The cabin of a modern truck is really comfortable today – a refrigerator, a comfortable bed and air conditioning are standard today. However, there are still a lot of problems waiting for drivers in logistic basements.
The report “Diagnosis of sanitary and parking conditions in logistic basements in Poland and Europe” shows that logistic basements are currently in many cases a bottleneck in the fight to improve the working conditions of drivers. First things first.
WHAT IS MISSING IN LOGISTICS BASEMENTS?
Waiting for many hours for the truck to be loaded / unloaded should be an opportunity for the driver to rest a bit. Unfortunately, the infrastructure in many of these places still makes it difficult to rest. It turns out that the insufficient number of parking spaces and the lack of access to the bathroom are still a serious problem. 52.5% of respondents report that there is no shower in logistics basements and 41.3% – that there is not even a toilet there.
In such conditions, there is no chance of rest. However, this is not the only problem faced by drivers in logistics basements. Equally (or even more) burdensome is the lack of … kindness on the part of the basement’s employees.
Yes, as many as 41.9% of the questioned drivers point to problems with communication with the base staff. They emphasise that the dates and order set are not always respected, and they are usually not informed of the reasons for changes. They cannot count on help in solving any problems with documents on the spot, and they have to do it on their own (or in consultation with the employees of their company).
This transforms into service time in the logistics base, which, according to as many as 56.3% of drivers, is definitely too long. We are aware that the nature of drivers’ work means that they may sometimes expect unloading to be faster than possible. After all, they have no influence on the delay that arises here, and it clearly affects their further work. On the other hand, over 56% of drivers negatively assessing service time in logistics depots is a voice that all their operators should listen to.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE DRIVERS’ LIFE EASIER?
As a transport company, we have no influence on what conditions our drivers will encounter in the logistics basements to which we arrive. However, we can take steps to help them better deal with the staff they encounter there.
The first and easiest way to improve how the driver will be treated at loading is to ensure that the documents he receives are correct and complete. Thanks to this, he does not have to worry about clarifying misunderstandings or getting along with warehouse employees. We have switched to a fully electronic document flow. Thanks to this, we are able to correct them in a few minutes even if there are any inaccuracies.
The second facilitation for the driver is to provide him with appropriate support from our office in Warsaw. VEGA focuses on partner relations between drivers and forwarders. We respect each other and help each other. Thanks to this, drivers can be sure that when a problem arises, a quick call to the forwarder will facilitate solving the problem, or even getting along where there is a language barrier.
Do you want to see if VEGA really offers such a good working atmosphere? Send your CV to transport@vega-transport.com and see what conditions you can expect!
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