{"id":4784,"date":"2020-03-25T16:47:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=4784"},"modified":"2020-03-25T16:47:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:47:03","slug":"working-through-covid-19-a-delivery-fleets-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/03\/25\/working-through-covid-19-a-delivery-fleets-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Working Through COVID-19: A Delivery Fleet\u2019s Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

Working Through COVID-19: A Delivery Fleet\u2019s Perspective<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

For the past couple of\u00a0weeks,\u00a0the same scene\u00a0has\u00a0played\u00a0out at a\u00a0delivery fleet\u2019s\u00a0warehouse\u00a0in Doral, Fla. Warehouse managers\u00a0inside of a building\u00a0look through a large window as the company\u2019s\u00a0fleet drivers walk up to the window to place a thermometer on their foreheads.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The warehouse managers are looking for higher-than-normal temperatures. If a driver shows any sign of a fever at all, that driver is told to go home, and won\u2019t work that day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the revolving scene that starts every morning at the central office\u00a0warehouse of Esquire Express\/Esquire Logistics, two\u00a0delivery companies that operates in\u00a0South Florida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Steve Howard\u00a0founded\u00a0and serves as president of\u00a0both companies. He founded\u00a0Esquire Express 30 years ago and Esquire Logistics 20 years ago. He\u00a0also serves as the president\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0Customized Logistics and Delivery Association board of directors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Checking every employee temperature\u00a0is only one of the policies that he and his company\u00a0added\u00a0into\u00a0its\u00a0operations.\u00a0But, to ensure the safety of his company and his drivers, Howard has instituted several\u00a0other\u00a0COVID-19 safety policies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the policies\u00a0that he\u2019s enacted throughout his companies\u00a0are not entirely new to him. One of his companies, Esquire Express,\u00a0has been delivering\u00a0lab specimens\u00a0to\u00a0hospitals\u00a0for most of its history, so there were already strict cleanliness standards\u00a0that company drivers had to follow\u00a0due to the nature of that work.\u00a0The knowledge and experience he had with that company helped in transitioning his entire company to these policies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Related: Register for a COVID-19 Focused Webinar Taking Place on March 26<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But other policies are brand new to him, as he\u2019s never really had to worry about a highly contagious virus\u00a0potentially affecting his fleet\u00a0before. These COVID-19 related policies\u00a0have been added on the fly, as\u00a0he, along with the rest of the world, learns new\u00a0information about the virus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a conversation with Howard, we learned about how his delivery companies have been affected by this outbreak, what he\u2019s done to protect his drivers, and the\u00a0new\u00a0challenges he\u2019s had to face.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Howard offered policies and practices that have worked for him, but he acknowledged that it\u2019s difficult to call\u00a0anything a definitive \u201cbest practice,\u201d as what\u2019s considered a best practice today could very well change tomorrow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Operations Have Changed as the COVID-19 Pandemic Evolves\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n
\"The<\/span>
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The warehouse where all of the products that will be delivered are stored. <\/span>Photo via Steve Howard.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Esquire Express delivers smaller packages, which includes hospital deliveries of things such as lab specimens. Esquire Logistics serves as the local delivery agents for multiple\u00a0e-commerce companies and warehouses product.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Combined, the companies offer various types of services that will be differently affected by the evolving COVID-19 situation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the fact that Esquire Express\u00a0has many hospital clients where drivers deliver vital lab specimens to its\u00a0clients, this is a part of the\u00a0business that could be\u00a0considered vital.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When we spoke to Howard,\u00a0Florida\u00a0was\u00a0considering shutting down non-essential businesses, so Howard, and the delivery association he\u2019s a board member of,\u00a0petitioned the\u00a0Florida governor\u2019s office\u00a0to\u00a0consider\u00a0businesses like his\u00a0an essential business because if he, and companies like his, aren\u2019t running, hospitals won\u2019t be able to test various lab specimens.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other side of his business delivers e-commerce products. Business has slowed down in this sector, and the expectation for Esquire Logistics is for\u00a0it to slow down even further in the coming weeks. On good days Howard’s\u00a0e-commerce\u00a0related company would deliver 20,000 square feet of product a day, that number has now fallen far short of that. Driver\u00a0schedules would often start at 7:30 a.m. and run until 7:30 p.m.; those schedules will still often start at 7:30 a.m. but now end closer to 3:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Much of the business that Esquire Logistics does on the e-commerce side is what is considered \u201cwhite glove\u201d service. This means the company\u2019s drivers go into a customer\u2019s house, unpacks the package (whatever it may be), and assembles it for the customer. They\u2019ll then receive a signature from the customer and then the driver leaves to the next stop. The products that these drivers deliver are typically large, bulky, equipment such as medical equipment for home use or furniture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/span>
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The inside of an\u00a0Esquire Logistics box truck filled with deliveries. These trucks go out with two-man teams inside, so the cab has two people sitting three\u00a0feet apart, making proper cleanliness policy that much more important.\u00a0<\/span>Photo via Steve Howard.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the time that we spoke\u00a0to Howard, his drivers were still going into people\u2019s home. They wore face masks, gloves, and booties, washed their hands after finishing the job, and pretty much took every precaution that they could to minimize possible exposure to anything.\u00a0But\u00a0Howard said that by March 23, his drivers wouldn\u2019t be going into people\u2019s homes anymore.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At that point\u00a0deliveries will be dropped off in front of customers’\u00a0residences. The drivers will take a picture of it to send to the customer and will give the customer a call to let him or her know that the package has been\u00a0delivered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, approximately 80% of the companies\u2019 business is being conducted like this, without person-to-person interaction, but there\u2019s still roughly 20% of his business that still requires person-to-person interaction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Much of this stems from\u00a0hospital clients.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Drivers still need to go into hospitals to deliver lab specimens and this is a big point of concern. Many of the hospitals that Esquire Express works with are the large public\u00a0hospitals where much of the region\u2019s COVID-19 testing is taking place. Hospitals are likely\u00a0quarantining\u00a0affected patients and trying their best to keep areas with high traffic inside the building clean, but there is\u00a0still the worry\u00a0about what\u00a0drivers might potentially be exposed to.\u00a0The fact that facemasks are in short supply adds to this worry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sourcing\u00a0facemasks has proved difficult and Howard’s supplies are running low.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The masks are what make me really, really, nervous,\u201d said Howard. \u201cI mean the hospitals that we work with, they can\u2019t get enough face masks for their staff, and when the hospitals can\u2019t get them, then where do we fall in the supply chain.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of his suppliers recently said he was going to receive a shipment of face masks in a week, but masks that used to cost three cents would\u00a0cost $1.50 per mask.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told him he had to be kidding me, and he told me ‘no, they\u2019re charging me a buck and a\u00a0quarter,\u00a0and I need to make a profit,’\u201d said Howard. “But, what do you do? Even at $1.50 a mask, which I\u2019m not happy about, and will try to negotiate down if there\u2019s any wiggle room, I need those masks on my people if they\u2019re going to be\u00a0making contact with\u00a0other people.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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How this Delivery Fleet Sanitizes Vehicle Interiors<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

