Speaker: Lee A Rathbun, Operations Manager
Briefly explain your experience in the moving industry doing operational management.
Lee A Rathbun: My name is Lee Rap and I am applying to the operations manager position in regards to the moving industry. Uh I don't really have a lot of industry experience in that, but I do have eight years of final mile and logistical experience uh dealing with hiring drivers, training dot regulations, um working with the client, the customer, uh making sure that everything is run smoothly and on time. And that in my opinion, is a key part to the logistic part.
What is your process for building a great moving team but also keeping direct labor under control?
Lee A Rathbun: A great way to keep the team together is proper training, proper communication. And if they have information that needs to be known to the client to the customer, get that out to them as soon as possible. Uh, also on the reverse side, when you have information for them, get that information to them too, uh, make them part of the team, make them feel that they are, uh, included in the company that they are a valuable asset. Keep the business rolling. It's much more expensive to hire new people than it is to train the ones you already have. So in the beginning process, make sure you hire the right person, the right temperament and that way you can keep your team rolling and be profitable.
What's your process for training movers and drivers?
What's your process for handling claims?
Lee A Rathbun: I have worked with claims. Uh Pretty much my entire uh logistical experience. Um I had an incident with a, uh, a painting when I was with JB Hunt where a driver had inadvertently marked up by painting, uh taking something through the house. And I would, I called the, the homeowner right away, told them what happened, uh explain to them what our process was. They were actually able to give me the name of the painter who was in the local area and we were able to get the painter to come over, uh repair the damage. Uh Of course, we paid for it. They did not, and it was, uh taken care of. Uh, the homeowner was obviously upset with the, the initial uh damage, but we were able to take care of it and take, make sure that the, uh, the client was, was, was satisfied. Um In the other claims we've had scratches on floors, we've had scratches on furniture. Um Either the, we had, we had a, uh a craftsman on payroll that would actually come out to the house. Uh Do what was needed to be done, especially on the hardwood floors or marks on the walls, marks on the ceiling. Um, I was in open communication with the homeowner to make sure that we knew, uh, what our steps were, how they were gonna be handled if they had any questions. And that way we were able to calm them down, make sure that we were gonna handle the process and when everything was said and done, uh, it would look better than new and 98% of the time it did and the client was very so.
What's your process for fleet maintenance?
Lee A Rathbun: Well, fleet maintenance is one of the most important parts of this job keeping the truck on the road, um, is how we get paid. If we can't keep the truck on the road, then things don't get done. Uh, depending on the, the, the size of the fleet I've worked with up to 100 and 35 different or 100 and 35 trucks and we have processes for the A service and the B service. Um, I would do on the smaller fleets when I was working with 30 to 35 trucks. I would do a, uh, morning inspection. I would walk through, I'd make sure the dash was clean. I would check all the tires, make sure all the tread was good. Uh, no nails, et cetera. Uh, make sure the windshields were clean. Uh, if they had cracks, we'd get the, uh, some of the, some of them, uh, folks, some of the drivers were contract carriers. I made sure that they, uh, they got something done to protect the windshield. Um, also the, uh, the, the doors making sure those operated properly, uh, making sure the hinges work because if the door is busted and the door can't open or close. Uh, that truck is now out of service so we have to wait till it's completed, which might be a couple of days that's, uh, loss of revenue. So that, and, uh, the oil changes, uh, making like making sure the lights worked everything. Uh, so there would be no incidences. Uh, no, nothing would get pulled over, uh, by the, by the highway patrol. Uh, and, and keep our, uh, keep our drivers roll.
How do you effectively handle the scheduling and dispatch of crews daily?
Lee A Rathbun: I scheduled the crew anywhere from 2 to 3 days out on, uh, depending on what we had in regards to, uh, deliveries. Um, we had a program that we use that we could assign trucks to anywhere from, from 5 to 21 deliveries per day. And I would also work with the, uh, the drivers to make sure that they knew where they were going. Uh, you know, a lot of times, especially locally, uh, when there's construction, they say, oh, that, that's gonna take way too long or that area is closed, we never get through and we would reroute. Um, but I would always have open communication with the, with the drivers and the helpers to make sure that if there were instances on, uh, different situations, different areas that need to be addressed, uh, we would, we would work together, uh, but generally I would, I would absolutely have them, uh, ready for rolling at least a day to day and a half ahead of time. Uh, in case there was another one, another, uh, delivery that need to be inserted or picked up or, uh, you know, anything that we had to do that was out of the ordinary. Uh that way I had a ample opportunity to, to fix it and make sure that so we would uh not lose any time and get everything all road and deliver.
How do you handle inventory and equipment management?
Lee A Rathbun: So I've been working uh inventory for the past eight years. Um We would do cycle counts. Uh depending on the, the company that uh I work for. If we had uh warehouse management software installed, uh That way we would know where everything was within the warehouse. I worked in warehouses as small as 60,000 square feet and as high as, as 750,000. Uh it doesn't matter what size uh warehouse you have as long as you know where everything is, uh which is where I believe the warehouse management software is key. Uh That allows you to say, ok, uh This delivery is in this section, section one A uh it's going out Tuesday, let's get it staged and let's get it ready to, to get moved down. Then if there are instances where uh items were missing, we didn't know where they were. Uh at least we would have AAA heads up on where they began. Um And then we would actually do a, a physical cycle account and look for that item. Uh That way it's not gonna be missed and it'll be delivered on time.
What are 2 major things you do to promote safety?
Lee A Rathbun: Safety has always been a very important factor with me. I worked with OSHA, uh and the DN dot uh and have been hard with the drivers to make sure that they follow the regulations follow the rules, uh wearing gloves, wearing safety shoes, uh Majority of them wearing long pants, depending on what we were doing that day. Um uh Also uh weekly or biweekly training on safety, anything from lifting to uh opening boxes to maneuvering through a tight space. Um uh And then obviously when we had the uh COVID uh epidemic, uh working clean uh masks on uh making sure they weren't putting themselves in a position of, of being sick. Uh But safety and basically my entire uh process is communication because if you don't tell them, if you don't work with them, if you don't hear them, uh you don't know what the uh what the outcome could be. But if you train, um and that comes a lot from when I was in the, in the navy, we trained all the time. Uh It's a, it's a process that everyone should be well aware of. It's the number one thought uh wake up in the morning, go to work, go home. No one's here.
Why should we hire you?
Lee A Rathbun: The question is why should you hire me? Well, a, I've got experience b, I've got character, uh, one of my hobbies, if you wanna call it, that is, I'm a football and lacrosse referee for the past 18 years. Uh, what that brings to the table here is that I have been under a tremendous amount of stress with that. I've worked, uh, 25,000 seat stadiums. Uh, and when you hear 25,000 people booing you, uh, you better make sure you're right and you better make sure you don't crumble. Um, I also pull experience from the Navy because when you're out to sea, uh, you are the only people that can help save your ship and with the training and, and technique and learning from experienced people. Um, I have all that. Um, I'm not, I'm not new to this industry. Uh, I know how to talk to people. I know how to work with people. Um, and with that, I think, uh, when, if, and when you hire me, you're making a decision.
