!

Region Driver of the Month - $500 cash                

Brian Mulheran, consistently demonstrates a superior level of professionalism and reliability among his peers. He also excels in providing exceptional customer service, maintaining a strong safety record, and facilitating a solid working relationship with the office, all with an exemplary attitude.

Brian’s good attitude is what every Final Mile manager wishes for. Whether it’s a multi-family or multi-stop route, a normal or late day, a local or overnight route, Brian always smiles and stays focused on the positive. This was especially stark in April as Brian battled through an exhausting bout of mononucleosis (mono), because of which he was ordered by a physician to rest every Wednesday. Despite this setback, he remained optimistic and upbeat about his ability to continue his track record of success and service. And now that he has returned to a full schedule, he continues to excel by requesting to work a multi-family site every Saturday.

Regarding his performance, Brian shows his professionalism in dress and demeanor, speaking to customers clearly, intelligently, and sympathetically. Both the office and our end customers trust Brian to complete his deliveries at a quality level. We all know that any exception or uncontrollable delay will be communicated with advance notice, and that Brian will already have a plan in place to recover the lost time. The office regularly receives positive feedback from Brian’s deliveries, and it is not uncommon for customers frustrated by blizzard delays to relax once they hear that Brian will be completing the delivery. Brian has never had a preventable PD claim, an accident, or an injury, and he always turns in his logs on time. His paperwork is accurate and contains thorough notes, and he has never had a controllable service failure.  

It is a pleasure to work with Brian, and I am pleased to commend him as Driver of the Month. 

Congratulations to DOM for May--Dustin "Lorenzo" Dewez

After reviewing several outstanding nominations, I am pleased to announce that Dustin "Lorenzo" Dewez has earned the honor of our Final Mile Services Region Driver of the Month for the month of May. Lorenzo has successfully demonstrated the level of customer service, safety and productivity that everyone should aspire to.   Please join me in congratulating Lorenzo on this well deserved accomplishment!

Region Driver of the Month - $500 cash
Dustin "Lorenzo" Dewez
Final Mile San Diego, CA

FMS San Diego is nominating Lorenzo Dewez for driver of the month.

Lorenzo began working with us in Feb of 2013 as a Brightsky delivery assistant. He quickly became our most requested helper by the drivers. This was due to many factors, first being Lorenzo was always on time and ready to work. He learned all of our cross dock procedures and became our backup quarterback on the cross dock. As a delivery assistant he was eager to learn all the installs and became very good at it in no time at all.  Although he worked many days at very long hours he was motivated enough to pursue his class A CDL in hopes of becoming a driver for JB Hunt. While in the right seat he was very safety conscious and did all he could to assist the driver in navigating the route. He also learned the MCC’s and more recently the new iPhone/Nuvizz system we are currently working with. As soon as a position became available we were very excited to promote Lorenzo up to the driver position. Lorenzo has only been a full time driver for 1 month but with a spectacular start we feel he deserves to be our nominee for May.

When he came on he was heavily audited by our BS and everything checked out great. Lorenzo has had an immediate productivity impact as he required no training at all. Even under pressure his attitude is fantastic and he readily volunteers for extra work and Saturdays when needed. Recently we sent him on a delivery to a prospective new customer (Elite); normally we would send a more experienced driver team in order to ensure everything meets the highest level of quality the first time. The delivery went perfectly as that’s what we have come to expect from Lorenzo’s advanced level of professionalism. Our Business Development Executive Tammy Virgil stated that they were “Very Pleased!” with the delivery. We look forward to hearing great things in the future from our customers regarding Lorenzo Dewez as we are sure he will continue setting a new standard in driver excellence! It is for these reasons we proudly nominate Lorenzo as our Driver of the Month.

Other Outstanding Nominees:
Jonathan Cantillo @ Pompano Beach, FL  (FMS S)
Kompton Wilder @ Wilmer, TX  (FMS C)
John Brubacher @ Carlisle, PA (FMS N)

2016 Account of the Year--Mid Year Update

The AOY awards are among the most prestigious that are handed out annually at our regional kick off meeting.  There are three LDC truck count groupings as well as an overall winner that are determined by a weighted ranking in 7 categories(PNLb4OH$'s, PNLB4OH%, Inventory Write Off's, Turnover Improvement, DOT Preventable Collison PMM, Preventable Collision PMM, and Injuries per 100).  The 3 size categories are LDC's with less than 5 trucks, LDC's with 5-10 trucks and LDC's with 10+ trucks.

