In this episode of the ELH Podcast I spend some time talking about the new health insurance program.  The name on the card is Cypress and they are the ones negotiating with individual providers to reduce the costs for both doctors and hospitals.  I know the roll-out of this new provider was a little bumpy.  I also know that it came out mid-year, but the savings possibilities for this program were so good for employees that I simply didn’t want to wait.  We have our agent actively engaged answering questions that employees may have about coverages and doctors.  If you have any questions please contact HR and they will get you in touch with the provider and get your questions answered.  The biggest complaint/rumor I’ve heard so far is that “my doctor is not in the network”.  Don’t worry, we can fix that – all it takes is a phone call and we’ll make that as soon as we hear the complaint.

The company picnic is coming up on September 9th.  Please come.  Please bring your kids, grandkids, step kids….all of your family.  We are going to make this a great time for family and we look forward to meeting you and getting to know your families a little better.  If you want to volunteer to help that day or have some suggestions for fun things to do, please contact Micelle O’Neal at [email protected].

Brandy Marino won the $50 for answering the trivia question first.  We had five people respond with the correct answer but Brandy was first.  Congratulations.

The next Team Call is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18th at 1300 EST.  Call in to 267-930-4000 and use PIN # 721-724-708# to get connected to the call.

Please contact me with any questions or feedback at [email protected] or via phone at 810-233-7331 ext 238.

This episode is a very good interview with our corporate sales VP, Bill Hall.  Bill works out of an office in Greenville, SC and supports all of the ELH divisions.  Bill can be reached via email at [email protected].  If you have any sales opportunities for the company that you think Bill could follow up on, please contact him.

A few announcement items: We're having driver appreciation cookouts at the Plymouth terminal on June 28th, the St Louis terminal on August 6th and the Burton terminal on August 14th.  If you'll be near one of these terminals on that day, please stop in for some lunch and let us show you how much we appreciate what you do.

Congratulations to Josh Gregus at the Burton garage, he was the first to contact me with the correct answer to the trivia question.  The answer to the question of "Who is our sister company in Dearborn", the answer is Hollingsworth Logistics Management.

The next team call is scheduled for July 18th at 1300.  Please call in at 267-930-4000 and use PIN: 721-724-708#.

Finally, the company picnic is being planned for September 9th.  We would love it if you can attend and bring kids, grand children, spouses, etc.  There will be a pig roast and catered meal with bounce houses, face painting, and other kids activities.  Folks are welcome to bring their own adult beverages if they wish.  Please plan to attend.

 

Please contact me at [email protected] with any feedback.

Kudos to Brandy Marino in payroll.  She has done such a great job taking on that very challenging role of getting everyone paid each week and I've heard several good comments over the last few weeks.  Well done and please keep up the good work, you are making a difference.

We are planning out first corporate picnic for Sunday, September 9th.  We haven't worked out all of the details just yet but we are going to have the picnic at a park between Flint and Plymouth and we will have a fully catered event featuring a roast pig and plenty of family friendly events like bounce houses, corn hole tournament, face painting, etc.  We'll give you more information as it becomes available but we sure hope you'll mark your calendar and plan to attend.

The next team call is scheduled for July 18th and 1300 EST and the call in number is 267-930-4000 PIN: 721-724-708#

The referenced based pricing program is going into effect for the health insurance program beginning July 1st.  If you have any questions about it, please reach out to me or HR and we'll gladly answer any questions you may have.  As always, please feel free to contact me with any input, suggestions, comments or podcast topics at 810-233-7331 ext 238 or via email at [email protected].

This is the Team Call for June.  Please send any feedback or question to me at 810-233-7331 ext 238 or via email at [email protected].

This episode is really pretty cool (not that the rest aren't -- Hahaha) but in this interview with Scott Weigers, Safety Director for Chieftain, he educates us about the new rule by FMCSA that went into effect on June 1st that gives drivers more flexibility in the use of the personal conveyance status on the driver log.  Overall, the ruling allows a driver to use the tractor, in some cases even while loaded, to log personal conveyance.  This can be especially useful when the driver is close to running out of hours.  Please listen and share the episode with other drivers.

The next Team Call is scheduled for Wednesday, June 13th at 1300 EST.  Call in to 267-930-4000 and use PIN code 721-724-708#.

As always, I'm still looking for feedback so please feel free to reach out to me at 810-233-7331 ext 238 or via email at [email protected].

In this episode I am introducing a new "feature" -- a trivia question with a cash reward for the right answer.  Call me or send me an email if you know the answer and I'll send you a crisp $20 bill!   There were some comments earlier this week about staying overnight in the Flint/Burton area so I talk a little about that.  The fact is, we'd prefer you stay in the Burton or Flint yard and take advantage of the showers in Burton -- I think it would be quieter than staying in a local truck stop.

