Bruce Outridge

Trucking in the Caribbean

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Bruce

How many miles can you run on an island that is only 23 miles long? Long haul has a whole new meaning with that perspective. As a veteran of the transportation industry here in Canada covering many areas from owner operator to fleet supervisor I can officially say that trucking is in my blood. Even though I know longer drive trucks they still catch my eye on the road, I will always loved the so called “Large car” and I still believe transportation is one of the best industries to be a part of. So when I am on vacation or out of the country on business I have a habit of still keeping an eye on the industry and how it is done elsewhere. Recently my wife and I were on vacation in Barbados in the West Indies. The island is beautiful with some of the friendliest people on the planet and a society known for being well educated. We had been to the island many times before but this time was the longest we were staying on the island and so I had hoped we would get to see more trucks than in the past.

With an island only 23 miles long and the largest road on the island, the main highway that covers the island is the same width as one of our small city streets, no large Interstates on this island, so naturally vehicles are shorter and smaller in scale. They also drive on the opposite side of the road to North America making it seem quite odd when they turn corners. Although they drive on the opposite side of the road many of the units on the island come from North America. I believe I recognized my old International Eagle cabover while I was there and Frieghtliner and Kenworth all have a presence on the island. I met many Canadians and people from Europe on the island as it is a popular vacation spot for both countries and those that were involved in transportation in one form or another all said the same thing, “They would not get away with that back home.” What we were referring to were safety violations that seemed apparent everywhere. Due to the island’s size there are not a lot of large trucks on the road. In the four weeks we were there I saw a total of ten tractor trailers and most were bobtailing. Most trailers are pup trailers as the roads aren’t wide enough for anything full size with the largest being a 45 foot trailer. Companies that deliver fuel, propane, or similar products all run pup units. The tractors that I saw were all class 8 units but you can see that everything is second hand. Everything is shipped onto the island so I am assuming that trucks are ordered as required from North America or bought through resale avenues to the island. Since the island isn’t set up for long haul trucking the trucks that are available spend much of their time delivering product from the shipyard to the stores. Container trailers are abundant and are really the only trailer I saw the whole time on the island with the exception of fuel trucks. All other trucks are mostly straight trucks in various sizes used by locals to haul everything from pipes to produce. Many haul the workers in the back as well.

Maintenance had to be the biggest thing I noticed while on the island. There obviously isn’t any regulatory body watching the transportation industry. Everything from buses to trucks, to cars have items like taillights out, parts missing, and smoke worst than any city bus around in North America. Mud flaps are apparently hard to get as I noticed many units without them, I even saw one tractor trailer unit that had the side vent missing on the sleeper among other items missing. There are no inspectors on the island, in-fact Police are scarce enough and certainly there isn’t any inspection stations or weigh scales conducting safety checks on transport vehicles. That being said I saw very few accidents on the island and although people drive a little faster and seemingly wilder than here they seem to have a synergy that North Americans miss. Here we all seem to be out for ourselves, but on the island they share the road much better. If they are stopped or even driving for that matter they don’t block an entrance pretending they don’t see the other car, they always let people out and pedestrians no matter where they are have the right of way.

One of the big areas of difference between North America and the island were the way people use their horns. Many use their horn to say hello, how are you, let the other person go first, or let pedestrians across the street. Here in North America people use their horns to tell people off. I never use my horn unless needed so I found the whole ritual of honking for the heck of it refreshing in a way. In all the island is a great place to vacation and the people were excellent. Trucking there however is another issue. As much as we hate all the regulations in the transportation industry I think we are in a good place. Being on the island reminded me of North America 25-35 years ago. It may have been more fun, but not necessarily more safe.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a transportation consultant with over 30 years experience and is the author of the book “Running By The Mile.” For more information on Bruce and his work please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

flatbed straight truck — Trucking in the Caribbean

Happy Holidays

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Bruce

Happy Holidays

How Are You Building Your Business?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Bruce

