Railcrew
Xpress
Part Two
5 April
2014
Copyright
2014 – Unsafe At Any Speed & 470Media
In this installment on
our look inside RailcrewXpress, we are going to dive into the lack of
leadership in the company’s operation at Fremont,
Nebraska, as well as locations attached to
Fremont, those being Columbus, Nebraska
and Missouri Valley, Iowa.
Let’s first review
the Job Description of the Area / Location Manager position from the
RailcrewXpress web site:
“This position
is responsible for the overall performance of the location and/or area
assigned. The Area/Location Manager is
responsible for the recruiting, hiring, mentoring coaching and discipline for
all employees within the location.
Additionally, this position is responsible for maintaining positive and
professional relationship with the railroad management at the location. This position is responsible for the 24/7
service and coverage to RCX railroad clients.
Primary Job Responsibilities
·
Conducts regular observations to ensure proper
procedures are followed by drivers
·
Conducts pre-employment and all random drug and
alcohol tests, including mailing to lab
·
Responsible for initial investigation of
employee allegations. Coaching and
disciplining when applicable or escalating to HR.
·
Responsible to ensure all drivers are scheduled
and work within their Hours of Service (HOS)
·
Engages railroad to determine possible hub
closure due to weather conditions and keeps dispatch informed
·
Responsible for obtaining statements and
pictures of all accident incidents and forwarding to Risk Department
·
Direct employees that have been in accidents to
approved facilities or providers for Work Comp injuries/claims
·
Communicates with injured drivers to schedule
return to work
·
Reviews camera clips daily and provides coaching
regarding performance captured in the reviews
·
Conducts Job Fairs, interviews and hires for
Drivers, Lead Drivers and PDS’
·
Organizes and schedules all training facilities
and materials
·
Trains all newly hired starters
·
Conducts day 1 of driver training
·
Conducts ride-along evaluations
·
Provide supervision of all positions in location
·
Ensures all training documentation is completed
and submitted to the appropriate department
·
Mentor and coaches all positions within the
location
·
Responsible for disciplinary actions and terminations
with staff and providing documentation within 24-hours to HR.
·
Schedules and leads monthly employee meetings
·
Builds and manages all Professional Driver drive
time schedules and days off
·
Controls and submits all non-revenue payroll
adjustments
·
Update driver boards and keeps dispatch informed
of changes
·
Works directly with dispatch to cover road trips
·
Provides Worker Comp reporting to Risk
·
Fax all shift/MPV paperwork to appropriate
department
·
Works with railroad regarding reported Yard
Safety issues
·
Initiate approval from fleet for all vehicle
repairs
·
Responsible for scheduling and ensuring regular
maintenance and repair of all vehicles
in location
·
Arranges transport of all vehicles for repairs
and maintenance work
·
Regularly inspects vehicles to ensure all
documentation is current and present
·
Performs and submits monthly safety vehicle
inspections
·
Distribute payroll checks and other company
communications
·
Responsible for taking employee call-ins when
drivers can’t work
·
Maintain professional relationship with railroad
personnel
Secondary Job
Responsibilities
·
Shuttle applicants to mine sites where
applicable
·
Conducts ride-along evaluations of all drivers
Minimum Requirements
·
Current valid state issued Driver’s License
issued by the State of Residence
·
Employees can have no active warrants or
undisposed charges – felony or misdemeanors
·
Employees can’t have a felony conviction within
the past 7 years
·
Employees can’t have an incarceration, or
release within the past 5 years
·
No more than 2 non-violent class misdemeanors,
including DWI/DUI, within the previous 7 years
·
No record of Drug or Alcohol related
convictions, including SWI/DUI, within the previous 7 years
·
No more than 1 preventable accident in the last
3 years
·
No more than 1 moving violation within the last
3 years
Physical
Qualifications
·
Must be a minimum of 21 years of age
·
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
·
Position requires extended periods of time
sitting, usually driving
·
Employees must be able to meet the physical
requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act’s, Section 391.41
·
Pre-employment of drug and alcohol test must be
passed
·
Random drug and alcohol tests must be passed
·
Must submit to and pass a DOT Physical
examination when required due to job performance
Personal
Qualifications
·
Excellent interpersonal skills
·
Strong attention to detail
·
Strong organizational skills
·
Previous management experience preferred”
As
an individual who has held various leadership positions over the last 36 years,
I will do a review of the Fremont,
Nebraska Location Manager using
these “Primary Job Responsibilities” and observations over a two (2) day period:
·
Conducts regular
observations to ensure proper procedures are followed by drivers
This function is delegated to lead
drivers, and not done often, from what I observed and heard the lead driver and
other drivers.
·
Conducts pre-employment and
all random drug and alcohol tests, including mailing to lab
Conducted by the Location Manager, but
the delivery was delegated to the lead driver while taking the application on a
test drive. This opens the potential
for the test to be tampered with, or otherwise compromised.
·
Responsible for initial
investigation of employee allegations.
Coaching and disciplining when applicable or escalating to HR.
The Location Manager’s observed conduct,
asking a lead driver if an applicant had become his “bitch” does not qualify
her to hold this position, period.
·
Responsible to ensure all
drivers are scheduled and work within their Hours of Service (HOS)
Based upon comments from other drivers,
the Location Manager failed in insuring that HOS rules were being followed.
