Tough Call...What Would You Do?

He probably doesn't have any straps or ratchets to secure the trainee, or anything to make a harness out of, other than a handful of bungees. Plus, Daniel B. has not been through securement training, so he might not know where to pop out the rivets on the bulkhead so he can hook the straps and ratchets.

You forgot the part about ignoring the screaming and crying. Should not need any securement as there is supposed to be a catwalk on the frame of the truck and the side fairings should be enough to keep him from falling off if his reaction time is good. Corners might be a little fun though... Now you see him, now you don't.

Excellent points my fellow skateboarders!

Ok I got it:

Strap your student to the reefer with a makeshift harness, a toolbox and a new water pump. Proceed to drive as he works frantically to fix it. Check your mirrors constantly to ensure he doesn't fall or drop anything, and periodically yell at him out your window, "20 minutes left!" "10 more minutes!" Etc.

When you arrive, if your student is worth his salt, the pump should be fixed, with temp back to normal. Act as if nothing has happened and continue on with your day.

PC, the only problem with this is that we're talking about a reefer driver here. He probably doesn't have any straps or ratchets to secure the trainee, or anything to make a harness out of, other than a handful of bungees. Plus, Daniel B. has not been through securement training, so he might not know where to pop out the rivets on the bulkhead so he can hook the straps and ratchets.

On the other hand, it is a short trip, so he could just risk it and use the bungees.

He probably had his wife sneak them from Old School's headache rack while he wasn't looking.

There are a few things that you needed to know to make a better educated guess. First nothing goes the way it's planned. Including but not limited to equipment failures. It's happens all the time. Secondly Walmart is very strict about instructions for products. If it does not meet their approval then you are turned away. This and perhaps the most important part... the refer trailer itself.

First thing I would do if I was in the same exactly scenario again would be first to call my dispatcher and explain what is happening and what the mechanic told me while I was heading to Walmart. If you wait and extra 2 hours at the truck stop with the refer Shutdown for 2 hours the load is gone. It's a major claim. Not your fault but a claim nonetheless. So now the only thing to do is hope Walmart will accept the load.

The temperature is 5 degrees out of scope. The last thing you want to do is open the doors and check the load. It would quickly turn 70 degrees in there cause you just let out the cold air. Remember the refer failure is not your fault but you can at least try your best and save the load if you can. 42 degrees is the ambient air temp inside the trailer but on the outside of the boxes that is hold the said yogurt about to go bad. Poor yogurt. Refer trailers are extremely insulated and can hold temps for a long time. So there is still a chance something good might come from this situation.

Most if not all Walmart make you back the trailer in and drop it in a door. That means the doors have to be opened. Now the next part will completely be luck. Hopefully you will get an incompetent lumper that only want to get a check and will unload it. It's still going to be cold in the trailer even though the refer is not running. And it's very possible that he might believe it's set to cycle and it's in the off mode right now. But in either case the product is off the trailer.

Now Walmart may still refuse the load but since it on their dock they most likely will file a claim for it and insurance takes over at that point.

Now all that may have been a foolish dream.

So in closing, until you get a feel for certain things in trucking, your first point of contact is your DM/FM. There is not a whole lot that can be done at this point and you need/have to get direction from your company cause if you choose wrong you could be the proud owner of 38k lbs worth of spoiled yogurt. Always contact your DM if you're not sure!

Yogurt...even when fresh, it's already spoiled.

Great post...I live this "fun" most every day, only three zones of different temps. I average "1 alarm" every month and have a set procedure (check-down) that I follow when this happens. If I cannot clear the issue (alarm) and/or restart the unit, my first call is to Walmart

Completely and totally agree, let the DM do his or her job to support you and release you from the liability.

Yogurt...even when fresh, it's already spoiled.

Great post...I live this "fun" most every day, only three zones of different temps. I average "1 alarm" every month and have a set procedure (check-down) that I follow when this happens. If I cannot clear the issue (alarm) and/or restart the unit, my first call is to Walmart

Completely and totally agree, let the DM do his or her job to support you and release you from the liability.

sorry, somehow hit send..."first call is to Walmart" because they own the trailers (reefers) and I work on a Walmart dedicated grocery account. I then contact my DM just to keep them informed and they note it on my trip plan, so if there is a shift change while I am still out, the next DM knows what is happening.

And this is why I stopped pulling referrs!!!!! Daniel makes very valuable points here. If you do everything possible to safe the load you are well on the way to being a top driver to your DM which translates directly to better assignments=better paychecks.

Ok I got it:

Strap your student to the reefer with a makeshift harness, a toolbox and a new water pump. Proceed to drive as he works frantically to fix it. Check your mirrors constantly to ensure he doesn't fall or drop anything, and periodically yell at him out your window, "20 minutes left!" "10 more minutes!" Etc.

When you arrive, if your student is worth his salt, the pump should be fixed, with temp back to normal. Act as if nothing has happened and continue on with your day.

What he said.

I'm a little late to answer as Daniel Boone has aleasy answered, but I can tell you this. After 25 years in Construction I have always been taught to get the job done no matter what. I also don't assume I'm going to be told no, I make some one tell me no. Therefore walmart would have gotten 38k pounds of 42° yogurt. I would have called dispatch and explained what was going on as I was headed to wally world.

I'm a little late to answer as Daniel Boone has aleasy answered, but I can tell you this. After 25 years in Construction I have always been taught to get the job done no matter what. I also don't assume I'm going to be told no, I make some one tell me no. Therefore walmart would have gotten 38k pounds of 42° yogurt. I would have called dispatch and explained what was going on as I was headed to wally world.

Call your DM asap. You are still going to have to get the reefer repaired, regardless if Walmart dumps it or not. I'd rather it be dumped than be late for the next "tight" deadline. It's probably a foregone conclusion that the yogurt is not acceptable; but this is to be determined by Walmart, not the driver. It's that deadline after getting the reefer repaired that I'd be worried about. 2 hours is a long time. Let the DM give you support. The deadline at Walmart can't be adjusted and getting it fixed immediately will only have the yogurt get warmer inside; but the "tight deadline" might possibly be avoided.

Its always a good idea to reduce your personal liability when things go wrong, that's what managers are for. I would sometimes ask a managers advice even if I didnt really need to, just so if **** hits the fan I can say "I was just following orders". Maybe that's a little sleazy but it isn't dishonest or anything like that and with the state our economy is in, you have to look out for your own survival.