Hit my 500th site delivery this month, changed how I plan routes

I always thought I had a good system for scheduling material drops, just go by the contractor's start time. But when I logged delivery number 500 for the year in Tacoma, I looked back and saw 34 late arrivals that all came from skipping buffer time. A dispatcher friend showed me his spreadsheet with a 45 minute cushion built into every slot, and it cut his delays by half. I switched to that method last week and already noticed the difference in how crews react when the truck shows up on time. Anyone else track their delivery numbers and notice a pattern like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryk2819d ago

That 45 minute buffer thing makes so much sense. I had the same issue where I'd book jobs back to back and think I was being efficient, but one traffic snarl in Seattle would throw the whole day off. Seeing 34 late arrivals on paper must have stung, but at least now you know it wasn't a fluke. I started adding 30 minutes to every stop last fall and my guys stopped calling me asking where the truck was.

jake63818d ago

Wait, are you telling me there's dispatchers out there who actually learned this lesson without having to get screamed at by a customer first? That's honestly impressive. @terryk28, I feel like we all have that one week where everything falls apart and you stare at the numbers wondering if you're even in the right business, and 34 late arrivals is basically the universe telling you to slow down. I tried the whole "I'll just call ahead and explain" thing once and it worked for about two days, then the truck broke down and I was right back to square one. The buffer isn't just about traffic either, it's about the random stuff like a customer who wants to chat for ten minutes about their dog or a gate code that doesn't work. I'd rather have my guys sitting in a parking lot scrolling their phones than stressed out and rushing, because rushed work always comes back to bite you harder than a little idle time ever will.