There are several resources available with information about cleaning products\/solutions to properly disinfect surfaces against COVID-19, such as a list of COVID-19 fighting products available on the CDC\u2019s website, but the reality of the situation is that you have to use whatever you can get your hands on that will work.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fleet is\u00a0only\u00a0able to get chlorine in large volume, so that\u2019s what’s being used. The fleet uses that chlorine to make a diluted solution and then issues\u00a0all of\u00a0its drivers with spray bottles filled with this solution, along with paper towels, and trash bags.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All employees are asked to spray all surfaces in the vehicle\u2019s cab before they sit down. This does leave a strong residual chlorine smell, so the drivers are asked to run their windows down to let some of the smell out.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ensuring the Health and Safety of Drivers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

All Esquire Express\/Logistics drivers are required to call out of work\u00a0if they wake up in the morning and feel at all ill. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Howard is also ensuring every driver that their job isn\u2019t going to go anywhere if they call out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI tell them to take it day by day,\u201d said Howard. \u201cYour job is not going anywhere, especially right now that work has slowed\u00a0down\u00a0and I have like seven or eight trucks sitting idle right now.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So\u00a0far, a handful of drivers have called out to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As mentioned, taking everyone\u2019s temperature before they start their day is one preventive measure. Proper hand sanitization is another. Howard said that he\u2019s gone through more\u00a0soap,\u00a0hand sanitizer, and paper towels in these past few weeks than he normally goes through in a year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hand sanitizer is one item that has been in high demand that many other fleets have had trouble sourcing but Esquire Express and Esquire Logistics has nearly 1,000 in stock thanks to a promotion the companies were going to run prior to the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Esquire Express and Esquire Logistics drivers have also been directed to call customers prior to their deliveries, and if the customer sounds like they might be sick, to ask if anyone in the household is sick. If the customer answers yes, the driver then informs the customer that the central office will be calling the customer shortly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The central office will then call the customer and explain that the customer will need to wait at least 14 days from the time that the person in the household got sick before the product is delivered. Howard wants to ensure his driver\u2019s\u00a0safety\u00a0so he doesn\u2019t want to\u00a0take the risk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The onus, however, isn\u2019t on the driver to make the call, the central office takes that responsibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are situations when non-employees need to enter Esquire Logistics’ warehouse, those employees are required to follow the same process that employees follow, such as filling out out a health questionnaire\u00a0and\u00a0getting\u00a0their temperature taken.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A large part of Esquire Logistics\u2019 business revolves around reverse logistics \u2014 picking up an item from a customer\u2019s home that they\u2019re choosing to return to the sender.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Historically, drivers would pick up packages inside people’s homes\u00a0and then load the package into their\u00a0truck. The item would eventually reach the company\u2019s warehouse where it would be wrapped up and then shipped back to the supplier.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a recently implemented safety precaution, drivers aren\u2019t going into homes. If a customer has something that needs to be picked up, Esquire Logistics is asking the customers to leave the product outside their homes. A driver will then take a photo of the\u00a0product\u00a0and\u00a0call the customer to let them know they have the package.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Afterward, those items are completely sprayed down with a\u00a0chlorine solution\u00a0before they\u2019re put in the truck.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If the product is something that can\u2019t handle the chlorine spray, like furniture or\u00a0something\u00a0without a hard surface, then the driver won\u2019t load the package into the vehicle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m telling my drivers not to take it,\u201d said Howard. \u201cWe\u2019re being careful about what we\u2019re picking up. We\u2019re also asking customers right now to tell us specifically what we\u2019re picking up and how its packaged, we\u2019ll tell them if it’s something we\u2019re not going to pick up.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your fleet is interested in hearing\u00a0advice and guidance from fleet subject matter experts from Merchants Fleet and LeasePlan USA on topics such as\u00a0fleet best practices on vehicle sanitation, maintaining pool vehicles, should personal use vehicles still be allowed, and customer interaction, register for this Automotive Fleet webinar<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0sponsored by Verizon Connect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

by Eric Gandarilla<\/a><\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.automotive-fleet.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n