in t he d river s ea t - danny herman trucking€¦ · it was great to see a lot of you that i...

In The DrIver’s seaT

November / December 2019Volume 19, Issue 6

Published Bi-Monthly forDanny Herman Trucking, Inc.

A Word From Our President

November / December 2019

Hello all! I hope that this article finds you all doing well. I also hope all of you and your families had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!I know I enjoyed the holidays and getting to spend time with family. It is always a good time of year for that, but I am glad to be back to work and to see a new year ahead.The first couple of weeks started off slower than what we have experienced in the past few years. I believe much of that had to do with Christmas and New Year falling on a Wednesday. What we noticed is that many of the customers back here in the east went back to work and began shipping on the second and third, but out in the west, along the border and in Mexico, most of those customers did not go back to work until Monday, January 6. This of course created a bottleneck and bunched up many of the trucks out west. As of this writing on 1/20 things are scattered back out and we are starting to see things get back to normal.I have been out on the street for the past three weeks visiting customers

with our Sales Team and spent the few weeks before Christmas doing the same. The consensus from our customers appears to be that they are looking for 2020 to be an improvement over 2019. I believe that the First Quarter will be a lot like 2019 and we will begin to see an uptick beginning in the Second Quarter.I believe that the China Trade Agreement and the USMCA (New NAFTA) agreements will have a positive impact on our economy, the transportation industry, and what we do here at DHT.I want to thank all of you that were able to attend the Driver Safety Meetings in El Paso on January 2-3. It was great to see a lot of you that I haven’t seen in a while and a pleasure to meet those of you that I had never met. I feel like a lot of good information was covered, a lot of good questions asked and discussed, and again, thank you to all of you that were able to attend.In closing and as I see some snow flurries outside my window, I want to remind and urge all of you to be careful and safe in any bad weather that you incur in your travels. As I mentioned in the Driver Meetings at any time you feel like the weather is too bad to continue please stop until you feel it is safe to continue. There is no load too hot that is worth risking the safety of yourself or those around you. All we ask is that you notify dispatch so that we can inform the customer.I want to thank each of you for all you do day in and day out. I pray that God protects you and those around you in each mile that you travel.Take care and God bless,Joe

1

DANNY HERMAN TRUCKING, INC.

JOE HERMANPresident

CONTENTS 1 A Word From Our President

2-3 A Message from Our COO Fueling Up for 2020

4 Safety Facing New 2020 Requirements

5 Maintenance Heaters, Additives and Windowshield Fluid

6 Operations Projections Look Good

7 Vision

8 Mission

9 Solo Driver of the Year 2019

10 Team Drivers of the Year 2019

11-12 Drivers of the Month

13 Anniversaries

14 New Hires

A Message From Our COO


2020 has arrived and most in the transportation industry are glad to put 2019 in the rearview mirror. I will not say a lot about 2019 other than it was a tough year, especially in the second half. Estimates are that 1100 trucking companies closed the doors in 2019 due to reduced rates, insurance rate increases, and other factors. I am as competitive as anyone, but I do have great sympathy for those that have lost jobs or at best have had to start over at new companies. I can assure you that DHT had these tougher times on our radar at the beginning of 2019 and prepared for them. DHT is strong but we continue to take steps to ensure we take care of the people that work here which are our most important asset. We will always lean towards being conservative to remain in a strong position. There are all kinds of noise in the industry right now, but I say these things to assure you we are prepared to come out even better when the tough times ends later this year.Drivers have had so many things thrown at them in 2019 and the beginning

of 2020 and I can understand the frustration. ELD’s, Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, event recorders in the trucks, and fuel optimization to name a few. Some of this is government mandated but when it comes to event recorders and fuel optimization, we took these on internally to improve the strength of our company. Event recorders are already paying dividends to protect DHT and our drivers from bogus claims. There have been many times that we have received word that we hit someone, caused property damage, etc. and in the past would have probably had to eat the cost and possibly our driver get a bad mark on their record. Now, we can send the video to insurance companies, police officers, etc. and clear our name immediately. Nothing is more satisfying than sending the video that shows something was not our fault and receiving the apology. Fuel optimization was something we studied for several years and decided we had to do to operate the company in a responsible way. With things like IMO2020 coming into play, a tough economy, and fuel being our second largest expense item, we had to start

2


Fueling Up for 2020

continued on page 3

COO Message Cont.


