REAL-TIME TRAVEL
Select a reputable truck tracking provider, such as Trackit by Command Alkon, to provide your dispatch system with real time travel and routing. Accurate and dependable travel times are key to on-time arrival. Arriving too early or late can have costly consequences. Advanced dispatch platforms can also ‘slide’ subsequent loads on order to maintain timeliness and profitability based on current travel times and conditions.
HOW EARLY IS TOO EARLY?
“If you’re not early, you are not on time.” This adage has some truth to it, but if you arrive on the jobsite too early, the law of diminishing returns shall pay you a visit. I have taken a deep dive into this subject with some industry colleagues over the years, albeit quite a bit of debate. The fact is that customers are not ready early. This is confirmed over a very large and verifiable sample set. There is a setting in plant system settings called “wait to unload.” This is the buffer that a producer wishes to ‘build in’ prior to arriving on the jobsite in minutes. I have our operations set at two minutes for example.
In other words, for a 07:00 arrival time, our system plans on a 06:58 arrival, providing time for the driver to hang chutes or to the position truck accordingly. Arriving any earlier, from my experience, will turn into burning time at $1.50 per minute. If it is a multiple load order, expect subsequent loads to accumulate wait on job time, the “snowball effect.”
KPI: ON JOB WAIT
This measure of performance is critical and if you do not track this particular concrete production KPI, it is certainly time to begin doing so. On job wait is the amount of time elapsed between on job arrival and begin pour statuses. Understand your definition of service. My definition is “To provide the customer with an exceptional product, at an agreed arrival time and spacing interval.” My definition does not prescribe trucks to be stacked up on the job, even though most customers associate this with good service. Although it is seemingly a great photo opportunity, trucks lined up on the job and waiting can very quickly erode profitability on a job. We aim to “keep the customer in concrete,” and not create a photo op.
I recommend targeting 12 minutes for on job wait, and any average above it, you are likely overservicing the project, and anything under 12 minutes, you are likely providing sub-par service. Dispatchers can throttle service and shift assets to other jobs as required. Look at single load orders for a baseline. It is a clean look into just how long it takes an average customer to begin unloading once the truck has arrived on site, you may be surprised.
KPI: START OF DAY – END OF DAY
Tracking your start of day and end of day concrete production KPIs are keys to understanding how well your drivers are performing their daily responsibilities, such as truck pre and post trips, and end of day washout. Start of day is also a testament to how well the drivers were scheduled for their first round. These times can vary depending on your requirements and setups, but tracking averages is key. Compare plants and drivers to ensure performance to a reasonable standard, identifying outliers and having the management team address concerns accordingly.
Start of day is the amount of time from when a driver clocks in until his/her first loaded status. I take the position of tracking start of day until the truck is loaded, not just ticketed. If you go with the ticketed school of thought, and trucks are lined up to load in the morning, this concrete production KPI does not provide clarity. End of day is a driver’s last in yard status until clock out. Many factors can affect end of day, such as a truck waiting on a balance, or, how fast a dispatcher advises a truck to wash out for the day. Track the averages, understand the outliers, and manage accordingly.
KPI: IN YARD TO TICKET – TICKET TO BATCH
Once a truck arrives back at the plant, how quickly are you getting that truck back on the next ticket? Additionally, once that ticket is printed, how quickly is that load being batched at the plant (assuming the plant is available to load)? Dispatchers and plant operators are masters in multi-tasking; however, it only takes a phone call, or, a similar instance in inject delay into this process. Pre-ticketing trucks prior to arrival is an option, however, plans change. The plant can also utilize “freewheeling” to accelerate plant throughput and enhance your concrete production KPIs. Once again, it is important to establish a baseline utilizing historical data to best understand what is occurring in your processes.
Mastering your dispatch to batch process will reward you both monetarily and operationally, giving your team valuable insights about how well you are performing while driving more dollars to your bottom line. This can be accomplished without negatively impacting service levels. In this complex environment, many producers are turning to tools which can further automate these processes while balancing additional costs. Optimization combined with AI is the next step in the production evolution and it may not be as expensive as you may think.
Next month, we will discuss operations in an optimized dispatch environment.