1. family and parenting
2. children

SOUTHEASTERN FREIGHT LINES
F O U R T H Q U A R T E R 2 0 14
Eagle Eye News
“The Best and the Biggest in the Sunbelt”
WHAT’S INSIDE
4
Javis Gore’s
50 Years of Service
5
Fleet Services Associate
of the Quarter
6
Jacksonville Open House
10
Living Our Culture
in Orlando
18
Quality in Action
22
Thanksgiving in Roanoke
Special Olympics Convoy
By Stephanie Cullum, Marketing Coordinator
T
he World’s Largest Truck
Convoy® for Special Olympics is
a fundraising event that provides
a unique opportunity for law
enforcement and the trucking industry to
partner together to change the lives of Special Olympic athletes, creating a sense of
teamwork in communities throughout the United States and Canada.
On Saturday, September 20, 2014, several of our P&D drivers from Columbia, SC,
volunteered to drive in the World’s Largest Truck Convoy®. Southeastern was wellrepresented, along with an army of other trucks and drivers who were escorted
across the highways of South Carolina by DOT officers to raise awareness and
funds for the Special Olympics.
Special Olympic athletes train in various sports throughout the year. Participation
is free to the athletes, so law enforcement and truckers help to provide funding
needed for them to participate.
The South Carolina Truck Convoy® had over 60 trucks and raised $16,350.00! H
Special Thanks to:
L to R: Michael Kent; Shawn Mock, Special Olympics;
Dean Crowell; Nathan Tipton; Clark Brendle;
Kendrick Lyles
Boring
Genealogy
By Tobin Cassels, President
The first seventeen verses of Matthew gives the
genealogy of Jesus Christ that shows how he was a
direct descendent of King David, as well as Abraham.
This was critically important to the Jewish people, as
they knew that the Old Testament had prophesied
that the Messiah would come from David’s lineage.
But what about us? Terribly boring reading, right?
These are the type verses that I can just skip over...
there is nothing I can learn from reading these
genealogy verses. Or is there?
If you read these passages you will see that they
outline forty-two genealogies of men from Abraham
to Jesus. Notice I said men. Back in biblical days, men
carried so much more importance than women. It
was all about the men. But wait a minute, there are
four women mentioned here (see the verses that are
highlighted in yellow).
2 | Southeastern Freight Lines
Matthew 1
1
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of
David, the son of Abraham:
2
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6
and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7
Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9
Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11
and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the
time of the exile to Babylon.
12
After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13
Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14
Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15
Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16
and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,
and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the
Messiah.
17
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from
Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to
Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
We have Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and an unnamed
woman referred to as “Uriah’s wife.” Why was
the mother mentioned in four of the forty-two
generations, but not in the other thirty-eight? There
must be a specific reason these four women are
mentioned. Let’s learn a little bit about each of these
ladies.
1.Tamar – Tamar’s husband died before they had
any children. It was important for a woman to have
a son, as the son would receive her late husband’s
inheritance and he would then be able to take care of
her (Remember, women did not carry much worth
and on their own would not receive the inheritance).
In order to ensure the inheritance would be passed
down, she disguised herself as a prostitute and
seduced her father-in-law into sleeping with her.
What? Surely the Son of God would not come from
the genealogy of Tamar... or from the father-in-law
who hired a prostitute!
4.Uriah’s wife – Do you remember the story of
Bathsheba? She was married to a soldier named Uriah
who was off at war when King David saw her bathing
on her roof top. The rest is history. David summoned
her, slept with her, impregnated her, and then had
her husband murdered! Really? Note that the author
Matthew didn’t refer to her by her name Bathsheba,
but listed her in scripture as “Uriah’s wife.” It’s as if he
wants everyone to remember the gory, sinful details of
how their son Solomon came to be conceived.
Why did Matthew include these four women in his
genealogy but no other women in the other thirtyeight generations? He clearly is making a point.
Jesus came to this earth as a baby boy to save us
sinners whom he loves dearly. He doesn’t care about
our past or where we come from. He came for all of
us. He came for the prostitutes, the murderers, the
Moabites, and the Canaanites... He loves us all!
2.Rahab – If you thought Tamar was bad, Rahab
is even worse. Rahab didn’t disguise herself as a
prostitute... she really was a full-fledged prostitute by
trade. To make matters worse, she was a Canaanite
from Jericho and not even an Israelite at all. How in
the world could she be the great grandmother of King
David?
To quote Max Lucado, “Stepping from the throne,
he removed his robe of light and wrapped himself
in skin: pigmented, human skin. The light of the
universe entered a dark, wet womb. He whom angels
worshipped nestled himself in the placenta of a
peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then
slept on cow’s hay.”
3.Ruth – Finally, we have a godly woman... a woman
of faith. But like Rahab, Ruth was not a Jew at all. She
was from Moab and belonged to a race often despised
by the people of Israel. What is God trying to tell us
as we look at Jesus’ ancestors?