I continue to ask for feedback in general.  We are specifically still working on the proposed pet policy and we are thinking about sponsoring a company picnic.  We'd like to hear your thoughts on both of these ideas.  Please remember, also, that we will have work during the July shutdown for those who handle Flint and Ft Wayne Truck & Bus lanes.  We won't keep you out for longer than a week but we do have work so please contact operations and let them know you are available.

The next Team Call is scheduled for Wednesday, June 13th at 1300 EST.  The call in number is 267-930-4000 and the PIN code is 721-724-708#.

As always, I can be reached at 810-233-7331 ext 238 or via email at [email protected].

This episode is our third corporate Team Call.  In this episode we talk a little about things coming up around the company -- the GM plant shutdown timing and the work we have available, the vendor discount program (our supplier code is 854284), the new reference-based pricing program we are implementing in July, we're looking for your ideas on our proposed new pet policy.

Please share this with others and if you have any feedback, please email me at [email protected] or call me at 810-233-7331 ext 238.

This episode doesn't really have a consistent theme, I'm kind of bouncing around to several different topics including the next Team Call, which is scheduled for next Wed., (5-16-18) at 1300 EST -- the call in number is 267-930-4000 and use PIN: 721-724-708# to join the call.  Also, NAL and TOP will be relocating to a new building in Madison Heights sometime over the next 60 days.  We haven't nailed down a final date yet because we're just getting the process started but we are working now to get the process rolling.

There is a major DOT enforcement effort rolling across the USA on June 5th through the 7th.  During this time they will be focusing in on ELDs so we need to be prepared by having everything we need in place and functioning correctly.  If you need help using the QualCom systems for logs, please reach out to someone in safety for a little refresher training please.  You'll have to listen to the episode to hear the safety metrics but there is a need for everyone to be checking lights and brakes -- mainly lights -- but our biggest failures are things we can easily review and correct so there really isn't a good excuse to not do it.

Please make sure you send me any feedback or questions you may have at [email protected] or feel free to stop by my office or call me at 810-233-7331 ext 238.  I know I'd love to hear from you with any questions or topics you'd like us to discuss.  Please share the podcast with others in the company to make sure everyone is up-to-speed witht he things going on and the improvements we are making.

There is a ton of stuff in this week's episode.  Obviously the big news of the day is the rate increases we were able to negotiate, OUTSIDE of our current contract, with our various customers, including GM.  There will be letters going out to everyone in the next few days talking about the details for the increases that will go into effect May 27th.  I also think it's important to know that we are doing the best we can to be open, honest and build trust throughout the company.  I got some feedback last week that basically said they didn't think the company was being honest and we didn't keep our promises.  I'd challenge anyone to show me an example of that but more importantly, I continue to work hard every day to make sure our communication is open and honest and that we deliver on our promises.

Our latest safety metrics are available and I spend a little time talking about how we can do better.  I especially need help from our owner operator groups to make sure they are doing proper pre- and post-trip inspections and keeping up on making sure the lights are working on their trucks and that brakes are adjusted properly.

We got some updated news that the GM Flint work schedule is being changed from 5 weeks of down time to just 4 weeks of downtime -- this is a very big improvement!  It's not quite enough so we continue to look for drivers who will commit to going out for a week at a time and running some freight.  We won't keep you out more than a week but we need some wheels to roll during that four week GM shutdown so please contact dispatch to confirm you are available.

As always, I can be reached at [email protected] or via phone at 810-233-7331 ext 238 with any questions, rumors to be dispelled, comments or really just anything else at all.

In this episode of the ELH podcast I am pleased to announce that we finally got some feedback for things to discuss on the podcast.  We received some feedback from two drivers; one had some questions/concerns about ELDs and the other had some good advice for other drivers to help them be safer and improve the overall working environment for others.  I interviewed Rob Rushlo from the safety department to address the question about the ELDs and his comments will be very helpful in improving your understanding of the QualCom systems.  We have an idea for getting more drivers involved in the monthly driver recruiting and retention meetings along with anything we can do to get drivers to help us with our overall safety program and I'm asking for your help in coming up with a good way to get this accomplished.  Finally, I spend a little time dispelling some of the rumors that I've heard floating around about freight lanes going away and new lanes being added.  Overall, this was a very fun and informative episode and I hope you'll share it with others.

As always, please provide any feedback you can directly to me at [email protected], via phone at 810-233-7331 ext 238 or through Michelle or the HR department.