3


using a program that accounted for IFTA tax which we had not in the past. Keep in mind that the price on the sign has the IFTA tax included and all states are different. Since this is an overall consumption tax that we have no choice to pay, we need to pull out this cost to get the true price of the fuel. I know this is confusing, but the price on the sign has very little to do with the best place to buy fuel in the big picture. There are things we need to fine tune and improve on event recorders and fuel optimization and we are continually doing so. We have already had suggestions on routes we have changed. We are willing to make changes if they make sense and to explain if they do not. We want input on the fuel optimization program and desire to find a middle ground on convenience and keeping cost inline. Fuel optimization is set up at an estimated 7 mpg (fleet average is 8.3). The system based on the 7 mpg will keep at least 55 gallons in your tank during a trip and it is set for you to empty or t-call with 75 gallons in the tank to allow some lead way on your next dispatch. We have set all of these with plenty of margin, so it is very important

that you report your fuel level accurately. Under reporting causes the system to think something has gone wrong. If you are reporting 1/8 or 2/8 of a tank, you should be at a minimum of 75 gallons and these levels say you are not. You will receive a message to call dispatch since you are reporting below the 75 gallons you should have (3/8 of a tank). We don’t want you to over report so if you are between two levels such as 4/8 and 3/8 please report 3/8. We are continuing to make this system work the DHT way. Keep in mind that many companies use fuel optimization and when you purchase the system it is set up generic. We set up many things to work the way we prefer on routing, etc. but will continue to improve this over the upcoming weeks.Thank you all for your efforts to adapt to these new items. In 2020, we will do not plan to grow the Fleet and will concentrate on improving the miles we provide to our current drivers. We do expect to see things pick up as we move into the second quarter and hopefully sooner. I wish all of you a great 2020 and look forward to what we can accomplish together.

Fueling Up for 2002, cont.

Zoey Kadence Woodcock8 pounds, 6 ounces ~ 20 ¾ inches long

Born on December 7, 2019 at 7:79

Safety 4

DANNY HERMAN TRUCKING, INC.November / December 2019

Facing New 2020RequirementsHello DHT Drivers. I hope this newsletter finds you and your families well. As of this writing the weather this winter hasn’t been as bad as the past few winters, with exception of a couple storms. I am hopeful that it holds out through the rest of the winter season. If not, as always, if you do get into an area with adverse driving conditions and it is unsafe to continue, please get off the highway and into a safe location and stay there until conditions improve. Call and let dispatch know where you are and what is going on in that area. We don’t always get these conditions on the weather channel and your input will help us get messages out to the rest of the fleet in case some of them are headed that way.Let’s talk about Event Recorders: We have almost completed the installation process for replacing the older SF64 event recorders with the new SF300. The new system has an audible alert for “following too close” and “lane departures.” These tones are to alert you that a correction is needed. If following too close you will hear a beeping sound, lane departure will sound a