And He did it because He loves us!
Merry Christmas! H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 3
Jarvis Gore
Celebrates Fifty
Years of Service
J
arvis began his career in October 1964 in
our Support Center. The total number of
Southeastern associates at that time was 300.
In 1968, he
transferred to our
Charleston, South
Carolina, service
center and held
various positions
including rate clerk,
office manager and
linehaul dispatch.
In those days, a
person wore many
hats in their job
responsibilities.
Eight years later
he was promoted
to Service Center
Manager in Tifton,
Georgia, which one
year later became
Albany, Georgia,
and he served there
for six years. He
was asked by Mr.
Cassels to return to
the Support Center
in 1981 to begin
a Weighing and
Inspection program
for our company.
Jarvis has a unique
ability to adapt to change. This skill has served
him well because he has seen significant change
during those fifty years in processes, procedures and
technology, and has incorporated these tools in the
W&I process. With strong support from IT, he has
taken the process from platform scales on our docks
4 | Southeastern Freight Lines
all the way to scales mounted on our forklifts. We
are currently experimenting with a new technology
called dimensioners, that are hung from the ceiling of
our service center dock to assist us with weight and
dimensional rating that not only improves our W&I
revenue, but also gives our pricing analysts accurate
information to use in costing our customers’ freight.
When people talk about Jarvis, the word humble
is one of the characteristics mentioned frequently.
His quiet, unassuming style, coupled with strong
servant leadership, has produced amazing results in
our Weighing and Inspection program. In 1982, the
first full year of the W&I process, our W&I revenues
were $134,893. In
2014, we expect
our annual W&I
revenues to exceed
$36 million. The
average annual
growth percentage
during those years
has been 21%!
Jarvis is quick to
point out that the
success of the W&I
process is due to
diligent associates in
our service centers
who weigh and
inspect the freight
consistently, while
having the support
of service center
management and
regional leadership.
Jarvis is a true
believer in our
culture and lives it
every day! It is rare
to find an individual
who will serve at
one company for 50
years. His humility,
adaptability, consistency and just plain hard work
have set the example for others to follow. The good
news is – he’s not done yet!
Congratulations, Jarvis, on achieving a milestone few
will ever reach! H
Alejandro Viramontes, South Houston
Fleet Services Associate of the Quarter
By Alfredo Aguirre, Fleet Services Manager, South Houston
I
t is an honor to recognize Alejandro (Alex)
Viramontes from the South Houston Fleet
Services facility as the Fleet Service Associate of
the Quarter for the third quarter of 2014.
Alex has been serving our company for the last five
years. During these five years, he has demonstrated
his willingness to grow as a technician as well as a
leader. Alex began as a C-3 class technician and with
vast effort, he escalated to an A-2 technician. Alex is
also recognized as a fully ACE certified technician.
He received his GMAW certificate as a welder and he
now serves by training other technicians to become
GMAW certified as welders.
Alex has been a great asset to the recently opened
South Houston facility. He moved into a leadership
role in the trailer shop and has played a vital
role in getting South Houston designated as a
full Southeastern trailer shop. Alex has taken the
responsibility of training new technicians to learn
and apply their mechanical skills and procedures
needed to be a successful technician. He continuously
looks for ways to do things better and pulls from the
knowledge and experience of other trailer shops to
ensure standards are met and the job is well done.
At first glance, Alex seems quiet and somewhat
reserved. However, once you get to know him, he is
very outgoing and friendly. He has built a respectful
and trusted relationship with his coworkers,
customers, and leadership. Alex is always willing
to serve and help his coworkers and the customers
(drivers) when they need assistance. Alex is very
responsible and makes sure he arrives to work
on-time every day. He is always available for any
unexpected situations. Having Alex in our facility
gives us peace of mind because we know we can
count on him.
The Regional Fleet Services Manager for this area,
Scott Shimer, summed it up very clearly when asked
about Alex and his contributions to our company
when he stated – “Our culture comes easily and
natural to Alex, that’s the way he is. Alex’s willingness
to serve, his dependability, and also his knowledge
make him a natural leader that others in his work
group emulate.”
Alex is not only admired for his work ethic, but
also for being an involved and proactive husband,
father, and citizen of his community. He serves as a
softball coach in his community little league park.
His favorite hobby is having an outdoor, Texas-style
BBQ accompanied by his wife Monique, who he has
been happily married to for 13 years, and his three
children (Alexis, Jessica, Baby Alex). The Viramontes
family attends the Fellowship of the Woodlands
Church every Sunday.
There are many characteristics that make Alex special,
but there are some that make him very unique. One
of his unique enjoyments is participating in different
“Hot Sauce” competitions. Alex also enjoys fishing
and deer hunting with his friends and family.
