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in this issue
· User Group Meeting a Success
· Innovations in Trucking: Creating a Safer
and More Efficient Industry
· FREE Webinar on Business Continuance
· Leadership Summit Hold the Dates
· Welcome Brandt Truck Lines
· Tip of the Month: Starting Background
Jobs
· Joe Paterno Obituary
· Calendar of Events
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Greetings!
Welcome to
the April 2006 edition of the CLI newsletter. The CLI family experienced a
tremendous loss this month with the passing of longtime employee and friend,
Joe Paterno. For over 20 years, Joe contributed to the organization and he
was one of the initial programmers who worked on developing CLI's operations
software. His obituary is below. We would like to thank all of you who sent
us e-mails with your condolences and memories of Joe. He truly touched many
lives and we have shared these remembrances with his family. Special thanks
also to customer ANC, Ltd. whose personnel traveled from the U.K. to attend the
services for Joe. He will be sorely missed.
Earlier
this month, CLI held its annual User Group meeting in White Plains, NY. The program was
very successful, well attended and highly rated by the participants.
"Once again," wrote one attendee, "the opportunity to meet and
network with other CLI customers is priceless." For a recap, please see
the article below. Also, note the "Save the Date" article regarding
CLI's Annual Leadership Summit. The program will be held on September 27 -
29, once again at the Tarrytown House and Estate in Tarrytown, NY. The theme of the
event this year will be "Innovation."
Speaking of
innovation, our guest article comes from a company that has created a product
that will make the transportation industry safer and more efficient. We
thought you'd want to learn about this, so we have included this article from
SwitchQuick.
Ever think about
how much money you would lose if your computer system went down? CLI is
hosting a Webinar on May 2 from 1:00 to 1:45 pm EDT on the topic of Disaster Recovery/Business
Continuance. This educational event is FREE and open to CLI customers and
non-customers alike. The program is a must-attend for transportation
professionals who should think about the ramifications of having every level
of your business cease to operate. Take 45 minutes now to learn and reduce
your risk of facing financial disaster later. Simply e-mail Craig Lis at clis@carrierlogistics.com
to register.
Finally,
CLI welcomes new client Brandt Truck Lines to our ever-growing list of
companies who have chosen the FACTS™ system. Please see the article below
about Brandt. Last but not least, check out the always-popular "Tip of
the Month." This month we look at running Background Jobs.
Enjoy the
issue.
User
Group Meeting a Success 
For two
days, CLI customers from across the U.S. and Canada came together in New York for training
sessions, discussions and lively interaction. The program, held at the Crowne Plaza hotel, covered a
wide range of topics related to CLI's FACTS™ system. There were general
sessions, roundtables on industry-related issues and breakouts divided into
either administration or operations. Topics covered included Call Logging,
Mapping and Density, Rating, Auditing Techniques and Web Functionality. A
highlight of the program was the concurrent tracks on the new GUI or
Windows-based versions of FACTS™. The administrative session featured an
unveiling of actual views while the operations session asked the participants
for their input into what they would like to see CLI develop.
"I
always take home some pieces of new information from each session I
attend," said Sandra Shott, billing manager, Gardewine North. "It's
very useful."
In addition
to how important and valuable the sessions are, the networking between
participants is another significant benefit of attending. "What I liked
best about the event," said Dave Huff, manager of customer
administration, Standard Forwarding, "was the interaction with CLI
personnel and peers in the industry." Interactive sessions also allowed
attendees to exchange ideas, which proved to be of great value to all.
CLI would
like to thank all of the participants who took time out to attend the free
event and we look forward to hosting another User Group meeting again next
spring. Look for future newsletters for dates and location.
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Innovations in
Trucking: Creating a Safer and More Efficient Industry
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 By Josie Heskje, SwitchQuick
As a
carrier, if you were told there was a way to save $6.2 million in labor,
annually, would that pique your interest? New innovations in the industry
are making trucking safer and more efficient every day. Those companies
that embrace innovation often win new business, leaving the competition far
behind. Today, a solution now exists for reducing a two trailer and dolly
hook and drop operation by 33%, providing numerous additional benefits to
LTL carriers.
Day in
and day out, the transportation industry uses 750,000 two trailer sets with
converter dollys. Some states even allow the use of three trailer sets on
freeways. The current process for hooking and dropping trailers (an
operation performed 2.3 million times annually) has 49 steps, consuming an
average of 32 minutes each time and causing the driver to exit and enter
the cab 11 times. Did you know that this activity (exiting and entering the
cab) is the overall highest injury incident activity in the trucking
industry? Additionally, at LTL freight terminal operations, manually moving
dollys is the number one injury incidence activity.
