New DVA Point system change-get ready to get screwed

interstategar · Oct 25, 2009

The brilliant minds in Green OH had another brainstorm. If you arrive in a center you dwell time now means nothing within that center. Oct 18 I ck'd into Nashville and was the only unit ck'd of any size that Sunday. I'm a single B unit, I didn't have a >75. On Monday sometime a single B unit ck'd in, no >75 either. At 10 am a load opp came over picking up in Russellville KY, 54 mi from my truck
(I was parked just south of center of Nashville on I65 exit 87 I beleive. After NOT getting the load I called in and found at that the B unit got it that ck'd in Nashville after me got it. It wasn't a pu asap, in fact it picked up at 3 pm that same day. The explaination I got from the CC was that points are deducted if your parked further than 50 mi from a p/u loc, and points again are deducted if your more than 35 mi from a p/u. Russelville KY is IN the Nashville center. The reasoning is "to cut down on DH miles and refusals". Unreal. That was the only run that Nashville had that day for an A or B load. At 4 pm they called me again for a p/u in Memphis at 4am, for a 200 mi load going into Arkansas, then the next day a p/u in Loiusville. I refused both of them. Then I accepted a transfer load, pu in Knoxville. Yep, this new point system really cut down on DH miles-what a joke! The load in Russelville went to the Columbus OH center and paid a descent $350. So get ready, spread your legs, here comes Custom Critical and ignore the pain, its good for you in the long run. You have to BE a deadhead like the people in Green to see the logic in this one...

By the way the B unit that got load to Columbus was only 15 miles closer to the p/u than me with all that lead time to the p/u time.

jj214 · Oct 25, 2009

"points are deducted if your parked further than 50 mi from a p/u loc, and points again are deducted if your more than 35 mi from a p/u." I am a little confused by what you said in the above quote. Should the 35 miles be miles from the express center? I don't understand the 50 and 35 miles figures.

aileron · Oct 25, 2009

Yep, I talked to a few drivers about it. 2 of them in 2 different occasions had a <75, but they did not get the loads because there was someone closer to the pick up. So, I wonder, who in their right mind would loose a day doing a <75, if you don't get the advantage of a <75.
Man, how much harder are they going to make it for us?

piper1 · Oct 25, 2009

Hang on a minute i-gar you are missing one piece of information.

Russellville KY, is NOT "IN" the Nashville express center. As the crow flies, Russellville is 47.2 miles out from Nashville, well beyond the 25 mile circle that is an express center. While Nashville is the closest express center and the loads in Russellville get dispatched "out of Nashville" it isn't in Nashville.

When a load picks up outside of an express center it is all about who is the closest and has been for quite some time. Because it is not inside an express center the dwell rules don't come into play.

It has been this way for quite some time. I live in Kitchener ON, an express center. FX will get a load out of London ON, 50 miles away from Kitchener. While it will show up as a load dispatched "out of Kitchener" if there is a truck sitting closer to the load than me he gets the load no matter what the pickup time is because it is picking up "outside" an express center and the DVA looks and ranks based on distance in these cases. (I sat in dispatch and saw how it worked).

I always wondered about this because when things were slow in the spring I would call the VRU and hear that a load had gone out from Kitchener and I sometimes would not even get the offer (after sitting at home in service for days) because I would get ranked behind a truck that was physically closer to the pickup that was not within the 25 mile ring and therefore not "IN" the express center.

If the load and the trucks are within the 25 mile ring...dwell time and <75's are the deciding factors, outside...nope.

It's nothing new, you will see it more often if you are in an area where the customers are outside the 25 mile ring of the exp center (like a rural chemical plant etc).

The DVA looks after the customers first, always has and despite how mad it can make us, it's the best way. No happy customers means no loads for any of us, its easy to forget that when you think you got screwed over.

aileron · Oct 25, 2009

piper,
I understand what you are saying, and I agree. But what do you say when you are the only one with a <75 in the area, you get a load that picks up tomorrow morning, you accept it and then you get the dreadful message "Sorry, load number xxxxx has been dispatched to another vehicle". This has actually happened to 2 straight trucks. The driver called to ask what happened and got the answer that they modified the way trucks are dispatched blah blah ... and there was another straight truck closer to the load that got it.

bubblehead · Oct 26, 2009

DVA does not consider express centers when recomending vehichles for dispatch.... Contractors Helper Guide 5.3

There was a time when the system seemed to rate dwell the highest (except for <75) so why even move your truck after del. We would find the nearest wally and park. I think this minimized the value of express centers to the point it complicated dispatching. Express centers were set up more for staging and planning as well as for explaining to the customers. We too have felt the sting of this change and are now more likely to locate closer to the assigned express center. Some exceptions are when we know that a safer location might be further away, or from experience, it might be better to stay closer to known freight. As long as it is applied fairly to all O/O and fleet owners, it should balance out. As to the <75, I suspect there will be further adjustments to bring back its "reward" value. Voice your concerns promptly and proffesionally to your CC. Get informed before you call by reviewing chapter 5 of the contractors guide and please do call them. We all benefit from your efforts.