Please join us in congratulating Alejandro for his welldeserved recognition as the Fleet Services Associate of
the Quarter for the third quarter of 2014! H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 5
Jacksonville Open House –
October 17th, 2014
I
t has been eleven months since Jacksonville was blessed
with a state-of-the-art facility, and on October 17th, we had
the opportunity of sharing it with our external and internal
customers. With countless hours of planning and teamwork
by our Jacksonville team, it went off with great success.
We had over a hundred customers stop by for lunch
and a tour. Each customer was greeted by a different
team member and given a complete tour of our
facility. They were given goodie bags to take with
them on their way out. Our customers were amazed
by the new technology, huge appointment warehouse,
and cleanliness of our dock—and, of course, by the
6 | Southeastern Freight Lines
most famous truck of all, the “Mighty Mite!” The
best part of the tour was the interaction between our
people at the service center and the customers. It’s
always great to put a face with a name!
To top the week off, our Jacksonville team had a
family day on Saturday, October 18th. We had a
Prevention:
remarkable turn out. It was the perfect
opportunity for the Jacksonville
associates to bring their families here to
show them this beautiful facility. Kids
were running around playing in the
bounce houses, eating cotton candy and
snow cones, getting their faces painted,
and dunking our leadership team in
the dunk booth. We also had a band
perform that did a fantastic job. It was a
fun time laughing, eating, and building
great friendships. Thank You to all who
took part!H
The Engine of Quality
By Larkin Gomez, Outbound Supervisor,
Region 5, Fort Worth, Texas
T
he Outbound Team in Fort Worth has been
an impressive example of the power of “Belief,
Alignment and Teamwork” in their quest
to work injury-free. The team has set the bar high
and determined that it is unacceptable to have a
preventable injury. We take our focus on prevention
very seriously. Prevention is our daily mindset, and
as a team we maintain, act on, and discuss injuryprevention on a routine basis.
On October 22nd, 2012, the Fort Worth Service
Center opened its doors. The Outbound Team started
with five full-time and two part-time dock associates.
Since then, the crew has grown to 15 full-time dock
associates and 14 part-time dock associates. From the
opening date to October 30th, 2013, we worked over
one year injury-free. On October 31st, we had one
chargeable “debris in eye” injury. From November
1st, 2013, to November 1st, 2014, we again achieved
another year injury-free.
Over the course of two years, we have had an average
of 319,212 bills and 738 days completely injury-free.
Prevention is the key to success in all of our processes
at Southeastern Freight Lines. Congratulations to the Fort Worth Outbound Team
for accomplishing world-class results on injury
prevention. The Outbound Team is confident that we
shall have another safe and successful year of injuryfree work. H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 7
Here We Grow... AGAIN!
Kentucky Expansion – March 2015
By: Rachel Beebe, Account Manager, and Jeff Burton, Business Development Manager
S
outheastern Freight Lines is pleased to announce
our growth into Kentucky and the opening of
four service centers on March 2nd, 2015. The
word of the openings officially came in June 2014
and the planning for Kentucky’s success was quickly
underway.
Southeastern will be proudly serving in and around
the Kentucky areas of Bowling Green, Lexington, and
Louisville, as well as Cincinnati, Ohio. The service
center managers have been chosen and all have a
combined experience of over 50 years. They each
have a strong track record and are truly committed to
making Kentucky the best opening of a state in our
history!
8 | Southeastern Freight Lines
A combination of operations, sales, and marketing
teams have been diligently working to prepare, plan,
and proactively call on customers to let them know
that Southeastern Freight Lines is coming to SERVE—
with the start of obtaining a business directory for the
entire state of Kentucky, using LinkedIn and other
social media platforms to help find candidates and
customers, as well as using Google Maps to survey
the new areas near all
facilities. Joining the
Chamber of Commerce
in each city has also led
to many networking and
speaking opportunities,
connections within the
cities, and potential
Southeastern Serves Community service projects. The
meticulous planning has allowed us to become more
efficient before our doors are even open to the public.
Finally, to keep the information flowing, associates
are encouraged to contribute and send any leads they
may have (inbound or outbound) to Kentucky@sefl.
com.
We truly look forward to expanding our Quality
Without Question into the great state of Kentucky! H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 9
Living Our Culture
in Orlando
By Susan Greene, SC Admin Specialist II/Quality Specialist
O
n August 27th, Orlando celebrated our 1st Annual
Quality Day Event. Given that it was the start of
Football Season, we found it only appropriate to
score a touchdown for Quality.
A great time was had by all as we learned to truly value each other. We
started the day with games, yummy treats, and raffles. Each associate
had a chance to earn throws on the football scoreboard by answering
important questions about our Mission, Culture, and Quality
Improvement Process. We ended the day with great prizes, but more
importantly, each of us came away
with a new and refreshed attitude
toward Quality.