rumble strip tone. If one of these alerts goes off, you can correct the action without it sending us a video. For following too close, if you slow down by taking your foot off the accelerator or touching the brake, it will stop the alert. For lane departures just get back into the center of your lane. Remember, if changing lanes, you must use your lane change signal and it will not alert when crossing the line. If any of you have further questions about how the system works, please get with me, Clint or Lino. We will be more than happy to cover that with you and answer all your question.Now let’s discuss Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse: We have had a lot of questions about the new D&A Clearinghouse. This is a new FMCSA regulation that went into effect on 1/6/20. A lot of drivers have been asking if they need to register on the new web site. The short answer is NO, you only need to sign a new release form for us so the required annual check on the entire fleet can be. You will only have to register if you are going to seek employment elsewhere. Any new driver that is applying with us will now have to register or we will not be able to hire them until they do so. This will no doubt increase the time it takes to go through the hiring process and add more expense to the industry.Lastly, let’s go over Random Drug Testing: The FMCSA has changed the required number of random drug tests that carriers must do each year. They have increased that number by 25%. As of Jan 1, 2020, we must test 50% of our driving fleet for drugs and 10% for alcohol. (The number of alcohol tests did not change.) This increase of testing was the result of positive drug tests in 2018 (last numbers

available) coming in at over 1% for our industry. It is written in the law that we would be required to test 50% for drugs any year that the positive rate was 1% or higher. I am again hopeful that we, as an industry, can get this number greatly reduced soon. This is not the industry for the folks that want to part take in illegal drugs!I would also like to remind everyone that there are a lot of states that have passed laws to allow both medical and recreational marijuana. This DOES NOT change the FMCSA’s regulations. It is still prohibited to use these types of drugs as a CDL driver.I would also like to caution everyone on the use of CBD Oil. These oils have caused some drivers to test positive on drug tests. These products are turning out not to be as pure as advertised. A positive test would mean you are not qualified to drive until completing the Substance Abuse Program with a doctor (SAP). Depending on the drug and use, this could take a while. Please do not take that chance, it could be a career changer for you. Please let me know if you have any questions on this or the new clearinghouse.Thank You and Please Drive Safely,Steve Frantz,VP of Safety

Maintenance5


Heaters, Additives and Windshield FluidHappy New Year everyone from the Maintenance Department. We hope you had a great Christmas and New Year and are ready to roll into 2020. This year promises to be a challenging year with freight and the economy, but I am sure that someone else will talk about that within this newsletter so I will not dwell on that.January found me and several others in El Paso for the Annual Drivers Meeting. It was nice to see and meet so many of our drivers. There were plenty of comments during the Presentation of the material and I hope everyone takes the opportunity to view this Presentation once it is placed on DHT-U. I believe we all learned something from all the information exchanged.This year we have ordered, and will place in service, 75 new Kenworth trucks and 75 new Wabash trailers. The trucks will be basically the same as we have received in the past but the APU on the truck is now a Carrier unit instead of a Thermo King. We have been running 10 test units since back in the summer and they have been doing a good job. There are some changes and they are reviewed during the presentations. Make sure you watch the video, when posted, so you will be informed, should you get one in the future.During the meeting I showed many pictures of what gelled fuel looks like and what happens when you don’t add fuel additive to the tanks during the winter/cold weather. The way to avoid issues with fuel is to make sure that you are adding fuel additive

to your tanks every time you fuel. This additive is available at all the shops and at your fuel stops. It is cold in many parts of the country already and we are just getting started. The additive needs time to mix with your fuel so treat it early. Go ahead and get fuel additive early to keep with you now since up in the cold regions fuel treatment will sell out when the cold hits those regions. After adding the additive to the fuel tanks, remember to run your diesel fired bunk heater for some time so the treated fuel will get in the fuel line to the heater. This fuel line is a little thin line that will gel up quickly and when you stop for the night, the heater will not work. Be Prepared!As the cold approaches you need to make sure that if your windshield washers need fluid, use the fluid that is rated -20 or below. If not, then the fluid will freeze in the reservoir or on the windshield as soon as applied. Shops have the correct fluid to put in the reservoir but if you need some on the road get -20 or below.Lastly as we head into the winter months, I remind everyone to drive safely, watch out for the non-professional driver, allow for the weather conditions and keep your equipment ready. We want to see each of you coming back in the gate at the end of the day. BE SAFE!!Bobby Allen,VP of Maintenance

“Expect the best.Prepare for the worst.

