Howard Sheppard

We are living in very exciting times with technological advances happening daily. I am no expert in logistics and have never formally trained in this field, but I’ve been in the transportation industry for almost 50 years. I’ve learned a lot of lessons, sometimes the hard way, but mostly from the younger technologically advanced folks that I have the pleasure of crossing paths with. For these reasons I am very excited to see what the future holds in technological advancements and to encounter a continuous stream of bright, super intelligent young folks joining the work force.

Most of us agree we’re in business for profit and we’ve all heard the old, tired phrase ‘work smarter not harder.’ There’s wisdom in this but it is my opinion that to be successful we must work harder and smarter. My career has revolved around maintenance and a real-world example of the above statement is keeping an accurate account of equipment status and availability. Although autonomous driving trucks are becoming a reality, autonomous repairing trucks are a very long way away. Planners and dispatchers need to know what equipment is available or when it will be available otherwise all the planning is lost if the equipment is not available.

To accomplish the state of readiness required someone has got to be inconvenienced. It requires overtime hours, working when the equipment is available, nights and weekends, and communicating the progress. Just like many drivers who work nights and weekends, maintenance must do the same thing. Of course, all this comes at a cost in higher wages and overtime to incentivize drivers and mechanics to be inconvenienced.

Many managers are seasoned professionals from their own disciplines and these ‘been there and done that’ experiences go a very long way to smooth out the speed bumps or negotiate the obstacles that come up.

However, one critical component is managers must be available when all this work is going on. Seldom does everything go as planned. Life happens, people get sick, supply chains break down and a myriad of other things prevent your best laid plans from coming to fruition. Contingency planning is critical, and many times goes beyond the ‘plan B’ mentality. Sometimes C & D are required, and this is where experience and a thorough understanding of the workflow is critical. Many managers are seasoned professionals from their own disciplines and these ‘been there and done that’ experiences go a very long way to smooth out the speed bumps or negotiate the obstacles that come up.

Equipment, consequently, the transportation industry has benefited greatly from new technology that performs many basic functions and has a tremendous impact on successful equipment operation and successful mission completion. One such advancement is Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and Tire Inflation Systems (TIS). These two systems, in my opinion, have made the greatest positive impact in cost reduction to tire costs and safety enhancements. Plus, properly inflated tires reduce fuel consumption and from an ecological perspective this is very beneficial.

Without wading too far into the weeds about all the technology available, perform your due diligence and don’t be afraid to embrace changes in technology. Pay attention especially to your trusted partners and manufacturers you have a history with, and help them help you and the industry.