Our Quality Day brought a better
understanding of our Quality
Improvement Process and associate
participation reached an all-time
high. It was truly gratifying to see
the excitement and teamwork, as we
remember the importance of our Game
Plan for Success. H
10 | Southeastern Freight Lines
Southeastern Serves the Charlotte
Rescue Mission
By Katherine Wallace, Account Manager
O
n October 29, the Charlotte and South
Charlotte leadership and sales teams met at
the Charlotte Rescue Mission to serve lunch
to 130 men in the Rebound Program. While we have
served here before, the experience never ceases to
touch each of us. We are reminded each time of how
quickly one decision or life event, whether large or
small, can change the course of a person’s life.
Founded in 1938, The Charlotte Rescue Mission has
assisted thousands of men battling homelessness and/
or addiction through Biblically-based counseling,
while relying 100% on donations. Their mission is
“To minister the Good News of
Christianity to individuals caught
in the crisis of poverty,
“No act of kindness,
no matter how small,
is ever wasted.”
— Aesop
hopelessness, or
addictions by meeting their spiritual, physical, and
emotional needs.” The staff strives to assist these
individuals through spiritual, mental, physical, social,
and vocational support. They offer a 90-day program,
as well as an onsite halfway house.
Our group is always welcomed into the Rescue
Mission with open arms, and the men show so much
gratitude for us. This experience can be incredibly
humbling. As we enter into the 2014 Holiday Season,
it is a blessing to be reminded of those we can help in
our day-to-day lives and to be thankful for everything
we have. Whether we serve lunch to a group of 100
men struggling with homelessness and addiction, or
we give a coat to a person we see living on the street,
we should remember there are always things we can
do to serve in our communities. H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 11
Fall Festival for
Columbia Presbyterian Home
By Sue Ricard and Brooke Keisler, Sales and Marketing
12 | Southeastern Freight Lines
O
n Saturday, October 11th, 2014, our Sales and
Marketing volunteers, along with other volunteers
from the Support Center, teamed up with the
Columbia Presbyterian Retirement Community to
host our 2nd Annual Fall Festival. This event began in 2013
when the Sales and Marketing committee discussed possible
Southeastern Serves opportunities. The Columbia Presbyterian
Home, which is right down the road from the Support
Center, is a retirement community that provides residency
options ranging from patio homes, apartments, residential
and assisted living, and health services. We wanted to serve
our neighbors and form long-lasting relationships with the
residents and staff.
The day started off with the
arrival of the Mighty Mite,
with a huge crowd of residents
and family members watching
the unloading process. With
over 60 volunteers from the
Support Center and nearly
200 residents and their family
members, the participation
almost doubled from last year’s
festival. Our fun-filled day
included grilling hamburgers
and hot dogs, balloon artists, playing corn hole and football
toss, and enjoying music performed by a local band. An extra
special treat for everyone was a performance by the cast of
Grease from a local theater!
1 Peter 4:10: As
each has received a
gift, use it to serve
one another, as
good stewards of
God’s varied grace.
One of the most memorable parts of the day was the balloon
volleyball game. This was a challenge that was initiated by
the residents, who are very competitive. Our children played
against them, and at the conclusion we presented the residents
with a trophy that they have on display for everyone to see.
The day ended with a raffle for various SEFL items and plants.
The residents enjoyed receiving their prizes from our children
volunteers. When the festival was over, SEFL volunteers
assisted the kitchen staff in the cleanup. The staff especially
appreciated this, because it allowed them to join in the
fellowship and take part in the festival.
We all worked hard to serve our neighbors, but in the end
we’re the ones who were blessed. If you have served your
community before, you know the feeling. Just to see the
smiles on everyones’ faces and to hear all the gratitude and
appreciation for such a wonderful day validates why our
company is committed to serve those less fortunate. We look
forward to the 3rd Annual Fall Festival in 2015, with an even
bigger crowd of volunteers and residents. H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 13
Southeastern
Reduces Quotes,
While Customers Increase Quotes
By Clete Cordero, Director of Traffic
T
he title above may seem confusing. How can
the total number of quotes from customers
increase, while the total number of quotes
that Southeastern processes decrease?
Over the last
two years, the
total number
of quotes from
customers
has grown
from 48,888
to 67,180
a week.
Forecasting
the trend two
years ago that
quotes would
continue
to increase,
a quality
improvement
process was
put in place
to focus on
increasing the percentage of quotes entered directly
by customers online while reducing the percentage of
quotes called in by customers.