Capitalize on what comes.” Zig Ziglar

Operations 6


Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had an enjoyable holiday season. As we enter into 2020, freight volumes in the industry haven’t been what we had hoped for, but they have fallen in line with what many analysts had forecasted. Projections show that freight will continue to be a little on the slow side for the remainder of the first quarter but should start picking up in the second quarter and even more so the rest of the year. Due to the slow start, we’ve made the decision to hold our fleet size where it is for the time being. We will continue to replace our older trucks and trailers with new ones, but we will not be adding additional equipment to the fleet until freight volumes consistently pick up.I’d like to remind everyone that loads are

required to be weighed if over 25,000 lbs., or if you believe the Bill of Lading may be incorrect. We do reimburse DHT drivers for scale tickets provided a copy or necessary information is sent to payroll. If you do receive an overweight ticket, and the Bill of Lading doesn’t specify a weight of 25,000 lbs. or less, it is your responsibility and you will be charged for the ticket. It’s also important that if going to California you confirm your tandems are in the correct position for California bridge law before leaving the scales. We’ve had recent instances in which loads bound for California were dropped at a terminal or drop yard and found to be overweight for California bridge law by the driver(s) repowering the load. Always be

sure that all axles, as well as your gross weight, are legal. If you have any questions about this, call dispatch immediately.Lastly, we’re now in the winter months where weather can be a factor in many areas. As always, safety is our priority and if you feel the weather conditions have caused the roads to become unsafe, please pull over at a safe location and update dispatch. We do not want you rolling when the conditions are unfavorable, but we do need to be able to update our customers with the latest information.We appreciate all that you do, and I hope you have a wonderful 2020. God bless.Brian Morefield,VP of Operations

Projections Look Good

Vision7

DANNY HERMAN TRUCKING, INC. November / December 2019

Vision: To be a

recognized leader in transportation achieved by our

quality employees, core

values and exemplary

service.

Core Dedication – Honor - Transparency

Core ValuesDedication ~ Honor ~ Transparency ~ Integrity

NuRturing ~ Conviction

8


Mission


Mission: We will operate our business in a

manner that brings glory to God in all that we do and with

everyone that we come in contact

with.

Values Integrity – Nurturing - Conviction

Core ValuesDedication ~ Honor ~ Transparency ~ Integrity

NuRturing ~ Conviction

Passing Along Testimonies9


CCoonnggrraattuullaattiioonnss SSoolloo DDrriivveerr ooff tthhee YYeeaarr 22001199

EEllbbeerrtt PPoowweellll

Mr. Elbert Powell has been with

DHT since 1989!He resides in

El Paso, TX and he is not just an employee, he is

family!

Welcome to the World 10


CCoonnggrraattuullaattiioonnss SSoolloo DDrriivveerr ooff tthhee YYeeaarr 22001199

EEllbbeerrtt PPoowweellll

Mr. Elbert Powell has been with

DHT since 1989!He resides in

El Paso, TX and he is not just an employee, he is

family!

CCoonnggrraattuullaattiioonnss TTeeaamm DDrriivveerrss ooff tthhee YYeeaarr 22001199

SSaannddii YYaatteess && RRiicchhaarrdd SScchhaaffffnneerr

Mr. Richard Schaffner has been

driving for DHT since 2013! Ms. Sandi Yates has

been with us since 2017. They live in Arivaca, AZ and

they drive an insane number of

miles!!We appreciate all they do for DHT!

11 Drivers of the Month ~ November

November / December 2019DANNY HERMAN TRUCKING, INC.

Solo Driver: Elbert Powell – Driver Manager: Rick TaylorElbert Powell:How long have you been a driver? 30 Years Why did you start driving trucks? Elbert tell us, “There were not many jobs in my area in 1989 but there were trucking jobs available, so he tried it and then loved it.” How long have you been with DHT? Since 1989 What do you like most about DHT? Elbert says, “Because you are family here, every-one knows your name, not just your truck number, and you are treated very well.”Advice to new drivers? “Sometimes it’s slow, but it will pick up and be fast before you know it, just stick with it.”