Even the GREAT A-TEAM dedheads:

"We did something today that we normally do not do. We chased freight. We delivered a load in North Carolina on Tuesday morning and received no load offers that day. Normally, we would continue to sit and let the freight come to us. Being more eager than usual to haul freight, we relocated to a busier area. For family reasons, we will be off the road for a week or more in November and want to run as much as we can between now and then."

"Deadheading on your own dime to an area where you expect your next load to originate increases the costs and reduces the profits of the next load, because your unpaid or low-paid deadhead miles must be added in. On the other hand, it costs money to sit and wait too. Whether you are running or not, you must still pay for things like cell phone plans, truck insurance, etc. It is an ongoing question with expediters. Do you sit and wait for the freight to come to you, or do you move at your own expense to find some freight to haul?"
Phil Madsen's Blog, Current Month

piper1 · Oct 26, 2009

Its not perfect I agree. I have been in that situation more than a few times (the London example) and it bugs me each time. That is why when I went to sit in dispatch I specifically wanted to figure out why it happened that way. It still only happens when things go beyond the 25 mile ring of the exp center.

I think the frustrating thing is when you call in to ask why and get an answer that sounds like run around. The DVA is a pretty complex piece of software and when dispatchers or CC's try to explain why it does what it does it can further confuse things, and I don't think there is a solution for that as it would be impractical to train everyone in every "what if" scenario.

It's a wart, and it isn't likely to go away because it improves customer service (most times) and that is ultimately what is important to the folks in Green, and that is definitely not new.

One other thing we should all check is how our trucks are listed in dispatch as far as what equipment we have , size, payload etc. You can look it up on the extranet and you may be surprised what the system "thinks" you have. I know mine was wrong.

TeamCaffee · Oct 26, 2009

The system is basically the same as it always was it is just that we see more with the load opps. The less then 75 reaches pretty far out and can include many express centers. If a less then 75 is sitting within range to pick up the load in the express center you are sitting in they will get the load first if they have more dwell time then your less then 75. It is frustrating and the excessive dead head makes no sense to anyone but the computer. I am sure though that FCC is their usual manner are looking into this as the dead head also hits them in the pocket book.

nightcreacher · Oct 31, 2009

DVA doesn't look at express centers,but who can make the pick up on time.The express centers are mostly for customers.If you are over 50 miles from an express center,your not suppose to be getting any dwell time,not sure if this is true.To actually be legal,you need to be at least 25 miles.
As far as the 75 status, it will reach out to a bigger area now.
Chasing freight,sometimes that is just what you need to do.
We delivered thursday night Toledo area,layover was Kalamazoo and Dearborn,being 130 miles from home,or 260 miles from Elk Grove Village,of which neither were going to get dead head pay,we decided to go to Elk Grove Village.Arriving at 6am,by 9am we were dispatched to pick up 75 miles away,with a 600 plus mile load.Best part ,the load isn't discounted.If we took the planned layovers or went home,this most likely wouln't have happened.
Myself,i do this quite often.It's always good to be in a busy express area that is lacking in trucks.
As far as the original post,I once was at home,7 miles from the load I accepted,which was out of the Canton Oh Express center.It was given to truck out of Cleveland,he had more dwell time,I didn't feel this was right,but this is our system

interstategar · Nov 1, 2009

I started this post. Russellville KY IS in the Nashville center. Its not in the Lex or Lou center. I was parked in the Nashville center 5 miles out of town, so I was IN the NAS center. They told me this rule came into affect October 19th, that day. >75 wasn't a factor,the other B unit didn't have one. I wrote the Contractor Relations and told them whoever made up this rule to go to the T/A in Canton and sit there for 41 hours, and then re-think their dwell time rules. The next 2 offers to me were a p/u in Memphis, and Louisville so where was this rule then? Green OH has this DVA system assbackwards. They can make up any rule for the DVA and put it in there. These people sit in Green, make stupid rules that contradict each other and go home every nite and relax. If they don't get back to first in first out within a center we all get screwed. The 25,35, 50 mile limit for a center is bull**** when at the same time they offer loads 50+ miles from a center. They want their cake and eat it too. The people in Green should get top award in the trucking industry for "Dumb Management". They are just plain stupid.

