Meet the OPS Team

The biggest asset of Paper Transport is its people. Today, we want to highlight the Operations team and the relationship between the Driver and the Driver manager, which is vital to making all we do possible.

Who are operations?

The Operations team is responsible for the timely execution and movement of our customer’s freight. This is a Human Resource intensive process that requires constant coordination teamwork and training.

The larger fleets consist of regional and home daily dedicated operations as well as Intermodal drayage, non-dedicated regional operations, and non-dedicated short-haul operations.?We also manage about 20 small, dedicated accounts ranging from 2 to 15 trucks.

Who makes up the OPS team?

The Midwest Fleet Operations is made up of 1 Director of Operations, 5 Operations Managers, 2 Senior Driver Managers, 2 Senior Planners, 5 Local Operation Managers, 13 Driver Managers, 12 Planners, 2 Interns, and 474 Drivers.

The Two sides of Operations

Driver Managers

The success of our operation begins with and hinges on our ability to successfully recruit, coach, mentor, and retain a team of professional truck drivers.?We approach this challenge with an established driver engagement program.?If you like to work in a fast-paced environment, have excellent soft skills, and enjoy the challenge of coaching and mentoring people, the Driver Manager role is for you!

• Operations introductory call with the candidate
• On-Boarding meeting with driver manager and Planner
• Assign driver mentor
• Daily engagement with driver manager to foster a positive working relationship – most important!
• 4-week questionnaire
• Monthly training modules sent to driver’s tablet
• Driver Scorecard to facilitate conversations with the driver based on KPIs
• Quarterly driver business and safety meetings
• ?Annual one-on-one reviews with driver

Pictured above is Montrell Edwards receiving his award for reaching his Million-mile milestone! He is joined by his driver managers Ryan Jasper (left) and Jacy Petersen (right) who shared their appreciation for Montrell.

Planning

The Planning team works closely with our customers to ensure we are exceeding their expectations.

Load selection is based on many factors including quality of revenue, length of haul, deadhead, and driver availability.?

An everyday challenge is to align the freight our customers need to be delivered while managing the position of our drivers/trucks to ensure they are set up to successfully execute freight demands over multiple days and geographic areas.

What are the characteristics of the Planning team?

Planning managers tend to be a bit on the analytical side and enjoy the challenge of putting together a plan that meets our customer expectations, generates revenue to meet the plan, enables the drivers to operate within “hours of service” regulations, and meets the driver's home-time requirements.

Each day the Planning Managers are presented with a new puzzle.?It is a challenging role that requires a great deal of patience and forethought.

Overall, this group of 514 people with varying responsibilities?work together as a team to safely execute freight movements according to our customer’s expectations.

Individual accountability and the willingness to help each other are the foundation of our current and future success.

About the Contributor

Mike Matzke, Director of Operations, started with Paper Transport in 2005 as Operations Manager and advanced to Director of Operations in 2018. As of August 2022, you can find him in his current position where he strives for excellence and is committed to the success of Paper Transport.

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