This quality improvement
process involved all facets
of our company from
Fredericksburg to El Paso,
and from Puerto Rico to
Tulsa. For the improvement
to take place, everyone
from account
managers to
office personnel
had to work with
14 | Southeastern Freight Lines
and train customers on the benefits of entering quotes
online versus calling in quote requests. Entering a
quote online allows the customer to obtain the quote
much quicker and to control exactly what is being
entered. Also,
if a customer
enters the
quote online
directly,
Southeastern
associates have
more time to
focus on other
tasks.
Beginning
October
2012 through
October
2014, we
experienced a
37% increase
in quotes.
During the
same time
period, the percentage of quotes entered online by
customers increased from 86% to 92%, as shown
on the graph. While quotes increased 18,292 per
week, the number of quotes that SEFL associates
manually processed decreased from 6,844 to 5,374 a
week. This process has seen Continuous Measurable
Improvement year over year and is on track for
another positive shift to end 2014.
Thank you to everyone for demonstrating the power
of “Belief, Alignment and Teamwork,” and for
continuing to drive this process as we head toward
our ultimate goal of 95% of all quotes being entered
online. H
Congratulations Team
on Earning Scotts Award
By Tommy Keeton, National Account Manager
D
uring the recent Scotts Distribution
Conference held in West Palm Beach,
Florida, at PGA National, Southeastern
Freight Lines was presented The
Scotts Company “2014 Transportation
Excellence Award.” The award is presented to the LTL
carrier with outstanding performance metrics which
include:
• % On-time Delivery
• Pick-up Arrival %
• Pick-up Departure %
• Appointment Date %
• Delivery Arrival %
• Delivery Departure %
Southeastern Freight Lines is The Scotts Company’s
largest LTL provider. Through October, we have
handled 28,142 shipments for Scotts. Frank
Dreischarf, Global Transportation Manager, sends his
thanks to the entire Southeastern team. “Southeastern
Freight Lines has been an excellent partner for
Scotts. With industry-leading service, flexibility to
our changing business needs, and excellent customer
service, we value and appreciate everything that
Southeastern does to support our
business.”
We are extremely grateful
to receive the Scotts
award again this year. Rest
assured, our vision is to
continue to provide the
best LTL transportation
service in the Sunbelt! H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 15
Training and Equipping for Success
22 Leaders Graduate Human Relations Seminar
in South Houston
By Ken Bazzell, Regional HR Manager
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
A
dvancing our Culture by equipping
leaders for success through training
is one of the cornerstones of
developing our I.Q. Leadership group at
Southeastern. Proper human relations
training supports our Game Plan for
Success, helps our leaders improve
associate interactions, and should lead to
increased Belief, Alignment and Teamwork
within our company. A major component
in this leadership development is our
3-day Human Relations Seminar, which is
conducted several times throughout the
year. This year, the traditional format was
altered to focus more specifically on the
body of knowledge a Front Line Supervisor
needs to properly engage our number one
critical success factor — our people!
South Houston hosted our last session of 2014 during
the week of November 10th. Tobin Cassels always
kicks off this event with his presentation of the
9 Principles of Good Human Relations, which
“creates the environment” for the remainder of the
week. Aren’t we grateful to work for an organization
where the owner has so much passion for Valuing
Each Other Completely that he personally teaches
this message to our front line leaders! The group also
receives instruction on several other topics, including
I.Q. structure, proper Corrective Action, and Safety.
Our leaders had a great time learning and interacting
with each other and the presenters.
Each morning the participants took tests which
covered the previous day’s material. These test scores
were used for both individual and group competition.
Congratulations to Clay Meaux, (pronounced MO,
if you’re not from Louisiana) Outbound Supervisor
of Orange, Texas, for winning the VPC Award for
best overall individual scores. Clay pulled a comefrom-behind victory in a contest that was not decided
until the final test results were revealed. The winning
HUMAN RELATIONS SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS’ TOP 5 SCORES
Participant
Location
Title
Average of All Tests
Clay Meaux
OTX
Outbound Supervisor
97.88
Reshard Gresham
JCK
Inbound Supervisor
97.45
Kelly Brackeen
TYR
Operations Manager
96.85
Daniel Coburn
TOK
Inbound Supervisor
95.00
Jay Williams
ABI
Inbound Supervisor
94.43
16 | Southeastern Freight Lines
VPC Winner South Houston: Clay Meaux (OTX)
Winning Team South Houston: L-R: Dillon Wynn (FTW),
Kelly Brackeen (TYR), Dean Parks (WAC), Jay Williams
(ABI), Carlos Gonzalez (MCA), (Reshard Gresham, JCK,
just wanted his picture in the Eagle Eye News since the
race for the VPC award was so close and we obliged!)
team with the best overall scores was also recognized
and consisted of Dillon Wynn (Fort Worth), Carlos
Gonzalez (McAllen), Kelly Brackeen (Tyler), Jay
Williams (Abilene), and Dean Parks (Waco). While
these folks received special recognition, it should be
noted that all of the participants passed the seminar.
