FedEx DVA system is a great tool

[Bruno]

Since I can't post in the FedEx forum I will post my thoughts here. Being with FedEx Custom Critical for almost 14 years I can say that DVA is a really good system if you understand how it works. DVA is based on 20 different things that makes the choice on what truck gets offered the load. Dwell time is just one of them. I will say that I wasn't sold on it when Jack Packard rolled it out in 1998. After I took the time to go to the home office and sat with the agents, I understood how it worked. If you stay within 25 miles of the Express Centers you find out that DVA will work for you.

Remember it was set up based on being 25 miles or closer to the Express Center. If your more than 25 miles from the Express Center it does take away points for that. Also DVA was setup for the 90 minute pickup. The 1st year they went to DVA I made more money for all miles then the year before. I went from making $1.13 for all miles in a C unit to making $1.31 for all miles in a C unit. It's a great system and you have to go to Green to see how it works. The system will not let you get pasted over on a load without a window popping up for the agent to explain why they are skipping you, and they better have a good reason if they don't want to lose their job.

For those who get upset about DVA. You should stop by the home office and ask to sit with dispatch and you will understand things better and how it works.

 

[nightcreacher]

My feelings on DVA are much different.I will not go into it here

 

[jj214]

The major flaw, and I pointed this out on day one, is the entire program is based on where the truck is located, not the driver. No driver sits in his/her truck while at home. I might be fishing, golfing, out to dinner etc. The same holds true while on layover, to a lesser extent. I have went golfing with other drivers while on layover. There used to be a Detroit based driver who parked at the Detroiter then drove home 30 miles away. His last location was always the Detroiter Truck Stop, even thought he was not. While the truck might be closest to the pick-up, the driver may not.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

The major flaw, and I pointed this out on day one, is the entire program is based on where the truck is located, not the driver. No driver sits in his/her truck while at home. I might be fishing, golfing, out to dinner etc. The same holds true while on layover, to a lesser extent. I have went golfing with other drivers while on layover. There used to be a Detroit based driver who parked at the Detroiter then drove home 30 miles away. His last location was always the Detroiter Truck Stop, even thought he was not. While the truck might be closest to the pick-up, the driver may not.

As quoted from nightcreacher from another thread concerning the DVA :


"I believe if your in service your suppose to be ready for dispatch,15 miles away in a boat isn't ready for dispatch,not if the pick up is the standard hour and a half.Like to see you get your boat to the dock and put away,then get home get your truck and make it 50 miles to a pick up "


It only makes sense,if you are in service you have to be ready to go and quickly. Being 30 miles away from your truck when you accept a dispatch is not being quick.

 

[LDB]

You are either in service or you aren't. If you are in service you are in service and should be at your vehicle. That doesn't mean you can't be inside sitting at a table eating but you should be within a 3-5 minute walk to your vehicle. Being 30 miles away is being out of service at home. Being out on the golf course, fishing boat, surfboard etc. for 4 hours in various cities is being out of service vacation. The problem isn't the system. If there's a problem, if, it's a problem of the user wanting to use the system in a manner it wasn't designed for and shouldn't be used for.

 

[piper1]

I remember clearly being told that you were expected to be moving within 15 minutes if the pickup time required it. Even if I am at home my stuff is packed in the truck ready to go so the only thing I need to do is perhaps have a quick shower and be gone. If I decide to be at home and in service, and pull the wheels off to do a brake job or go to the movies, that is me not holding up my end of the deal and risking a service failure.

 

[Bruno]

The major flaw, and I pointed this out on day one, is the entire program is based on where the truck is located, not the driver. No driver sits in his/her truck while at home. I might be fishing, golfing, out to dinner etc. The same holds true while on layover, to a lesser extent. I have went golfing with other drivers while on layover. There used to be a Detroit based driver who parked at the Detroiter then drove home 30 miles away. His last location was always the Detroiter Truck Stop, even thought he was not. While the truck might be closest to the pick-up, the driver may not.

The major flaw would be the driver not being by the truck. When you call for EMS, you want them to come to your house now. Not wait 30 minutes for them to get to the truck to start out to come and get you. In service means ready to roll, not off fishing or playing golf. That is why it's called EXPEDITE FREIGHT.

 

[nightcreacher]

My problem with the DVA has nothing to do with being ready for dispatch,in fact mondays when we are at home,since my co driver lives an hour away, he comes down to where we keep the truck,and we both sit waiting for dispatch.
Being ready for dispatch means just that.Sure if you have a load that would pick up at a later time,no problem,but you don't know that,so fishing, playing golf,anything that takes you more than 5 mins. from your truck,you should be out of service,don't blame the DVA.
My biggest gripe with the DVA is the layover planning part of it,thats all I'm going to say.And life isn't like a box of chocolates,you can determine the outcome of each day

 

[jj214]

I have been taken to the woodshed by the cream of the crop! FDCC is blessed to have such Saints on board. Always ready to jump off the lawn tractor and get rolling in 5 min. I failed to say in previous comments that if I cannot make the pick-up on time I do not accept the load. I can only speak from my personal experience but I have received perhaps a dozen dispatches which required a "quicker pick-up" - In most cases I have more than enough time to finish a meal, drive home and get on the road. I have a drawer full of bonds because I have never not qualified in 20 years. I am sure you take the position that if you need to go to a grandchilds baseball game (15 miles) + the hours it takes to finish one of these games, you should take yourself out of service for 2 hours and if you are not back home in time, take yourself out of service and lose the dwell time you accumulated over the weekend. I can serve the customer and lead a near normal life at the same time.

