Do We Ask Enough Questions?

There is a particular balance in managing people, assets, and processes that I think many professionals overlook or simply don't recognize. That balance is understanding what we know versus what we need to know. There is also a related challenge recognizing what we know versus what we think we know. Let me explain.


Years ago I was in a position working to improve efficiency and develop fleet processes for our organization. One department involved a group of drivers delivering products to various locations as needed. This was not a regularly scheduled routing process, but a variable mix of locations that we served and traveled to when called upon. Some quick observations showed a few facts that I though seemed unusual. Various drivers assigned to drive to these locations as available and needed all seemed to have widely varying times for the same routes. Their manager thought it perfectly normal that despite these widely varying times all the drivers seemed to end their day at the exact same time every day. He attributed it to his drivers and scheduler being so efficient that they all completed their day within minutes of their scheduled ending time.

Being somewhat cynical at times, I wasn't as convinced of our proficiency as my fellow manager. We ran a trial using telematics without making it known to our drivers to get a real feel for what was happening. The results were stunning. Our vehicles were found at casinos for hours in the afternoons, were used to pick up personal construction materials at the local home improvement store before returning to work after deliveries were done, or simply parked in customer parking lots while drivers napped and the clock ticked towards closing time. The drivers were managing their day based on end time rather than the scheduler managing the day based on miles and routes.

What we knew, what we thought we knew, and what we needed to know were three very different things that were impacting our business significantly. We discovered through some further investigation that we could actually schedule regular trips in place of the "on call" system in place, allowing us control of the delivery scheduling process. We also discovered that GPS and telematics, including geofencing was an invaluable tool for our organization. Combined with some effective policies and awareness, we reduced costs and delivery times dramatically.

Ask questions. Ask more questions. Find out what you need to know. Find out what you think you know that isn't accurate. Find out what you know that is accurate. When you think you are done, ask more questions about what the results and what others know. Never stop asking questions. It is amazing what we can learn.