Agency..must try harder.

[Plastic chicken]

I'm sure this has been covered many times before, but I need to get this off my chest...

This morning I learned that my regular truck (12-plate Scania 18-tonner) had been on trunk last night to Manchester & back (to my yard in Glasgow)...driven by a new agency driver. Through the onboard computer menu you can access the 'driving score', which tells you how well you're doing re. economy, anticipation, braking, appropriate gears etc.

I'm achieving 80-85%..pretty good, considering much of my work is around town.

This guy managed 19%.

What the feck was he doing to my poor truck?!! I can clean up the food waste & fag ash..., but did he do the whole sodding trip in third gear?!!

My firm will assess full-time drivers on a regular basis; however, it seems that any old agency numpty can turn up & be given a shift. The other week we had a guy who had five easy drops to do; he managed two, & brought three back, claiming he couldn't find them.

Apologies to all decent agency drivers out there who actually give a damn, & who can properly drive the vehicles they are supposedly licensed to drive. Unfortunately there are those amongst you who are just after the quick buck, & who really just don't care.

I was agency 20 years ago; I did the best job I could, & was quickly offered full-time employment; I'm still with the same firm. I don't particularly enjoy the job anymore, but I still do the best job I can.

...And here endeth today's lecture.

[Digby]

It's a manual I take it? To be fair, I am the same as you with regards effort towards doing the best job I can (I was also kept on from an agency and have had several customers call in to ask for me to deliver again personally etc), but I just get out there and get on with it.I know what the truck is capable of, so I put it to good use.

Some of my friends who have had driver training with regards economy etc suggested you may aswell get out and walk, the drive is that...."girly".My vehicle gets a work out most days.I dread the day they swap my 'agricultural' leaf springed flatbed for something similar to the the auto trucks we have.The ride in those is like a Lincoln Continental in terms of comfort and handling and despite its size, mine feels like a Caterham in comparison.

Ironically, when mine and another similar truck at one of our other branches were fitted with one of those ozone friendly exhaust system jobbies, they kept on having issues with theirs where as I have never had a problem.Our transport manager suggested that revving the engine quite a lot during your working day was apparently the way to keep the system running as it should and error free and then laughed and said "I guess yours must be revved quite a lot then?!" He's not wrong.I'm far from being a dangerous risk taker, but I'm not one of those who sits at a roundabout for five minutes, either.

I guess what I am saying as that I make spirited progress and if my truck had a similar system in place, the results, on paper at least, would look quite horrific! On the other hand, I get the job done safely, quickly and accurately and they seem more concerened with that.

[Digby]

Meant to add, we have had dozens of agency drivers that you would never want to return, but also some real gems.Some of these drivers actually make more effort than some of our own guys! They are certainly not all bad.

[cossy400]

I had last week off work. Came in to find the agancy muppet had not only left my cab like a refuse drop in center, (crisp packets, chewing gum wrappers etc) upon doing my walk round i found a lovely foot long slash in my curtain. as it was dark i proceeded to write it in my defect book and make progress with my day.

Was nt until i stopped in daylight that i saw the gourge marks in the side bar and paint missing off the front of the cab.

Needless to say some more than strong words were used when i got back, as i wash it weekly and brush it out inside and wipe all the surfaces with anti bacterial wipes daily.

SCROATS!!

[Plastic chicken]

Yep, it's the 320hp engine, & the Scania 12-speed three over three pre-select 'box (flick switch on the gear lever & half-gear switch on the knob). Takes a bit of getting used to, as it complains if you try to change too quickly; also, changing from third to fourth is seemingly counter-intuitive. We rarely carry anything particularly heavy, so the power's a little underused: it was originally meant to be permanently towing a drag on trunk for a contract we don't have anymore.

The problem is that most people (including some of our own), don't know how to use it properly. Scania clutches can catch people out as well. When you are used to an auto, or a DAF straight-six, the Scania 'box is a complete mystery. I've offered to run through the basics with people, but most are too stubborn to admit that they don't know how to work it. And as they exit the yard, you can hear the crunching sound as they attempt to select first gear at 30mph...

[martin mrt]

Am I missing something, there's absolutely nothing difficult about the 3 over 3 Scania gearbox

[Humper]

martin mrt said:

Am I missing something, there's absolutely nothing difficult about the 3 over 3 Scania gearbox

Yep, now if it was an Eaton twin splitter...............

[philmots]

martin mrt said:

Am I missing something, there's absolutely nothing difficult about the 3 over 3 Scania gearbox

I'm pretty sure I'd not have a clue where to start!

We don't have any Scania on fleet. How's it set out?

[martin mrt]

philmots said:

martin mrt said:

Am I missing something, there's absolutely nothing difficult about the 3 over 3 Scania gearbox

I'm pretty sure I'd not have a clue where to start!

We don't have any Scania on fleet. How's it set out?

3 over 3 with switch at the front of the lever for hi-lo range change and one at the side for the splitter. Simple.

[jagracer]

martin mrt said:

Am I missing something, there's absolutely nothing difficult about the 3 over 3 Scania gearbox

Probably as simple as a Fuller Roadranger provided you've had someone explain it to you. If not then I suspect you'd be stumped if you are handed the keys by a manager that's driven nothing bigger than a Ford Focus and probably can't handle anything more technical than a telephone.

[Plastic chicken]

philmots said:

I'm pretty sure I'd not have a clue where to start!

We don't have any Scania on fleet. How's it set out?

There's a video on Youtube 'How to drive a manual truck' which explains it reasonably well.

Another thing that Scania have come up with in their wisdom is the clutch-saving mechanism. When you engage a gear at standstill you cannot rev the engine to build up a head of steam. You could plant your foot to the floor, but the engine will not rev beyond idling speed...a bit disconcerting if you're facing uphill. The mechanism will only allow the revs to increase at the clutch biting point, which is around the same time you think 'it's gonna stall & I'm gonna look like a plonker'...

My employer took delivery of two of these trucks in the summer, & we were just told 'there's your new truck, there's your run..get on with it & have a nice day..' No chance to experiment, see what all the switches do, or read the users' manual. I was OK, because I'd used the Scania 'box before..but not the clutch..