 

[jj214]

In reading my post, it came across a little more snotty than intended. I do understand the need to service the customer but I still remain an independent contractor and not subject to forced dispatch. Over the years I have many times asked to have the pick-up time bumped if I think it will be close. The only possible answer is yes or no. If they will not bump the time and I cannot make the pick-up, I simply turn down the load. Even if I am home and ready to go, I often have to ask to have the time bumped because I will check into my home express center when 20-25 miles out. Often, that is the last location they will have for me. You will note this when you check the local directions and find they have you leaving from Ann Arbor for a Pick-up in Jackson when you are in fact home in Dearborn. If I offended anyone, accept my apology. I did not intend to. I do think I am closer to the norm than those always ready to go in 5 min

 

[piper1]

....... it came across a little more snotty...

Ask any non FedEx person, ALL us purple folk are snotty supposedly

 

[aileron]

Ask any non FedEx person, ALL us purple folk are snotty supposedly

Or snooty

 

[jaminjim]

No I think it was/is snotty AND snooty.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

No I think it was/is snotty AND snooty.

That is correct,but we're a lovable bunch.

 

[jj214]

My wife agrees that I am in fact Snotty & Snooty but putting that aside, we are back to the basic issue of the DVA which is: it is based on the location of the truck - not the driver. I do respect the drivers on the forum who are always ready to go in 5 min. but I also know based on 20 years with FedEx that many drivers park their trucks at their owners home, a local truck stop, some other location which may be a distance from their home. Since this has been a pet peeve of mine since inception, I have talked to many drivers who, like me, do not take themselves out of service to carry out the normal activites of life. I have never had a service failure (breakdowns not included) because if I cannot make the Pick-up on time I don't accept the offer. On most run offers I will use the menu to speak with a agent and determine if the del. can be confirmed, can the PU time be bumped, number of skids, size etc. all which are important to me and not always available in the computerized version. You may find in the future that we will all have cell phones with built in gps that will show how far the driver is from the truck. Until then, I will continue to fault the current system.

 

[bubblehead]

JJ, I think we all would like a little more flexability in the dispatch system but it clearly states in the Contractors Helper Guide 5.19; "Be ready to go when you accept a load (15 minutes)" So when we signed on we agreed to abide by their terms as per contract. My wife and I are always ready to go in 15 minutes or we take the truck OOS until we are. I must admit I am disapointed in FEDEX for even tolerating your defiance and manipulation of the system. But that is their call not mine. As for us, we will continue to perform within the contract and not demand special privelages.

 

[LDB]

You make a moderately good argument. I agree with finding out pcs, wt, etc. as well. There's one problem with your system. Pick a large city. Put the truck on one side and the operator on the other side. Everything is great per your scenario but oops, halfway to the truck/van some knucklehead causes a wreck and a long delay due to a traffic jam. Now the doable but close job is a late delivery. Add in another problem along the route and it's a service failure for sure.

 

[Humble2drive]

JJ, I think we all would like a little more flexability in the dispatch system but it clearly states in the Contractors Helper Guide 5.19; "Be ready to go when you accept a load (15 minutes)" So when we signed on we agreed to abide by their terms as per contract. My wife and I are always ready to go in 15 minutes or we take the truck OOS until we are. I must admit I am disapointed in FEDEX for even tolerating your defiance and manipulation of the system. But that is their call not mine. As for us, we will continue to perform within the contract and not demand special privelages.

Ditto, well said.

 

[jj214]

My manipulation of the system has resulted in no service failures in 20 years, making my numbers every quarter for 20 years and receiving numerous letters of commendation. I don't have my contract in front of me, but I don't think it said I had to be ready to go in 15 min. - My responsibility is to be on time - I always am.

 

[nightcreacher]

JJ,
yours is just one way to manipulate the system.If your the only truck in your home ex center,and your truck is the one used to give a customer a pick up time,you then turned the load down not cause of pay but do to being late on pick up,then FDCC has to find an alternative truck,and pick up time will be later than agreed to.If they bump the time for you to pick it up,same thing.
I've had situations in the past where the time was bumped,and I still took the hit for a late pick up.
Glad you don't feel your cheating the system.
Your not one of those that checks into one express excenter,then checks into another,at a later time,and carries over the dell time,oops I might of just gave away one of your secrets