Thanks to all of our graduates, presenters, and people
behind-the-scenes who help make this a success. H
Can you guess
how many
ACTIONs have
been submitted
since we started
our Quality
Improvement
Process in 1985?
One of the cornerstones of our Quality
Improvement Process is the ACTION process.
Thanks to Mike Nations our Service Center
Manager in Savannah, ACTION stands for “A
Chance to Identify Opportunities Now.”
Can you guess how many ACTIONs have been
submitted system-wide since we started our
Quality Improvement Process in 1985? Be the
first person to come closest to the actual number
and win a prize! Email your best guess to
genqac@sefl.com before January 31st, 2015.. H
** Limit 1 guess per associate please **
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 17
Quality in Action
It’s Time to TAKE ACTION!
By Dana Kaminer-Haulbrook, Quality Department
Q
uality doesn’t just happen and we don’t just find
it. It requires action on our part. What does
this entail? First, we all must have an attitude that
thinks “Quality” at every stage in the process—in our
jobs and when serving customers. In other words,
we individually have a sincere desire to make every
process error-free.
The key is to stay focused on looking for
opportunities for improvement and from time to
time, ask the question, “why do we do it this way?”
Here are three tips that can make it easier to capture
those great ideas:
1.Write ideas down: Keep a small notepad to jot
down ideas, waste, or problems we experience during
the day. Since the best ideas often come when we’re
hard at work (and don’t have time to immediately
fill out an ACTION form), keeping a list will help
ensure these great ideas are not forgotten after a busy
workday.
2.Make time to address each
opportunity. A problem not
identified cannot be corrected.
Therefore, it is so important
that we take time to transfer the
opportunities from our list to
an ACTION form. Please don’t
feel uneasy about filling out an
ACTION form. We don’t want to
miss out on a great idea, and for
anyone who may feel unsure about
communicating in writing, each
service center has a local Quality
Specialist that can help.
The most valuable thing our associates can contribute
is their input. Their solutions, recommendations, and
identification of errors, are invaluable. The ACTION
Process is the perfect vehicle for associates to share
those great ideas to help us become more and more
efficient. Opportunities for improvement include:
• S omething that prevents us from serving EVERY
customer Error-Free,
•A
n error that happens regularly (even if it is a
‘small’ one),
•A
nything that keeps us from doing our jobs
efficiently
18 | Southeastern Freight Lines
3.Don’t overlook the small
stuff! There are opportunities for
improvement in every process
and even those seemingly
‘little’ problems can amount to
tremendous waste in our company. We will all benefit
as we eliminate waste and strengthen our company.
The companies with people willing to do this are the
companies that will be strong a year or two, or five
years, from now.
When we all make Quality personal and take the
time to identify opportunities for improvement, our
company becomes stronger, which in turn contributes
to the long-term security for each one of us. Please
take advantage of the ACTION process and don’t let
those great ideas get away!
Exciting ACTION News
By Evan Holmes, Quality Department
S
o have you ever thought, “I wrote an ACTION a
few years ago, but can’t find my copy”? Or have
you wanted to get a copy of a resolution? If so, we
have great news! We have begun implementing a
process of electronically filing ACTIONs for longterm retention, but also for times when they may be
needed for a Quality Achiever recommendation, to
follow-up on a resolution or program request, or just
for curiosity’s sake.
What you may not have known is that there are two
different types of ACTIONs. We call them—simply
enough—TYPE 1 and TYPE 2 (crazy, isn’t it?).
The difference between the two is that TYPE 1
ACTIONs are opportunities that can be handled
within the service center and are assigned to a local
ART (ACTION Resolution Team). TYPE 2 ACTIONs
are areas that fall outside the local service center’s
control or may concern system-wide opportunities
(all TYPE 2 ACTIONs come to the Support Center to
be assigned an ART).
Highlighting Outstanding
ACTIONs
A
s you read this, our associates have submitted
over 1,700 ACTIONs this year! We see so many
great ideas and wanted to highlight a few that are
OUTSTANDING:
ACTION 077-140017, submitted by Eric Johnson,
South Charlotte Fleet Services: Eric recognized
a potential problem with the transmission cooler
lines rubbing on the new 2015 Volvo tractors and
submitted this ACTION, along with his suggestion
on how to reroute the wires. By catching this early,
we were able to correct the problem before a unit
broke down on the highway, causing freight to be
delayed and upsetting customers and our drivers.
Additionally, thanks to Eric’s ACTION, Southeastern
was able to claim nearly $6,000 in warranties on the
repairs and parts, as about 200 units were affected!
This also benefitted the manufacturer so they could
correct the problem on the front end.
We’ve been storing TYPE 2 ACTIONs electronically
for several years and these are readily available once
the ACTION is resolved and closed. However, TYPE 1
ACTIONs are closed at the service center by the local
Quality Specialist and generally hard copies are kept
on file for an average of three (3) years.