Through the end of May, Sacramento is leading the 5 trucks and less as well as holding the top overall score in the network.  They've shown strong performance across the board and are setting the standard for other LDC's to shoot for.  The West also has the leader in the 5-10 truck range with Windsor, CA pacing the group.  Final Mile South is leading the charge in the large LDC category with Pompano at the top followed closely by Orlando in second place.

There is still a lot to time left, and everyone has an opportunity to improve their standing in these rankings as well as their overall performance in all categories.

10+Trucks
1.  Pompano Beach, FL
2.  Orlando, FL
3.  Columbus, OH
4.  Fort Worth, TX
5.  Houston, TX

5-10 Trucks
1.  Windsor, CA
2.  Indianapolis, IN
3.  Salt Lake City, UT
4.  Portland, OR
5.  Bowman, SC

5 or Less Trucks
1.  Sacramento, CA
2.  Shreveport, LA
3.  Little Rock, AR
4.  Greer, SC
5.  Normal, IL

Final Mile has a new Million Mile Award winner!!!

Samuel "Louie" Brooks has been with JB Hunt since 2005 and has been with Final Mile OKC since the account began. He proves day in and day out to be a true leader in so many aspects. Several retail customers and jobsites request him as their primary driver and many home deliveries have called in singing his praises. His fellow drivers look up to him and he has trained many drivers in his tenure here. 

Louie lives in Meeker with his wife and 4 kids and is a big OKC Thunder fan. He also enjoys fast cars and the occasional casino visit on the weekends. 

It has been a privilege working with Louie and seeing him in action as well as being able to see him accomplish such an amazing feat in safety. 

Congrats to Louie!

Link to the Maintenance blog

Our maintenance team regularly posts to their log in an effort to keep our operators up to date on the latest news, campaigns and fleet maintenance suggestions.  For the latest and greatest as it pertains to JB Hunt maintenance, please visit their blog site.

http://dcs.blog.jbhunt.com/

Tips for improving your credit score...June HR article

How to Score Good Credit

If you’ve been denied a loan, mortgage, lease or credit card, chances are it has something to do with your credit score. You can read more about credit reports and consumer protection here. In the meantime, here are six ideas for boosting your score, raising your limits and improving your rep one credit card statement at a time. 

1. Pay bills on time and reduce the amount of debt you have. This includes credit cards and every kind of installment debt you currently owe.

2. Pay off credit card bills entirely each and every month. If that’s not doable, do be sure to pay them by the due date (preferably beyond the minimum) and come up with a plan to pay them off fully…soon. 

3. Set up text and email reminders. Lenders and creditors are pretty modern these days. Most will sign you up for this option before you take that first swipe.

4. Automate your bill payments. By enabling automatic credit card payments you don’t miss any due dates.

5. Stagger your debt by interest rate. Pay off cards with higher interest rates first. This will improve your credit score and cut down on fees and interest. At the same time, consider paying down credit that is at or close to your limit.  The closer to the limit you are, the more your credit is impacted and your score lowered.

6.  Consider your credit cards carefully. Contrary to what many believe, closing unused accounts does not have a big impact on raising your credit card score. Opening a bunch of new credit cards in the same year and closing others can actually have a negative impact on your credit score.  Instead, try this: rely on two to three credit cards that you use prudently one month and pay off the next. Building credit wisely over time helps your credit score.

7. Consider a Small Installment Loan.  If you are in need of credit, and are hesitant about entering the world of credit cards, a small installment loan is a good, credit building option. An installment loan is a loan that is repaid over time with a set number of scheduled payments, typically at least two. Small installment loans demonstrate being credit worthy through a stream of payments on a debt over time, which builds your credit score.

And remember…it’s more than a number!

The three major credit-reporting bureaus calculate your score by taking several factors into account, including:

·        The types of accounts you have open

·        How long you’ve had them open

·        How high the balance is currently or has gone in the past

·        Your payment history

·        The current status of the account, your ‘payment performance’ over the past two years, charge-offs and repossessions

To boost your score, follow the seven tips outlined above, check your credit reports regularly and protect yourself if you feel you’ve been the victim of fraud. After all, it’s your credit on the line.  

Learn more at www.feedthepig.org