Many
carriers choose 53' trailers over 28' trailers due to the cost and risk of
injury during the process of dropping and hooking trailers. But should LTL
carriers move freight on 28' trailer tandems or 53' vans? Carriers must
consider all of the benefits and drawbacks when deciding whether to use
tandems or vans in their line haul operation.
A device
that may impact a carrier's decision on whether or not to run tandems or
vans, one that actually can save a carrier $6.2 million in annual labor
savings, has recently hit the market. SwitchQuick® offers LTL carriers a
safer method of switching trailers by preventing the dolly from
articulating when a tractor, trailer(s) and dolly are moved in a reverse
direction.
SwitchQuick
is a patent pending device installed on the dolly in either a single or
double strut application. The SwitchQuick application prevents the dolly
from articulating by bracing one or two struts from the dolly against the
lead trailer with the struts extended. The time that it takes to engage and
disengage SwitchQuick, single or double strut applications, will reduce the
time it takes to hook and drop trailers. Both applications can save
carriers one-third of their current labor costs associated with switching.
SwitchQuick
can also dramatically impact drivers' injuries as the trips a driver must
make in and out of the tractor while switching are reduced by 50%, and the
driver handles the dolly only once. Yard congestion can be reduced,
gas-guzzling, tractor-idling time is reduced, and "dark"
terminals no longer hold the peril they once did for drivers dropping and
hooking. P+D efficiencies can also be created with SwitchQuick.
If one
takes the time to learn about new innovations in trucking, they will
discover a great opportunity for carriers to conserve fuel, create operational
efficiencies, and provide a safer work environment. Carriers running 28'
trailers likely have already answered the question, "Tandems or
Vans" as well as whether or not they'd like to save millions of
dollars in new efficiencies. The question now for carriers running tandems
is "single or double strut?"
For
more information on SwitchQuick, visit www.switchquick.com, or visit them
at the NASSTRAC show in Orlando at booth 307 from
4/30-5/3.
For more information on
SwitchQuick, click here »
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FREE Webinar on
Business Continuance
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 Find Out the Real Cost of Downtime
How
many customers would you lose if your system went down? In today's changing
world, the need for disaster recovery/business continuity (DR/BC) planning
has never been more important. Problems such as equipment failure, broad
power outages, natural disasters, computer viruses, theft, hackers or
terrorist activity can create tremendous downtime and loss of revenue. In
the face of a disaster, you need to ensure your business-critical
applications will perform as required to keep you in business.
Think
about how dependent, as a transportation company, you are on your technology.
If your system went down, every level of your organization would cease to
operate. And as minutes turn to hours, can you even comprehend the loss of
revenue, the lack of productivity and the damage to your reputation?
Please
join Carrier Logistics, along with NaviSite and Progress Software, for a
discussion of the best practices in implementing a disaster
recovery/business continuance solution.
This
Webinar will provide you with:
1) An
overview of the important considerations in developing a practical DR/BC
plan
2) Details on the most common challenges and how to overcome them
3) Practical elements, case studies and return-on-investment
insights
4) Q&A with DR/BC industry experts
Remember,
time IS money. The high cost of business downtime goes beyond lost sales.
Failure to perform can lead to contractual penalties. Customers who choose
an alternate carrier may never come back - and even if they do, your cost
of business can increase due to a new competitive mix. If records such as
invoices are lost, you lose revenue on delivered products and services.
Attend
this FREE Webinar to learn what you need to know about a Business
Continuance plan. Learn now...or pay later. To register, please reply to
this e-mail or send an e-mail to clis@carrierlogistics.com
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Leadership Summit Hold the Dates
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 It used to be quality. Then it was knowledge
management. Next came employee engagement. What's tomorrow's big trend in
big business? According to experts, it's creativity and innovation -- how
can your business do what it does in new and interesting ways to catapult
your services to the top of the competitive pile? Find out at CLI's
Leadership Summit.
The
Annual Summit will be held September 27 - 29 once again at the exclusive
Tarrytown House Estate in Tarrytown, NY. This
by-invitation-only educational event brings together top executives from
LTL and courier companies from around the world. The theme this year is
"The Power of Innovation" and there will be a strong educational
emphasis on using innovative thinking to grow your business. There will be
keynotes, interactive workshops and lively roundtable discussions on
critical industry topics. Once again it promises to be three days of
learning, idea exchanging and networking.