·
Engages railroad to
determine possible hub closure due to weather conditions and keeps dispatch
informed
No behaviors observed
·
Responsible for obtaining statements and pictures of
all accident incidents and forwarding to Risk Department
No behaviors observed
·
Direct employees that have
been in accidents to approved facilities or providers for Work Comp
injuries/claims
No behaviors observed
·
Communicates with injured
drivers to schedule return to work
No behaviors observed
·
Reviews camera clips daily
and provides coaching regarding performance captured in the reviews
Delegated to Lead Drivers or anyone who
has the log in and password to the site.
·
Conducts Job Fairs,
interviews and hires for Drivers, Lead Drivers and PDS’
No behaviors observed
·
Organizes and schedules all
training facilities and materials
No behaviors observed
·
Trains all newly hired
starters
No Observed Behavior
·
Conducts day 1 of driver
training
Location Manager escorted the new hire
to the Yard Office Conference Room, set up a laptop computer, DVD’s, and
instructed the new hire to watch all three DVD’s and let her know when the new
hire was done.
Laptop computer provided to the New Hire
had open access to the internet and any files on the computer.
New Hire could have easily accessed
e-mails and/or files which could contain confidential or personal information
(potential Identity Theft & PCI Compliance issues), which if the New Hire
accessed could expose the company to litigation and damage to the company’s
reputation.
Additionally, since the Location Manager
did not check up on the New Hire at any point during the time the New Hire was
to be watching the training DVD’s, she had no way of knowing if the New Hire
did view them, or if the New Hire accessed files on the computer, used the
internet, or just watched trains pass by through the window.
·
Conducts ride-along
evaluations
No Observed Behavior other than
delegating the New Hire to be observed by a Lead Driver, and Hourly Road Driver.
·
Provide supervision of all
positions in location
Only observed behavior of the Location
Manager is seeing her sit in a chair and talk about how much overtime she could
collect for doing nothing.
·
Ensures all training
documentation is completed and submitted to the appropriate department
Documents regarding the New Hire and his
training were more than likely falsified and submitted to the Lenexa, Kansas
company headquarters.
·
Mentor and coaches all positions
within the location
Only observed behavior of the Location
Manager is seeing her sit in a chair and talk about how much overtime she could
collect for doing nothing.
·
Responsible for disciplinary
actions and terminations with staff and providing documentation within 24-hours
to HR.
No observed behavior
·
Schedules and leads monthly
employee meetings
No observed behavior
·
Builds and manages all
Professional Driver drive time schedules and days off
No observed behavior
·
Controls and submits all non-revenue
payroll adjustments
No observed behavior
·
Update driver boards and
keeps dispatch informed of changes
No observed behavior – more than likely
delegated to the Starters
·
Works directly with dispatch
to cover road trips
No observed behavior
·
Provides Worker Comp
reporting to Risk
No observed behavior
·
Fax all shift/MPV paperwork
to appropriate department
No observed behavior
·
Works with railroad
regarding reported Yard Safety issues
No observed behavior
·
Initiate approval from fleet
for all vehicle repairs
No observed behavior – more than likely
delegated to Lead Drivers
·
Responsible for
scheduling and ensuring regular maintenance and repair of all vehicles in location
Delegated to Lead Drivers
·
Arranges
transport of all vehicles for repairs and maintenance work
Delegated to Lead Drivers
·
Regularly inspects vehicles to ensure all
documentation is current and present
No Observed Behavior
·
Performs and submits monthly safety vehicle
inspections
No Observed Behavior
·
Distribute payroll checks and other company
communications
No Behavior Observed
·
Responsible for taking employee call-ins when drivers
can’t work
No Observed Behavior
·
Maintain professional relationship with railroad
personnel
Her observed conduct, as previously
noted, shows she has no professionalism what so ever.
Overall Observations
The Location Manager in Fremont, Nebraska
has little, if any leadership skills. The
Location Manager mostly delegates tasks to others, and does little, if any
follow up. Conduct around employees is
not professional, in fact, some of the observed conduct could be in violation
of Federal and State laws. At most, this
Location Manager is in this location for four (4) hours, this is grossly
inadequate for a location of such size and importance to the contractor.
Recommendations
The Fremont,
Nebraska location is in need of a
qualified person in the leadership role of Location Manager.
Having a person with leadership and people skills
in the role of Location Manager in each and every location is vital.
Additionally, with the importance of Fremont,
Nebraska to the contractor, Union Pacific Railroad, as a crew change point, and
the additional traffic that will come through this facility due to the double
track project underway on the Blair Sub, it is vital the Location Manager be
there more than four (4) hours per week.
This Location Manager does not only lack the basic
leadership and person skills for this role, through her observed behavior, it
is clear that she is the root cause of the high turnover at this and other
locations she has responsibility over.
This is very clear in the conduct and personal
appearance of the employees at this location, both sorely lacking any level of
professionalism.
Additionally, the Location Manager’s behavior, plus
allowing a New Hire to free and open access on a company provided laptop, opens
up the company to the possibility of litigation from employees, the contractor,
and other parties.
In conclusion, it should be noted, that this is not
all The Location Manager’s fault.
Also at fault are the Individual or Individual(s)
that have charge of supervising this Location Manager.
To close this article
I would like to note that RailcrewXpress had someone with leadership skills,
that person being this article’s writer, and was that New Hire who observed the
Location Manager’s behaviors for two (2) days.
In Part Three, I will
give you a look at how safe your personal information is with this
company.
You will be quite
shocked at what was found.
“Railcrew
Xpress – Part Two” is copyrighted 2014 by Unsafe At Any Speed & 470Media
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One
last word, if you are considering applying for a driving job at this company,
do not waste your time, there are far better opportunities out there!