I can understand another unit with more dwell time somewhere getting a load first, or another >75 getting a load if you have one and has more dwell even if they want to DH a bunch a miles, that's their choice, or a closer unit to a p/u when its an asap p/u. But nitpicking and drawing lines in the sand around a center is foolish and accomplishes NOTHING but cheating the first unit in there. Before they had this DVA it was first in, first out not counting >75, and ASAP p/u. They can have the DVA and keep the old rule, but they don't do it. They could care less about dwell time because they only dwell at their home or in the office.

piper1 · Nov 1, 2009

Your original post has had all of it's points answered by many people but you don't sound like you understood the answers or maybe you don't want to and just want to be mad.

There is a difference between a load being IN and express center and being dispatched OUT of an express center. Russelville isn't IN ANY express center.

Do you really think FedEx should care about you first when they make business decisions? As OVM once said, know your place in the food chain.

If it bothers you that much and you think FedEx is that poorly managed maybe its time for new decals.

nightcreacher · Nov 1, 2009

sounds to me like you should contact another carrier,then you will find out how well you hasve it

interstategar · Nov 7, 2009

Too all who believe this DVA rule makes sense, and at the same time the DVA will offer you runs 250 miles away, you can't recognize anymore when the company screws you. You're so used to it you've given up. I know the other carriers are worse, except for maybe Landstar Maybe you're in White Glove that does get better treatment. If you think the run I lost was a fair deal, you will take anything from FedexCC with a grain of salt. I've been with these people since 1985, I learned better not to count on them solely for income along time ago. I usually go to management to complain. Expressing views here is just to vent, I know better nothing will get changed here for sure. Its amazing what people will put up with when they get worn out by B.S. over the years.

jj214 · Nov 7, 2009

In my 20 years with FX making the pick-up on time has always been the number one factor in dispatching loads. Is it possible an individual dispatcher will "go around" a particular driver? Of course it is. I have listened as the driver next to me at the truck stop berated the dispatcher with angry inappropriate language. If that dispatcher has the means to pass him on the next load, I suspect she will. It is not easy when you feel a deliberate action on the part of a dispatcher has cost you a load. I have on several occasions documented an issue, took it up the chain and received satisfaction with the final result.
I have spent enought time with the dispatchers to know they really have neither the time nor the motivation to deliberately pass over a driver. Do mistakes happen? Of course. But by and large, you are offered the runs you come up for. The system is not perfect, no system is.

interstategar · Nov 9, 2009

jj214 says I have spent enought time with the dispatchers to know they really have neither the time nor the motivation to deliberately pass over a driver. Do mistakes happen? Of course. But by and large, you are offered the runs you come up for. The system is not perfect, no system is.

Yes I had no issue with a dispatcher, dispatchers no longer decide who to call, the DVA does. They have to follow that order. My issue is how the DVA point system is set up. Like I've stated the lead time was 5 hours to pick up the load. I was 54 mi from the pick and had more dwell time than the b unit that got it. Its fine if they want to have this rule, but at the same time don't offer me runs 220 or miles away the same day because the trucks that are nearby don't want the run. At the present time the DVA point system contradicts itself. They can set it up with first in first out if they want to, they just don't want to. The DVA is designed for Fedex to customize it anyway they want. It should be fair. At the present time it isn't.

jj214 · Nov 15, 2009

I have not had an opportunity to come back to this subject in a while. I remember when the DVA first started. I wrote to Scott and pointed out the flaw in the system which remains today. We measure the distance to the pick-up from the truck - not the driver. When I go fishing 15 miles from my home, I will accept the 700 mile run even though FDCC thinks I am 15 closer and someone with less dwell time may be closer to the pick-up. When a driver is home, does he sit in the truck 24/7 - of course not. He/She might be at the mall, church, in-laws, golf, anywhere but inside the truck as indicated by the CLINK. Accept that the system is flawed at best and learn to live with it.

nightcreacher · Nov 25, 2009

jj214 said:
I have not had an opportunity to come back to this subject in a while. I remember when the DVA first started. I wrote to Scott and pointed out the flaw in the system which remains today. We measure the distance to the pick-up from the truck - not the driver. When I go fishing 15 miles from my home, I will accept the 700 mile run even though FDCC thinks I am 15 closer and someone with less dwell time may be closer to the pick-up. When a driver is home, does he sit in the truck 24/7 - of course not. He/She might be at the mall, church, in-laws, golf, anywhere but inside the truck as indicated by the CLINK. Accept that the system is flawed at best and learn to live with it.

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