HDT Talks Trucking hdtpodcasts@bobit.com

Bison Transport is arguably the safest large fleet in North America. Bison has taken home the Truckload Carriers Association Grand Prize fleet safety award for large carrier fleets for 13 years in a row. The company has won top honors no less than 16 times in all.

In this episode, you’ll meet one of the architects of Bison’s safety master plan, Garth Pitzel.

This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Double Coin

And by CAT Scale. Learn more about its WeighMyTruck app.

Bison Transport is a big believer in leveraging technology to improve safety, but the real focus of the safety program is the driver. Garth says when fleets talk about protecting their assets most people are referring to the truck, the trailer, and the customer’s freight.

“At Bison, we talk about protecting our people. When the driver makes it home safely from trip so does the truck, the trailer, and the customer’s freight.”

Trucking fleet owner John Vaccaro became a big believer in automatic emergency braking, dashcams, and other advanced safety systems after he nearly lost his business due to what could have been a so-called nuclear verdict.

This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Double Coin.

Are automatic emergency braking systems ready for prime time? As the comment period wraps up on the federal government’s proposal to make AEB mandatory, HDT Talks Trucking brings you Deborah Lockridge's interview with John Vaccaro of Bettaway.

Topics in this episode include:


John Vaccaro's nuclear verdict nightmare
Investing in advanced safety systems
New Freightliner Cascadias with Detroit Assurance 5
Driver reaction to new safety system
Dashcam advances
Safety beyond technology
A culture of safety

Dig Deeper into AEB, ADAS, and Nuclear Verdicts


How a Trucking Company Fought Back a Nuclear Verdict
Are ADAS and AEB Finally Ready for Prime Time?
How to Make Automatic Emergency Braking Right For Your Fleet

Understanding what your drivers are experiencing and how they feel about their jobs is critical to keeping them happy. Happy drivers tend to stay put. This episode is about the importance of opening up communication channels with your drivers – and keeping them open.

This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Double Coin.

Automated dispatch systems may be more efficient than direct two-way conversations, but they make the transaction impersonal. A few lines of text on a screen offer few clues about how the other party is feeling. The driver might be happy today, but ready to head for the door tomorrow. How will you ever know if you never actually talk to them? 

In this episode, Max Farrell, the CEO of Workhound, joins HDT’s Jim Park to discuss the importance of communication and keeping channels open to employees, including:


Creating a Real-Time Feedback Loop Between Workers and the Company
Why Praise is Critical
Opening Up Communication Channels
Identifying Micro Issues for Macro Changes
Driver Feedback and Troublesome Customers
Why Resolving Issues Pays Dividends
Honest Feedback: Gift or Insult?
Why Two-Way Autonomous Chats Work

Learn more about driver communication at HDT's Truckinginfo.com website:


3 Ways Fleets Can Improve Driver Communications
How Cowan is More Efficiently Connecting Truck Drivers and Dispatchers
How Fleets Can Benefit From Mobile Apps

More from Workhound


Why Driver Feedback is the Key to Driver Retention
2023: Annual Trends Report

The softer freight market has made truck drivers more likely to seek greener pastures. What can fleets learn about recruiting and retention from job application data?

This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights video podcast is produced in partnership with, and sponsored by, Tenstreet. Make driver communication more transparent, effective and easy at Tenstreet.com. 

HDT Editor and Associate Publisher Deborah Lockridge talks to Tenstreet founder Tim Crawford about what trends his company is seeing in job driver applications, with some advice on how to use that information for better driver recruiting and retention.


What is driver application data showing about the state of the industry?
Are drivers moving away from something or to something?
When the grass on the other side of the fence is more attractive.
How often does the average driver get into the job market?
What does the data mean for recruiting and retention?
Why it's so important to be clear and transparent with current and prospective drivers
How job-hunting varies for more experiened drivers
Don't let problems in your recruiting process keep a good driver from applying again.




5 Ways Fleets Can Compete for Truck Drivers in a Tough Labor Market
Drivers: Hire Fewer, Keep More
From the HDT Archives (2007): Recruiting In The Information Age

Today, clean diesels make up 57% of the commercial vehicle population. That’s nearly double where we were a decade ago. And it’s a 10% jump over this time last year. So what's going on?

This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Double Coin.


The march toward a low-carbon, low emission future has been slow and technically challenging. But we are making progress. The population of near-zero emissions diesel technology trucks continues to grow.

Equipment Editor Jim Park talks with Allen Schaeffer, the executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum about the progress industry has made over the past 19 years to reduce emissions and improved the fuel efficiency of diesel engines.

 

In This Episode:


Diesel is no longer a dirty word
States with the highest adoption of clean diesel technology
Diesel surpasses 55% brake thermal efficiency
The promise of SuperTruck: advancing clean diesel technology
Allen Schaeffer comments on the EMA/CARB agreement

 

More About the Diesel Technology Forum

https://dieselforum.org/

HDT's 2022 Newsmaker of the Year: The Internal Combustion
Engine

https://www.truckinginfo.com/10189508/newsmaker-of-the-year-the-internal-combustion-engine

What Does the CARB Compromise Mean for Trucking?

https://www.truckinginfo.com/10201924/what-does-carb-emissions-compromise-mean-for-trucking

At a time when fleet expansion is an iffy proposition, adding additional carrying capacity to your existing fleet can lower equipment costs, increase profits, and even help reduce your carbon footprint.

This episode of HDT's Leadership Insights video podcast is sponsored by, and produced in partnership with Kinedyne.


There are only so many square feet of floor space in a trailer, and some cargo just doesn’t take kindly to double-stacking. But there’s an easy way to double your floor space, as HDT's Jim Park learns in this conversation with Kinedyne’s Joe Vergeldedios.

Vergeldedios is product segment manager for Kinedyne’s decking solutions line. His job is helping fleets unlock the potential of a truly full trailer. In this podcase, he and Jim will discuss how expanding capacity can increase profits and create an easier and safer work environment. Joe and Jim will also discuss which sectors show the greatest benefit from adding trailer capacity, look at pre-purchase considerations and talk system maintenance.

Learn More About Maximizing Trailer Cargo Capacity:


How Fleets Can Maximize Available Trailer Capacity
Kinedyne Adds Decking System Design to Increase Trailer Space