Earlier this year, we began testing electronically filing
TYPE 1 as well as TYPE 2 ACTIONs. With the help
of 22 service centers, we have been able to preserve
both TYPE 1 and TYPE 2 ACTIONs and the process
has been a great success. It’s been easy, too! Once
the local Quality Specialist closes the ACTION at
the service center, they simply scan and e-mail a
copy of the ACTION and resolution to the Quality
Department, where it is filed numerically along with
the service center’s TYPE 2 ACTIONs.
Since it has been determined this will be an effortless
way to maintain TYPE 1 ACTIONs electronically, the
process will be implemented system-wide beginning
January 1, 2015. I’m sure you will agree that this
will be an excellent resource and we will all reap the
benefits long-term.
Eric Johnson,
South Charlotte Fleet Services
This was an outstanding ACTION that resulted in
making our trucks safer and gaining a significant
amount of warranty money due on these repairs.
Great catch, Eric!
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 19
Greg Parker,
Debra Porubsky,
Fayetteville Linehaul Driver
Support Center Rate Specialist
Greg Parker, Fayetteville Linehaul Driver: With
ACTION 018-140005, Greg identified an opportunity
to improve efficiency and save time for drivers using
the scales on the Charlotte yard. Greg noticed that
based on the location of the weight display, drivers
had to get out of their truck when trying to get the
weight for specific axles. While this might only take
a few seconds for each driver, with hundreds of loads
being dispatched out of Charlotte every night, it
certainly adds up to a significant time savings. Since
Greg’s ACTION, the display has been relocated,
which has allowed our drivers to be more efficient
as they no longer need to get out of the truck when
checking the weights on their loads.
Debra Porubsky, Support Center Rate Specialist:
With ACTION 916-140006, Debra identified the
need to include linear feet or length information in
order to be able to rate correctly, especially on CubicCapacity corrections (avg. 20-30 each night) where
the customer has these specific length guidelines.
We’ve seen an increasing number of customers who
have added length exceptions (i.e., shipment must
take up 16 ft., 18 ft., etc.) to apply to their rules
governing how we assess additional charges for this
type of shipment. Without this information, the Rate
Specialist either has to reject the correction (potential
loss of additional revenue), estimate the length based
on the number of pallets shipped (inaccurate and
could result in the customer disputing the rate, thus
more errors then corrections), or send it to an auditor
who must call the contact at the terminal and get the
length information to rate the pro. Resolving Debra’s
ACTION was an easy fix that reaped BIG benefits
for both internal and external customers. Today,
W&I Inspectors include the length information with
their corrections, which enables us to rate these bills
correctly the first time with no additional steps or
time required. Way-to-go, Debra! H
Greg was recognized with a QWQ for this
outstanding ACTION, where Coley Campbell
(Regional VP) summed it up perfectly—“This minor
adjustment has and will continue to save time for the
drivers and also improve arrivals into destination.”
Great job, Greg!
20 | Southeastern Freight Lines
New Trailer Placement System
By Braxton Vick, Sr. Vice President, Corporate Planning and Development
F
or over 20 years, Southeastern has had a
process for placing trailers at the dock to
reduce the travel distance from pickup trailer to
loading trailer. The existing program simply computes
the distances from every unloading door on the dock
and compares it to the destination doors for the
shipments contained on the trailer to be unloaded.
The system then prints the best 10 unloading doors
on the stripping manifest used to unload the freight
from the trailer. Using this concept, we are able to
reduce dock travel time and reduce our close-out
times on the trailers, improving overall transit time
for our customers.
There are three major flaws
with this system: (1) over
time, our Dock Management
System eliminated the need
for a strip manifest since our
dockworkers simply scan the
bar code on the freight to move
the shipments, so we no longer
need a strip manifest, (2) when
a dropped trailer is involved,
we don’t know what is on the
trailer so no projections can
be made, and (3) it is difficult
to communicate the optimum
door location to the drivers as
they arrive, since in many instances the optimum
door for one trailer may also be the same for another.
We needed a better mouse-trap!
Within the next few weeks, we will be dropping in a
new Trailer Placement System at a test service center
which will revolutionize the way we optimize trailer
placement. First, the new system uses an algorithm
to calculate the optimum trailer unloading door,
based on the contents of the trailer when our drivers
indicate they are returning to the service center
using their onboard computers. This computation
is compared to other loads that are also enroute to
the service center and places the results in a queue
awaiting arrival of the loads. When a dropped
trailer is involved, the system looks at the loading
history of the shipper and calculates the volume
and destinations based on that history. Secondly,
when our drivers cross the “geofence” for the
service center, the Trailer Placement System sends
the driver the optimum door location to place the
trailer, and changes the placement of other inbound
loads accordingly to reduce traveling distances on
the dock. The “geofence” is an imaginary “bulls-eye”
around the latitude and longitude of a service center,
which allows us to know when a tractor is inbound
or outbound from the facility. We currently use this
technology to capture the dispatch gate-times for our
outbound linehaul units and arrive some 97% of our
inbound units each night.
