THANK YOU – DECKER PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS!

THANK YOU to all who participated in our first WorkHound survey this past week.  Your feedback is vital to the success of Decker Truck Line.  According to WorkHound, this has been their best launch ever.  They shared, “We had awesome participation in your first survey and have been reading each and every comment that was submitted.  We have some great feedback to share with you in the near future.”

If You Didn’t Participate in the Survey. Please Consider Doing So – – Why WorkHound

We want to hear from you, we want to know how you are doing, how we are doing and what feedback you can give us. That’s why we’ve partnered with WorkHound.  It is confidential, WorkHound is a way to give us anonymous feedback.       Only WorkHound sees your identifying information when you make a comment.  Then, they review and share with us your comments (anonymously) to understand the issues that are important to you.  This leads to action, the more details you provide about a situation, the more we can do to help you. We appreciate any feedback you care to share!  The more details the better!

Reveals & Follow-Up – We’d like to share a couple of examples with you:

  • A concern was shared that we need to do a better job in masking up in our shops.  As a follow-up to this, we have reached out to our maintenance facilities and shop managers and have reminded them of our Company Policy: Masks are Required at all Decker Facilities – All Office and Shop Areas.  If this continues to be a concern of yours, please let us know.
  • Another concern that was shared was that we need to tighten up our communication between the shops, office staff and Drivers.  We are going to be assembling a task force with representatives from each group and management to improve in this vital area of the business.

Professional Drivers, we appreciate all of your comments on WorkHound.  Your feedback lets us know what areas we need to focus on for improvement and in what areas we are doing a good job.  We are dedicated to making this the best company to drive for.  Our goal is to improve the Driver experience.  Thank you again to all those who have participated and left comments through WorkHound’s first weekly survey.  And remember, they are a constant channel for feedback, you can always refer back to their most recent link to provide your input.

JANUARY IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will. Traffickers will often exploit the transportation system to use as a tool for their personal gain. Because Professional Drivers are the eyes and ears of the roads, you are in a unique position to make a difference and help those vulnerable to this heinous crime.

Look for signs.  People may be vulnerable to trafficking if they:

  • Have an unstable living situation
  • Have previously experienced other forms of violence such as sexual abuse or domestic violence
  • Have run away or are involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare system
  • Are undocumented immigrants
  • Are facing poverty or economic need
  • Have a caregiver or family member who has a substance abuse issue
  • Are addicted to drugs or alcohol

Everyone can help by learning the types of trafficking and paying attention to the people around us. Visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/ to learn more.

If you see anything, please reach out – this hotline is confidential and is open 24/7.  Call 1-888-373-7888 or Text 233733

PLEASE REMEMBER TO WEIGH YOUR LOAD:

We have had several instances lately of Drivers being overweight.  Please weigh your load, at the shippers’ locations if they have a scale, or as close to the shipper as possible to minimize the time and inconvenience if the load needs reworked to get legal.  Below are the top ten reasons to weigh your load:

  1. To assure that your weights are legal.
  2. We pay the scale fee.
  3. The CAT Scale app “Weigh My Truck” makes it nearly painless to find a scale and get your weights.
  4. It is very difficult and expensive to get loads reworked at a roadside scale.
  5. Sometimes there is more weight on the load than the BOL states.
  6. When stopped at the State Scale for overweight, it gives the Enforcement folks another opportunity to inspect your equipment – did you do a proper pre-trip inspection?
  7. There are a lot of hoops to jump through to break the seal on a load allowing for it be reworked.
  8. All the time that is ever gained by not weighing a load is consumed by the delay in getting stopped at the scale and getting the load legal.
  9. Overweight tickets are expensive – weigh the load and shift the burden away from you.
  10. Whenever we are cited for being overweight, it makes us all look like a bunch of rookies who don’t know what we are doing.

Bonus Reason:  If you get swapped off a load, you want to be able to tell the Driver picking up the swap that it is a legal load.  You don’t want to be that guy or gal who left your brother trucker with a mess to cleanup.

If you don’t have the CAT Weigh My Truck App, Click Here for a short “how to” video on how to install and access it within your Transflo app.

JANUARY IS ALSO HEALTH & WELLNESS MONTH HERE AT DECKER:

Let us help you to stay healthy while out on the road!  The TCA Communications Action Team has designated this month to help you do just that.  Follow along this week as we share some great information that everyone can work into their everyday lives.  The topics we will be covering each week are as follows:

TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED                                                        

January 11       Benefits of Good Sleep Habits and Mental Health               

January 18       Proper Nutrition – Eating right to fuel your body and weight loss                

January 25       Physical Fitness – Stretches for mobility and cardiovascular                                   

HOW TO WATCH FOR THESE IMPORTANT TIPS

**Jesse’s Facebook Live at 4:00 on Monday

**Jesse’s YouTube Live at Noon on Tuesday

**Social Media postings on Wednesday

**In “The Latest” Communication on Friday

CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK’S POSThttps://drivedecker.com/importance-of-drivers-health-and-wellness

This Week’s Topics – Benefits of Good Sleep Habits and Mental Health – here is a recap:

Truckers are often mentally exhausted due to long periods of driving and heavy traffic congestion on major highways.   Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night.  It is also good to interact with your fellow Drivers and co-workers; mingle with them at stops or whenever possible – – of course, staying Covid compliant. 

It is important to find ways to reduce your stress.  Your mental health is important to your everyday life.  It is important to take care of your mental well-being.  Here is a start: 

  • Write down 3 things in your daily life that you appreciate.
  • Stay positive and have a goal for each day.
  • Make a plan for the year; and write your goals down. 

There are many aspects of health and wellness.  No matter who you are, you may be struggling in one area or another.  It might be hard to admit for some of us, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of.  Here at Decker, we have a great EAP, Employee Assistance Program, through UNUM Life Balance, which is a confidential resource for you and your family to use.  You can visit them at:  unum.com/lifebalance or call 800.854.1446.

There are many aspects of health and wellness – – it is vital for each of us to get enough sleep each night; physical exercise is good for your cardiovascular health; Stretches help with mobility and injury prevention; having proper nutrition will improve weight loss and overall health; Meal planning can help reduce stress and improve your nutrition. Please use the very important tips that we will be sharing with you over the next few weeks to live a healthier, happier life.