Heavy Duty Trucking, May 2019

HDT MAY 2019 60 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM SPONSORED BY When Carmen Transportation launched in 1985 it was a single customer dedicated hauler But the lessons learned have helped it grow into a wide ranging Canadian and cross border trucking operation President Vince Tarantini says the family owned company started out with a very demanding customer a large furniture manufacturer that had us delivering and installing office furniture for large corporate clients Each delivery was a huge project and we implemented processes to be on time and to maintain profitability while excelling at that service Since then weve adapted that approach to all the products we now haul which are typically commodities ranging from paper to toothpaste he continues And we still do work for the same customer we started with If you provide quality service you build lasting relationships with customers Carmen now runs nearly 100 tractors and over 250 trailers and offers a broad portfolio of services including local truckload cartage in Southern Ontario truckload service in Ontario Quebec and over the border to select states dedicated service and North American freight logistics management As our company has evolved weve created the processes necessary to run a more professional and efficient trucking operation Tarantini says We owe it to our customers and ourselves to get it right the first time For example Carmen has been well ahead of the curve in writing more fuelefficient tractor specs including automated transmissions anti idling devices and trailer side skirts It also uses aerodynamic trailer boat tails on its long haul crossborder equipment Tarantini says Carmens fuel sipping specs have shrunk the fleets carbon footprint significantly and offer fuel savings of over 12 Its important to keep our fleet up to date he continues We were early adopters of e logs to ensure hours of service are properly enforced and our drivers are properly rested behind the wheel We maintain real time communication with in cab technology and GPS positioning Tarantini kept Carmens drivers in mind when rolling out electronic logs He also saw quickly the operational advantages of going off paper logs I started to investigate e logs about 10 years ago My early days were spent as a driver so I wanted to know how using the devices would affect both customers and drivers We started to put them in nine years ago and have been U S compliant for eight years and now Canada will have its own ELD rule expected to take effect by end of 2019 Tarantini continues There was skepticism from our drivers but not resistance They know Im a realist and not going to implement technology that doesnt serve us or them He says the successful rollout ultimately came down to planning planning planning By the time I introduced it company wide it had been tested for six months On top of keeping the fleet compliant and its drivers rested Tarantini says electronic logging devices are a boon to operations The e log data increase visibility into freight moves for our office staff That helps them make better decisions for our business By seeing the actual hours of service available they could see that some of our customers had to be cut because they would not fit with their overall plan For example we gave up some reefer freight in favor of hauling produce Carmen is using other technology too to help it be engaged in a bigger part of the logistics chain For example satellite tracking of trailers allows everything from notifying shippers of trailers just sitting to sending them automated notifications on order status And its a value added service thats done without needing human intervention What you want to do is truly manage every service order not just get lost in administrative tasks He advises that when working with customers some of it comes down to educating them on load planning and visibility While we shouldnt be the last to know about issues we also want to make sure we dont pass problems onto our customers You want to share visibility Tarantini adds Somebody somewhere knows something so you want to pass that information along to benefit everyone What you see is what you can build on Vince Tarantini President Carmen Transportation Toronto Ontario By seeing the actual hours of service available they could see that some of our customers had to be cut because they would not fit with their overall plan Vince Tarantini