Tech Is Game Changer for Shaw Industries’ Transport Division
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SHAW INDUSTRIES GROUP started its own private trucking operations around the time of its founding in 1967. Today, its Transport Division manages a U.S. trucking fleet that carries its products to customers throughout the country. Making more than 4,500 customer deliveries a day, Shaw has a robust network of more than 50 local and regional distribution centers and uses a combination of its private fleet and outside carriers to meet those logistical needs.
“We’ve found that the most effective approach for our operations is to use Shaw’s private fleet primarily for customer deliveries and leverage outside careers for deliveries between our facilities,” said Greg Whisenant, corporate risk – fleet services director at Shaw Industries.
The Shaw OTR Team operations have an excellent record for on-time delivery. “If a customer places their order at an independent flooring retailer before noon, within three or four days we are going to have that flooring at that dealer’s facility,” Whisenant noted.
The company is able to meet customer needs while offering an attractive work schedule for its drivers. “With the way we’ve set up our operations, typically, our drivers are home a lot more than those who drive with for-hire companies,” Whisenant added.
GAME-CHANGING TECH
Shaw’s transportation fleet uses front-facing cameras as well as cameras that provide views down the side of the truck. These are helpful from a liability standpoint; they provide visual evidence of who is at fault in the event an accident takes place.
Whisenant said cameras and video also have been a valuable tool in coaching drivers. “We can proactively see bad habits and bring them to a driver’s attention if they have recurring activity like following too closely or going over the speed limit. We can coach them and strive to prevent an accident from ever happening,” he said.
Looking ahead to future technology that will further enhance safety, Whisenant notes: “I think in the next several years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be able to read the other vehicles around a truck, and instead of allowing an accident to happen, it could even force both vehicles to go in a different direction.”
BUILDING THE WORKFORCE
Shaw’s driver turnover percentage is in the low teens thanks to the company’s local route opportunities, good pay and benefits, and Shaw’s policy of providing drivers with new trucks every three to five years. Managers at both the regional and local distribution centers know the drivers personally and work with them to create opportunities for growth and ensure Shaw is a great place to work.
But the company is always conscious of the need to recruit new drivers and will pay for associates in other parts of the business (for example, manufacturing) to go to CDL school and go through its driver training program if they want to pursue a new career and hit the road for Shaw.
Whisenant has also learned to talk about the job in ways that appeal to younger generations. “The technology we have in the truck is almost like playing video games; the Bendix system, for example, beeps if you are following someone too closely. So, I tell them it’s like playing a video game; if you can drive this truck and it doesn’t beep at you, you’re winning the game all day long.”
To keep its current drivers at the top of their game, Shaw takes advantage of GMTA’s educational programs like the roadside inspection seminars. “In addition to working with ATA at the national level, we’ve seen great value in working with GMTA for local support and education,” Whisenant said.
At a Glance Shaw
Industries’ Transport Division
Headquarters: Dalton, Georgia
Background: Founded in 1967 as a small carpet manufacturer. Owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 2002, the company is now a $7 billion global manufacturer and provider of carpet, hardwood, tile and stone, synthetic turf and other specialty products.
Trucks and trailers: 850 tractors and 3,000 trailers.
Drivers: Approximately 1,100, a small percentage being team drivers.
GMTA member: 22+ years
Why GMTA matters: “We appreciate all that GMTA does to support the trucking industry in Georgia. Given the scale of our operations in the state, we appreciate what the organization does to be the voice of the industry and address the opportunities and challenges that GMTA members have in common. In particular, I love that GMTA does roadside inspection seminars. We like to bring our employees to the Ringgold Scale House so they can experience what our drivers go through during a roadside inspection.”
Greg Whisenant, Shaw Industries, Corporate Risk – Fleet Services Director
