Warehouses and Distribution Centers Brace for
new Department of Transportation "Hours of Service" Rules
What should you do now? Mostly, it is about
making sure you understand the expectations of carriers and the limits
that the rules may put on your operation
Like a loaded 18-wheeler cruising down the interstate,
change is rapidly coming to warehouses, factories and distribution centers
in the form of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Hours of Service
regulations for drivers and freight companies. Distribution and
manufacturing managers must learn what the implications are and how
to cope with them.
January 1, 2004 brings The Department
of Transportation?s new Hours of Service rules will change the way
carriers can operate?and carriers will put pressure on DC?s and warehouses
to operate differently.
Hours of Service Rules to affect Warehouse and Distribution Operations
The HOS rules are designed to improve public safety by
reducing the hours a driver can be on the road. Currently, a driver can
put in 15 hours of driving time per day. He can have a three-hour
layover within that time and still count it as 15 hours a day. The new
rules change this in a very significant way: the driver?s 15 hours are now
counted from the moment he starts his day. Layovers?the kind he might
experience at your dock doors?also count.
Under the new HOS rules, layovers due to orders and
shipments not being ready for loading won?t be as acceptable to freight
companies and drivers anymore. Pressure will be put on shippers to have
loads ready and to load them as quickly as possible. Keeping your schedule
and making your appointments will be more important than ever. Freight
lines will pressure you to get their trucks loaded and unloaded faster so
they can squeeze more driving time in the shortened 15-hour window.
Accident Prevention is the Motivation
The DOT believes that fatigue increases the likelihood
that a driver will not pay sufficient attention to driving or commit other
mental errors. In-depth studies of crashes have found that inattention and
other mental lapses contribute to as much as 50 percent of all crashes.
While fatigue may not be involved in all these crashes, the DOT reasons,
it clearly contributes to some of them.
The agency tentatively estimates that 15 percent of all
truck-involved fatal crashes are "fatigue-relevant," that is, fatigue is
either a primary or secondary factor. This includes the 4.5 percent of
fatal crashes where fatigue is directly cited and another 10.5 percent
where it contributes to other mental lapses, which then result in a crash.
What are the Practical Effects?
The new rules do the following things in terms of
affecting a driver?s schedule:
-
Increase the 18-hour on-duty/off-duty work cycle to a
normal 24-hour work cycle.
-
Increase time off to allow sufficient time for 7 to
8 hours of sleep.
-
Require mandatory "weekend" recovery periods of at
least two nights of recovery sleep to resume baseline levels of sleep
structure and waking performance and alertness.
-
Address the effects of operations between midnight and
6:00 a.m. by requiring off-duty periods that enable restorative sleep by
including two consecutive periods between these hours.
-
Allow "weekends" of sufficient length to ensure safety
and provide adequate protection for driver health and safety.
-
Increase operational flexibility by offering a menu of
HOS options customized to different major or distinct operational
segments while still maintaining an appropriate level of safety.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hos/background.htm (new rules)
If you?re working with motor freight carriers, it?s
likely that both the shipping and receiving sides of your operation will
be affected as carriers try to cope with the new rules. It?s best to be
ready, and to contact your carriers for their response to the rules. You
may find that changes in your operation are needed to cope.
If you have questions or comments about this article,
please e-mail us at:
24hours@cisco-eagle.com.
|
