Keep ’em rolling!

These six practical steps for working with motor carriers will help you improve turnaround times at your dock

By Jeff Berman, Senior Editor -- Logistics Management, 9/1/2006

As time pressures on the trucking industry continue to increase, it’s become imperative for warehouse managers to streamline operations at their shipping and receiving docks so they can get drivers back on the road as soon as possible. Today’s tight capacity, soaring fuel costs, and time constraints imposed by hours-of-service (HOS) regulations mean that no one wins if turnaround time is slow.

“Improving the loading and unloading situation at the [warehouse] docks is the most important subject in the truckload industry today,” says Lee Clair, senior partner at Norbridge Inc., a logistics and supply chain management consultancy based in Chicago. The best way for shippers to improve efficiency, he suggests, is to change their physical-handling practices at the docks. “We have run out of technology-based productivity gains after thirty years of them, and this is the last opportunity left for any type of productivity [improvement].”

In short, productivity is the key to keeping trucks moving in and out of the dock—and keeping costs down. To help you achieve that goal, we offer six practical and economical ways to make dock operations more efficient.

Sounds simple enough: If you schedule a dock appointment and a driver arrives on time, loading and unloading are likely to be smooth and efficient. But you have to meet that schedule, too, if the system is going to work. “Carriers need to know that you stand by your pickup and delivery schedules,” says M. Geoffrey Sisko, executive vice president at Gross & Associates, a materials handling consultancy in Woodbridge, N.J.

Another way of improving dock productivity is to extend shipping and receiving hours. Extended hours allow shippers and carriers to make better use of drivers’ time, especially in light of the current hours-of-service restrictions, says Clair. He recommends spreading shipping and receiving across the entire work day, rather than limiting it to certain time windows in the mornings or afternoons.

Operating nights and/or weekends also offers some benefits. Clair notes that many companies’ loading hours are from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., which pushes trucks out into rush-hour traffic. But if drivers load and pull at 7:00 p.m., for instance, they’ll be heading out without heavy highway congestion and with a fresh set of log books. “By doing this,” says Clair, “you’re getting the miles you paid for.”

If a pre-loaded trailer is waiting for drivers when they pull in, both truck and driver can be turned around quickly, saving hours of waiting time and minimizing the amount of time loading docks are tied up.

Würth Service Supply Inc., a fastener distributor based in Indianapolis, has found that system to be very effective. The company has its carriers drop empty trailers at its service centers at night for loading the following day. By the end of the day, the trailers are loaded and ready to go—turning what was once a last-minute scramble into a smooth operation.

“In the past, with the volume we were moving out of here, we had to 'live load’ everything, and that caused a lot of congestion,” says Transportation and Logistics Specialist Josh Gauci. With this new arrangement, he says, his company has reduced congestion and can keep more dock doors open and available at its service centers.

One of the most efficient ways to turn a truck around is by practicing what’s known as “drop-and-hook.” “Dropping a truck load in a yard, hooking up to an empty trailer, and getting back on the road is sort of like having your own yard jockey,” says Sisko. “This method allows shippers to pull trucks in and out of docks whenever needed.”

If you have a motor carrier handle both inbound and outbound freight, the drop-and-hook method can be especially advantageous. For example, drivers who arrive with a load when no receiving-dock door is available can choose to drop the loaded trailer at a designated spot in the yard, and then hook up to an outbound load that is ready to go at a door or in the yard. That way, says Gross & Associates Executive Vice President Donald Derewecki, drivers get loads in both directions while spending minimal time on loading and unloading procedures.

Sort through and organize inbound deliveries as they arrive at the warehouse, and you’re guaranteed to create congestion. But you also need to make sure you’ve gotten what you ordered and that it’s in good condition. How to balance those two requirements?

That was the dilemma that confronted the Window Fashions Division of Hunter Douglas, a Broomfield, Colo.-based manufacturer of window coverings. Receivers were taking too long to get some parts for its custom-made products off the dock and onto warehouse shelves. The company tasked a team that included purchasing, warehouse operations, quality control, and the supplier with identifying the causes of the slowdown and finding a solution.

The group found that entire inbound orders were being sent from the docks to quality inspection—even though only certain items were actually being inspected—because it took less time than sorting the loads in receiving. To alleviate that situation, says Director of Materials Doug Bacon, the supplier began shipping items that required quality inspections and “dock-to-stock” materials that could go right into the warehouse on separate pallets. Hunter Douglas also increased its order size while reducing the frequency for some items, so that shipments requiring special handling arrive less often. The result: “We have reduced our processing time on the warehouse dock from eight to five hours and have also reduced our handling time in incoming inspection,” says Bacon. “While these numbers are not huge, it is something we can expand upon with future suppliers.”

Make the effort to get to know the drivers and ask them about their needs and concerns, suggests Steve Monson, logistics manager at Vulcan Threaded Products in Pelham, Ala. That information can help you identify the source of bottlenecks and where to make improvements to gain more efficiency, says Monson, one of Logistics Management’s 2006 Best Practices in Logistics Award winners.

Monson also suggests helping your warehouse staff understand why fast turnaround times are important. He took the time to educate his company’s forklift drivers, truck loaders, and crane operators about the hours-of-service rules and how delays at the docks can have a negative impact on a driver’s livelihood. “Educating our non-driver staffers on what the drivers have to deal with gave them a new perspective on what drivers are up against,” he explains. That knowledge also encouraged the warehouse staff to find ways to make loading and unloading more efficient. (Click here to get more of Monson’s tips.)

Welcoming drivers may seem obvious, but it’s often forgotten in the rush of day-to-day business.

Providing a place for drivers to get a cold drink or relax while they’re waiting for a load to be ready can have a positive effect on dock operations, says Lee Clair. It may not improve productivity, but it will certainly help improve relations with drivers, he notes.

“Making things more manageable for your drivers and treating them well is important,” agrees Mike Shearer, warehouse supervisor for Chevron in Port Arthur, Texas. It matters, he explains, because drivers have direct contact with Chevron’s customers, so they are viewed as an extension of the company. Think of them the same way that you think about your own employees and co-workers, not just as part of a service, he recommends. “Too often,” he says, “they are viewed as a company or a product rather than as people.”