What to do, what to do.....

C

Cameron

Location
NJ
Yesterday one of my employees didn't engage his air brake parking our chip truck.

They had just pulled up to the job. our crane operator pulled into the school yard to set up the crane while my two other drivers stayed back waiting to see where to set up. The driver of the chip truck walk into the trailer to get his gear and thats when the chip truck rolled, caught the corner of the enclosed trailer ripping the mirror out of the truck.

I would think first thing you would do is engage the air brake, turn truck off, I put the truck in gear just in case. I guess it also could have been chocked but it was only gonna be there for a couple minutes til it was put into position.

Biggest problem is that we are having problems finding a door(which is expensive) or fix the fiberglass (won't ever be 100%) costs $1300 to fix with us taking the door off and hardware.

How would you disipine the employee?

6 months ago he lost his company truck for wreckless driving, taking out a coulpe sections of fence and leaving the scene of the accident. He did lose his end of year bonus and was warned next time he would't have a job
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You answered the question already, "Next time he wouldn't have a job". By backing down from that you're sending the message that you don't take this seriously and you will say stuff that you don't really mean. It may be time for you to formalize the process for disciplining employees who contravene employment regs. Maybe a 3 strikes and you're out approach? Seeing that you're in NJ the state regs are not really relevant (an "at will" state) however, case law in civil court would be worth investigating. See which way rulings have gone and what advice the decisions contain.
 
Youch! That's pretty brutal. Everyone makes mistakes of course, but it sounds like it may be a pattern with this one particular employee? In that case, I would document the two incidents (this one and the one before), have a meeting with him and then have him sign it.

You can call it a formal warning, that way he knows you're taking it seriously and the next incident will come with a heavy price tag. Not fun to be the boss.

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The previous company I worked for had a standard drug test for any accident over $500. If you refuse, no job. The good people at OSHA have shown that a person having a series of small accidents has a greater chance of having the Big One i.e loss of life, serious injury. How many chances are you willing to give him before you lose the respect of your other workers?
 
I find it's always easy for observers to say "fire him". In fact when people call me and tell me stories of their employee issues I always say... "fire them"! Truth is firing people sucks... Only you know the answer to this question.

Put him strict probation if he is worth keeping. Good employees are hard to find. If he is questionable or a pain in the azz then take this opportunity to let him go.

In the end it will cost you a lot more than $1300 to loose a quality guy... Is he worth keeping????
 
[ QUOTE ]
I find it's always easy for observers to say "fire him". In fact when people call me and tell me stories of their employee issues I always say... "fire them"! Truth is firing people sucks... Only you know the answer to this question.

Put him strict probation if he is worth keeping. Good employees are hard to find. If he is questionable or a pain in the azz then take this opportunity to let him go.

In the end it will cost you a lot more than $1300 to loose a quality guy... Is he worth keeping????

[/ QUOTE ]

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When I was in woodshop in 7th grade Mr. Hanson caught me making monkey faces behind his back. He told me to go sit on the stool back in the far corner of the shop while he continued his planing demo to the rest of the class. The stool was in the part of the shop where the power tools were located which was soooo far out of bounds it was NOT a privledge to be there. After the demo was done he came back to talk to me. He was firm and I was soooo embarassed and shamed. I felt like I had a dunce cap on for a few days of woodshop.

When I had employees who made mistakes like this fella or wouldn't follow directions I clipped their wings. Making a climber do only ground work is a good way for them to think about how they goofed up. when I did that I would move the groundie up. If the demotion didn't have an effect on their thinking I told them that they had one more chance. Up or out!

Take away responsibility but let them know why they got the demotion. Document thoroughly what you say and do. Be firm and fair.
 
While quality people are hard to find be sure that is in fact what he is. Too often we talk ourselves out of tough actions. He may be good on the ropes, a "hard worker" or, any number of other things but, is this a behaviour that you've seen before with him? Has he been around long enough to know what is appropriate? Letting it go can come back to bite you. In this situation you've already described the consequence for another incident and need to follow through to deliver the message to others that negligence will not be tolerated.

Offer to reconsider employing him if he takes some sort of action to deal with the underlying issues that affect his performance.

What impact is his behaviour having on the rest of the crew? What impact do your actions have on the crew? Does this lead to resentment because you're not acting on this? Is morale being diminished?
 
Cameron,

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6 months ago he lost his company truck for wreckless driving, taking out a coulpe sections of fence and leaving the scene of the accident. He did lose his end of year bonus and was warned next time he would't have a job

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Leaving the scene of an accident? What was his story on that one? That is a serious lapse in judgement, what was he running from? A warrant or a roadside sobriety test?