Team Drivers: Zachary Partain and Sian Bioletti – Driver Manager: Tim Hensley

Zachary:How long have you been a driver? 17 years Why did you start driving trucks? Because he wanted to travel and he loved Mon-tana, and so the first company he was hired for was based in Montana. How long have you worked at DHT? Since September of 2019Why do you like DHT? “Everyone at DHT is friendly and the runs are long.” Advice to new drivers? “Learn to cook on the truck, get a microwave and a fridge so you don’t have to eat out of the truck stops.”

Sian:How long have you been a driver? 6 years Why did you start driving trucks? Because her husband Zachary was a driver, she thought it would be a great way to work and see the country. How long have you worked at DHT? Since September of 2019 Why do you like DHT? “The mileage is good due to lanes being long, especially for a team, and also everyone is so nice and friendly.”Advice to other drivers? “Get in some good exercise by using your brakes and also walking or running on your breaks, just jog around your Truck and Trailer about 8 times to put in a 1/4 of a mile!”

November / December 2019 DANNY HERMAN TRUCKING, INC.

Driver of the Month ~ December 12

Solo Driver: Colin Wohletz – Driver Manager: Rick TaylorColin: How long have you been a driver? 3 YearsWhy did you start driving trucks? Colin’s response, “I had just quit my job and had asked a buddy about some work, he said he knew someone that would put me through truck driving school and get me a job with FedEx. Well, after a rough start there he went Prime, didn’t like that company and did some sheet metal work, but then decided to give truck-ing a try again, and came to DHT.How long have you been with DHT? Since May of 2019 What do you like most about DHT? “The communication here is good, they take care of the drivers and listen, they keep me busy/running, and the equipment is good and taken care of, when you pick up a trailer or load you don’t have to worry if it has problems. Advice to new drivers? “Be ready to drive, you are not on vacation, this is a career. Be safe and don’t be distracted, it’s a hard job but hard work pays off.”

Team Drivers: Ricky Mitchell and Jeff Fox – Driver Manager: Tim HensleyJeff:How long have you been a driver? 9 YearsWhy did you start driving trucks? Jeff found himself needing a new career change – he was in the Coal IndustryHow long have you worked at DHT? Since August of 2014Why do you like DHT? Jeff states, “I like that it is family orientated; you are a real person here, not a number.” Advice to new drivers? “Listen, pay attention, take your time and be safe.”

Ricky:How long have you been a driver? 25 YearsWhy did you start driving trucks? Ricky’s dad was a truck driver, and when he got out of the military and was needing a job, his dad told him to try driving because the money would be good, so he tried it and is still driving today.How long have you worked at DHT? Since August of 2014Why do you like DHT? Ricky says, “This is the best paying company he has worked for, but the family atmosphere is what makes it so nice, you are definitely a person here, not just a number.” Advice to other drivers? “Hang in there, times can be tough, especially staring out, but it is a lifestyle and once you get used to it, it’s a great career.”

Ricky and Jeff have great attitudes and as we talked and they answered my questions, they both laughed so much… which made me laugh and in turn made my day better… I think we

can all learn from this… have a great day! -Amber Crews

13 Anniversaries

NovemberBob Robbins11/04/2003George Tamayo11/04/2003Vernon Coble 11/18/2008Victor Villanueva 11/03/2010Hector Felix 11/29/2010Victor Torres 11/01/2011Wilbur Presley 11/16/2011Richard Mclin 11/26/2012Earl Brown 11/11/2013Brett Marshall 11/11/2013Rafael Alvarado 11/25/2013Jose Gonzalez 11/25/2013Mario Rodriguez 11/25/2013Linda Cole 11/03/2014Janet Morley 11/03/2014Arturo De La Cruz 11/24/2014Mike Bryant 11/24/2014Daniel Babuca 11/10/2015Mike Barker 11/30/2015

