Moving Words – New Tricks
Timothy Brady
“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” – John D. Rockefeller
The Moving & Storage industry has been undergoing a metamorphosis for the last several years.
These changes have been driven by inner and outside forces. Within the industry, changes include the advancement of technologies in everything from fuel consumption to driver management to how a load and driver are dispatched. Outside forces are in the form of new and changing regulations from the Federal government, both in safety and environmental rules, to states rewriting or adding to their rules: from increased speed limits to more frequent vehicle inspections. Then there are demands and alterations which are influenced by shippers, corporate accounts, a relocation company’s wants and needs. Add to this pack/load and unload contract labor increases, and rates going from hourly to a single rate regardless of weight (no more 4-hour minis). All of these different and, at times, conflicting changes create challenges for moving companies, agencies and van operators alike. And these changes may require a paradigm shift in how different tasks in the logistic transport process are handled.
As moving company owners and van operators, we may have little control over many of these changes, but we can adjust to them far more quickly than many of our larger counterparts. However, to meet the challenges emerging from changes we have no control over, we must be willing to learn new methods to handle them when they occur; thus teaching us old dogs new tricks.
As an example, while we may not like the idea of speed limiters on our trucks, or driver-less trucks, or electric vehicles (EV), they’re quickly going to be a major part of our business model. Unless we’re just going to throw in the towel and walk away from trucking, we need to figure out ways for all these challenges to work to our benefit, rather than each being a ball and chain that holds us back.
Many of us “older” movers have ourselves a comfort zone with paper logs and speed governors on our trucks set at what we know are safe levels. We have the safety records to prove we are quite capable of having an 85-m.p.h. truck but understand that doesn’t give us license to go over the posted speed limit. We also know that being safe regarding time behind the wheel and the amount of rest a driver gets in a sleeper berth are relative to the current traffic, road conditions and health of the van operator behind the wheel, and that doesn’t always fit within the parameters of the current HOS. Sadly, there are others within trucking – outside of the moving industry – drivers and those who manage them, who don’t use the common-sense approach toward ensuring safety on the road. But because the FMCSA must base their rules on the lowest common denominator, we must all play by their rules.
As the industry moves in new directions, we will change as the need arises. As older movers, whether we are driving a desk or a moving van, we realize it’s not effort alone which brings success — we have to adjust to our environment as it will not adjust to us. So, we recognize what new skills must be learned and then applied in order to stay in trucking. Game on!
“Each new day has a different shape to it. You just roll with it.” – Ben Zobrist