4 Comments

I have been building our business in a certain way since we started back in 2006, whether it has been due to past life experiences or due to goals for the future I have stuck to a certain track for success. Some may not even call it success if you are basing success on the amount of millions in my bank account or how much new business has been brought on each year. When I left a stressful situation with a previous employer I started making a list in my mind as to the type of business I wanted as an owner. A few things came to mind directly, I didn’t want a company with many employees to watch over, I didn’t want a brick and mortar structure that kept me tied to a certain location, and I wanted technology to work for me so we could operate the business from anywhere. Over the years those things may or may not have gotten in the way of our success. I have had to turn down invitations that may have made good financial decisions but sacrificed the other goals I had for our business. I have had to work a little harder to build the company in line with our goals and beliefs as it meant choosing between financial and time opportunities. It has meant becoming my own university and learning from the people who’s career I admire. I am proud of the business we have built and continue to build.

I just began to read the book by Brett Wilson of television’s famed Dragons’ Den. His book “Redefining Success” talks in the first chapter about knowing what success is for yourself and your own business and not following opportunities that you don’t believe in. He has learned the hard way through the loss of health and family to learn what is really important. So how are you building your business? Are you building it blindly with no track for success whether it is monetary or otherwise? How will you know when you arrive at that point, will it take years or can you track it as you go? Being able to track your success as you go in both time and money is the best way to build the business. This way you see the rewards as you go and it will keep you motivated to move forward. It can also help you tell if the business is running you instead of you running the business. Are you working twenty-four seven with no family time or time for yourself, or are spending the days doing as you wish? These are questions you should be asking yourself as you move into the next year of business. Where are you now and where are you going? I can successfully say we have achieved our goals this year, the company is up in revenue, and I am currently writing you this blog from a month long stay in the Caribbean. So my question to you is did you hit your goals this year, if not maybe you’re on the wrong track?

Happy Holidays

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant in the transportation industry and the arts. He is the author of the books “Running By The Mile” and “How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps.” For more information on Bruce and his work please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

There is Nothing like the Beginning of the Year for a Fresh Start

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Bruce

1 Comment

It doesn’t matter whether you had a good year or a bad year in business things can always be improved for the better. If things have gone well this year you may want to look at how you can increase profits for next year. If you have had a bad year and seemed to be struggling along then you need to look at what you can improve for next year that will make it better for you and give you the upper hand you are looking for. Business is hard and I don’t think any of us get into it to fail or struggle. In fact I bet that every one of us have the dream of creating something exciting and making big money while we live a great life. Once you have been in business however you will realize that dream may be just that, a dream. Without the hard work, without the dedication, and without managing and researching the industry you’re in you will have a hard time realizing that dream. As a business consultant I have seen some business owners that just don’t get it, they say they’re investigating getting into business so they spend time going to events, they look for free information, and spend time asking questions, but in the end turn around and do the exact opposite of what they learned. I believe this is because they are taking in the information, but then don’t have the knowledge base of the business to make sensible decisions. When you go opposite of the information given to you from people who know the industry you are not listening very well.

So if you have been in this situation or you need to improve as we all do then the beginning of the year is a great time to start. Just wipe the slate clean, collect all your data from this year and lock yourself in a room for a couple of days and evaluate your numbers. People laugh when I tell them that our business has an Annual General meeting each December when they know it is just the two of us in the company. The meeting is in depth, lasts about five hours and covers every aspect of our business from marketing to finance. We schedule it every year around the end of December because that is a quiet time for us and since our year end is in October it gives me time to gather numbers and finalize reports. It may sound foolish to some but our business has been growing every year out of the gate and continues to do so. We know where we need to improve and each year we focus on improving one part of our business. This is where many business owners go wrong, they try to fix everything at once like a television show. Focus on one area like improving sales this year, improving cash flow next year, maybe the third year you try to reduce interest charges and so on. One year our whole focus was streamlining our bookkeeping to make sure we were up to date at all times. It vastly improved our business just improving that one item. So if you have been struggling or are looking to improve your business as a whole, use the beginning of the year wisely, use it as a fresh start.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant with over 30 years experience in the transportation industry. He is the author of the book “Running By The Mile” and “How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps.” For more information on Bruce’s work please visit his website at www.outridge.ca