The new system optimizes the best trailer position to
reduce dockworker travel time during the unloading
and loading process. It estimates the shipments and
destinations of dropped shipments based on the
shipper’s history. And it communicates the optimum
dock position to the driver’s onboard computers so
he knows exactly which door to use as he arrives at
the service center. Using this system will revolutionize
how we place trailers at our docks to reduce platform
distance/time, improve closeout times to better meet
our schedules, and improve the overall consistency of
transit times we provide our customers. This is a great
example of taking a good process and making it even
better utilizing the latest in technology.
Quality Without Question! H
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 21
Southeastern Serves Thanksgiving in Roanoke
By Clinton Wininger, Service Center Manager
O
ur team in Roanoke came up with
the idea of providing a Thanksgiving
meal to less fortunate families in
the school system. We held a food drive
and collected donations in our service area.
Twenty-four associates participated including
Dean Tidmore who is our road driver out
of Charleston.
Once the donations were assembled, we were able to
build five complete Thanksgiving meals. Each meal
included a 12-pound turkey, three side dishes, rolls,
and a couple of 2-liter soft drinks. We then contacted
five different schools in our service area to spread the
outreach throughout our service area.
We reached out to the principals of each school and
they were very thankful for the help. One that stood
out the most to me was the principal at West Salem
Elementary. Mrs. Debbie Carroll said the mother of
one of her 4th grade students was in her office just
that morning. It was an emotional meeting when
the mother broke and cried because her daughter
was just released from the hospital. Unfortunately,
they were so far behind on medical bills that they
would not be able to afford a Thanksgiving meal or
Christmas this year.
22 | Southeastern Freight Lines
L-R: Clint Wininger, Joshua Wilson, Brenda Hardison,
George Arrington, Butch Dodd
Mrs. Carroll expressed that our phone call to her
was an answer to prayer. In less than an hour after
the mother left her office, she was able to contact
her and thanks to our team was able to provide a
Thanksgiving meal for her family. She was so grateful
that we reached out to her school and was blown
away by the timing.
Thank you to our team in Roanoke. You’ll never
know how much your generosity means to the
families we were able to serve this Thanksgiving. H
Southeastern Is Increasing the Matching
Contribution to the Retirement Savings
Program in January 2015!
Don’t miss out— get the most out of your
Southeastern Freight Lines Retirement Savings Program.
Beginning in January 2015, Southeastern is making it even easier for you to save more for retirement by increasing
the matching contribution from 50% of the first 4% of eligible pay you contribute to 50% of the first 6% you
contribute. Of course, you have to contribute in order to receive the matching contribution!
If you are contributing to the Southeastern Freight Lines Retirement Savings Program, you will automatically begin to
receive the increased matching contribution on your contributions up to 6% of your eligible pay.
If you are contributing at a rate less than 6% of your eligible pay, please consider increasing your contribution
rate to 6% or more. And if you’re not participating in the Southeastern Freight Lines Retirement Savings Program,
make sure you’re getting your full share of the matching contribution by enrolling today!
To either enroll in the Southeastern Freight Lines Retirement Savings Program
or to increase your contribution today, please:
• Log in to the website at rps.troweprice.com.
• Call T. Rowe Price at 1-800-223-4055. Representatives are available
during business days from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. eastern time.
q Effective January 1, 2015, BlueCross BlueShield of SC is the health plan
administrator. Please be sure to show your new BCBS insurance card when you go to
the doctor’s office, pharmacy, hospital, or other healthcare providers. Your BCBS card
also will reflect any vision coverage you selected and should be shown at EyeMed
providers. Please use your Delta Dental insurance card for any dental coverage.
q Between January 1-31, 2015, eligible associates and spouses may complete
a Personal Health Assessment (PHA) by logging on to My Health Toolkit at
www.SouthCarolinaBlues.com. Eligible Co-Pay Plan participants will earn a
reduction to their deductible, and CDHP and CDHP Max participants will earn
an HSA contribution. The PHA collects information about your individual health
behaviors and provides feedback to improve and maximize your personal health.
Your information is confidential and will not be shared with Southeastern on an
individual basis.
Fourth Quarter 2014 | 23
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Address Service Requested
Eagle Eye News
A publication for associates and friends
of Southeastern Freight Lines
Comments or material for possible
inclusion in future issues should be
directed to the Quality Department.
Dropping in to wish you a
Merry
Christmas
and a
Happy New Year!
24 | Southeastern Freight Lines