Scott Wemhoff 11/07/2016Francisco Torres 11/11/2016Warren Kerley 11/14/2016Aaron Johnson 11/06/2017Orlando Valdez 11/06/2017Kevin Baldwin 11/17/2017Snolynn Baldwin 11/17/2017Max Morettini 11/20/2017Matthew Burton 11/27/2017Albert Krach 11/27/2017Rebekkah Morris 11/27/2017David Roark 11/27/2017Mike Puckett 11/06/2018Eric Fierro 11/06/2018Travis Gatlin 11/12/2018Neetakie Richardson 11/12/2018Rodney Carris 11/26/2018Mark Van Horn 11/26/2018

DecemberBetty Warren 12/16/1987

Douglas Freshour12/28/2004

Geronimo Belmontes 12/15/2006

Alfredo Montoya 12/06/2010

Sullivan Duboise 12/26/2012

Laren Fetters 12/09/2013

David Jacobs 12/30/2013

Henry Gibau 12/15/2014

Gregory Walker 12/15/2014

Jay Hicks 12/29/2014

David Thompson 12/29/2014

Gary Bare 12/07/2015

Ruben Lucero 12/07/2015

Les Burchfield 12/21/2015

Ian Paden 12/28/2015

Christian Salazar 12/19/2016

Dalton Brown 12/04/2017

Barrington McDonald 12/04/2017

Richard Hicks 12/11/2017

Cecilia Powell 12/18/2017

Michael Skaggs 12/18/2017

Sandra Yates 12/26/2017

David Grant 12/03/2018

Joshua Langlois 12/03/2018

Timothy Sweet 12/10/2018

Darren Hunter 12/17/2018

Roy Taylor 12/17/2018

Jeffrey Fox 12/26/2018


14New Hires

NovemberGivran Gonzalez11/04/2019Jeff Lockwood11/04/2019Tommy Shields 11/04/2019David Waller 11/07/2019Justin Sprague 11/11/2019James Zellers 11/11/2019Deshea Allen 11/14/2019Robert Bond 11/14/2019Rebecca Eakes 11/14/2019Patrick Reeves 11/15/2019Matt Bowland 11/18/2019Loi Lieu 11/18/2019

Michael Willis 11/18/2019Kevin Murphy 11/21/2019Duane Pickett 11/21/2019Crystal Brown 11/22/2019William Griffin 11/22/2019Mark Castilleja 11/25/2019Sheri Zaideman 11/25/2019

DecemberRalph Allen 12/02/2019Francisco Galindo 12/02/2019Michael Hooker 12/02/2019Jonathan Lake 12/02/2019Michael Petzer 12/02/2019Keith Snow 12/02/2019

Lourdes Loera 12/05/2019Nick Cregger 12/05/2019Xochilth Hernandez 12/05/2019Rafael Reyes 12/05/2019Rodolfo Sanchez 12/05/2019Jerardo Torres 12/05/2019Kenneth Zysk 12/05/2019Mario Garcia 12/09/2019Mario Hernandez 12/09/2019Tyrese Ramsey 12/09/2019Andrew Reid 12/09/2019Dale Dixon 12/12/2019Ramon Casiano 12/12/2019

Joseph Starling 12/12/2019Timothy Draper 12/16/2019Larry Furr 12/16/2019Vaughn Mitchell12/16/2019Angel Munoz 12/18/2019Six Gallegos 12/19/2019Alberto Monroy 12/19/2019Dylan Stewart 12/19/2019Bradley Thompson 12/26/2019Edgar Apodaca 12/26/2019Chris Hollenbach 12/26/2019


20 20 VISION

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in t he d river s ea t - danny herman trucking€¦ · it was great to see a lot of you that i...

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