The
stunning Tarrytown House is located in the heart of the Historic Hudson Valley. Daily sessions
will be held in state-of-the-art meeting rooms, while evening events will
take place in magnificent parlors and staterooms in the property's two lush
1800s mansions. First-class service and elegant accommodations truly make
this a desirable destination.
The
program will begin Wednesday, September 27 with an opening evening
reception and wrap on Friday, September 29 with a closing lunch. We've secured
special weekend rates if you wish to stay and explore the local area or
nearby New York City, which is just 30
minutes away.
Please
remember that if you are invited to attend this program, you should RSVP as
soon as possible. Last year's event was at capacity and we fully expect
this program to be oversubscribed. Finally, bear in mind that all
registration and meeting fees are sponsored by CLI. This program is FREE.
You are responsible only for your travel and hotel. To request an
invitation please send an e-mail to Ken Weinberg at kweinberg@carrierlogistics.com.
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Welcome Brandt
Truck Lines
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 CLI welcomes its newest client Brandt Truck Lines.
Headquartered in Bloomington, IL, they've been
serving the Midwest since 1923. Team Brandt are specialists
in the LTL marketplace and they were recently selected Carrier of the Year
by Agri-Fab, Inc. in recognition of the contributions of their management
and employees. Their tagline, "Providing Superior Customer Service
through the Latest Technology," clearly shows why they chose CLI and
the FACTS™ system.
A motto
at Brandt is "Teamwork is what it is all about." We echo that
sentiment and look forward to teaming up with Brandt to provide excellent
customer service to their shippers.
Welcome
Brandt.
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Tip of the
Month: Starting Background Jobs
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 Reference Code: Background Jobs
Background
Jobs refers to the process that continuously updates Global Views and the
totals on these screens as well as running Stacker Jobs that may
automatically be generating reports. The startup for Background Jobs is found
at ob # 92 Background Jobs Control.
If there
are Stacker Jobs set to run in the background, the list of active Stacker
Jobs will be displayed as well. To start or restart any Background Job,
first select option # 2) Stop All Background Jobs. This is done in
case part of the process is still running in the operating system. After
all Background Jobs have been stopped, choose # 1) Start/Change
Background Jobs. Scroll up or down to highlight a job and press enter
to start that job. The status should change from OFF to CHANGED. Repeat
this process to select all the Background Jobs that you wish to start
(remember every time you enter the option to start one, you must stop all
running ones first). When you are done, press F1 to restart the job(s). There
will be a message stating the Background Job started successfully (E.g.,
Background Process started successfully. PID = 29056).
To view
the status of any Background Job, choose option # 3) Display Status of
Background Jobs. The display will show what user started the last
session and when, as well as the last time any of the jobs ran its intended
function. For Global Views, it would display the last time the view was
refreshed. The display will also show if the process is running,
initializing or idle. Running would indicate that a process is currently
being run while Idle would describe jobs that have been started, but are
not in action at the moment. Initializing means that the Background Jobs
are in the process of starting up. If the job did not start successfully,
there will be a message "The Background Job is not running." You
can print a report for the last run of Background Jobs by choosing option #
4) Print Last Run of Background Reports.
If you
would like to respond to the Tip of the Week or you require additional
information, please send an e-mail to
Training@carrierlogistics.com.
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Joe Paterno
Obituary
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 Joseph M. Paterno, a long-time senior transportation consultant
at Carrier Logistics Inc. (CLI), died Tuesday, April 18 at St. Joseph Hospital in Wayne, N.J. after a brief
illness. He was 56 years old.
Joe spent
over 20 years as an expert in the transportation systems industry and spent
much of his career as senior systems analyst and programmer creating
operational software at CLI in Tarrytown, N.Y. Before joining
CLI, Joe worked at Oneida Freight Lines, a trucking company.
"Joe's
background was in trucking which is what made him so valuable. He knew his
way around a trucking company so he could create software that was
user-friendly," says Ken Weinberg, vice president of CLI.
Joe was
born in Lyndhurst, N.J. and moved to Wayne in 1978. He
graduated from Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, N.J. in 1968, and
pursued studies at Villanova University.
Weinberg
remembers, "Joe was well known for his spirited personality and
insightful thinking throughout the transportation community. He will be
missed by many."
Funeral
services were held April 20 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, Wayne, N.J. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington.
The
family asked that in lieu of flowers memorial donations be made to Eva's
Kitchen, 392 Main Street, Paterson, N.J. 07505.
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Calendar of
Events
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Quick Links
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