I think you let him off lightly 6 months ago.

Time for a letter in his file, dated, signed by both parties, documenting the two accidents and stating Employee so-and-so is reduced from full-time status to probation.

Minimum.

Northwind
 
totally agree with Northwind. Leaving the scene is criminal and in most places grounds for immediate dismissal.

We often lose sight of the fact that our clients aren't just homeowners but business owners and professionals. They assess our company not only by how we do the work and how much. Consciously or unconsciously they form an opinion about our business by the actions of the employees we hire. Remember these are the people they allow onto their property, often when they are not at home. You may present yourself as trustworthy and very professional. Do your employees reflect that or give off a totally different vibe? The sales person can land the first job but it's the crew that brings people back and lead to good referrals.

Now just imagine the impression of those that witnessed your employees actions, good or bad? How many people did they tell about this? What's the image projected?


Employees like this can have a devastating effect on our costs, profits and revenues.
 
OMG!!! Today they didn't even make it fully out of the driveway with out having an accident. I let Matt lead the crew out with the 50 ton crane since he knew what job he was going to and I would just follow up in the rear with the ranger. He goes to pull out and make the turn only to not turn hard enough and is gonna clip the neighbors mailbox acroos the street.

He slams on the brake and the my other driver in the chip truck runs into the back of him. He wasn't expecting him to stop and we do try to make a quick exit with the convoy cause cars will usually stop to waive you out onto the road.

WTF is going on here?? It's only monday..UGH!!!
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He wasn't expecting him to stop and we do try to make a quick exit with the convoy cause cars will usually stop to waive you out onto the road.

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Hate to say it but that one statement makes it sound like there may be a culture within your operations that could be fostering some of these problems.

From my limited view (on the outside looking in) "Quick exit", "convoy", expecting cars to "usually stop and wave you out"...are red flags standing straight out in a gale. It sounds like your crew have come to expect them and that they have become standard operating procedures

That begs a lot of questions.

I hate to ask,and I don't want to sound like an arse-hole, but what other "expectations" have the crew been allowed to develop that can lead to carelessness or other blind negligence?

Maybe it is time for a cultural or procedural analysis and change?

Just a thought.
 
This my observation. I think they are getting complacent. I bet your crew loves to work with minimal efforts (who doesn't, but I'm just saying). They are simply getting lazy with certain protocalls.

Sorry to hear this additional info.
 
Running a fleet is tough, most days getting getting the crews out of the shop is the toughest battle of the day.
firing a guy is even harder especially if he had cdl and is a decent worker. It is very important to document all of his accidents and warnings, that way if you decide to let him go with cause he can't turn around and collect unemployment on your modifier.
good luck not a great spot to be In

What are you running for a 50 ton crane?
 
"...we do try to make a quick exit with the convoy cause cars will usually stop to waive you out onto the road."

Until the day one doesn't!

But who knows, your yard might be on a clear, flat rural road with a "Slow, Trucks Turning" sign posted, a 20mph limit and only two farm houses sharing a dead-end road.

As written, though, it sounds like rolling the dice just waiting for the day some poor schmuck t-bones the convoy as it bolts out against the right-of-way. Not a good strategy.

You also say: "I let Matt lead the crew out with the 50 ton crane since he knew what job he was going to ..."

Again, hard to know because we're only getting limited details on this end of the interwebs, But IF that means the rest of the convoy did not have the address, then this inevitably leads to following too close, and taking needless risks at intersections, left turns, etc, etc, as the pack does not want to lose the lead dog, the only one who has the scent.

Again, IF what I'm supposing here is true, your safety culture, at least as it relates to driving and the operation of your fleet needs a thorough revamp.

Northwind
 
Northwind has it right, time to establish a proper protocol that takes away or at the least mitigates the inherent dangers of your current SOP. Start with a meeting in the yard to advise everyone of the day's work, address of the first job, route to be taken and procedures at lights and turns to keep the convoy together, i.e., waiting at a safe spot for the vehicles that didn't get through. Maybe a flagman for traffic control at your gate to allow all the vehicles to enter the roadway together.

You need to really analyze what is going on that's leading to this problem beginning with what you may be doing to set the example.
 
sorry bro leaving the scene of an accident ! he would be gone fast . get rid of him now before he gets you into real trouble . it sucks to get rid of people , but sometimes it is for the best .
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