m1cks:
I’ve always referred to those little pallets as printers pallets. The type printers stack slippy vinyl coated paper on which slides off within minutes of stacking.
You say you’ve reduced your shift time due to efficiency. I might have missed it but are you paid hourly or a day rate/drop bonus? It’s against my ethic to drag a job out just because it’s hourly paid but is there an incentive to get it done in a timely manner?
A good question very well put.
As mentioned earlier there are 5 or 6 contractors servicing the Lidl Bridgend job and each one does things a bit differently. The majority pay a set wage per shift. The incentive here is to whittle away at the time it takes you to carry out the shift. No one is going to say anything if it takes you 15 hours. Nor will they comment if you finish up in 9 or 10 hours.
The exception to the rule is John Raymond Transport who have recently taken on a couple or three routes. They pay their drivers hourly although I suspect they will have an idea how long it should be taking and will probably get involved with the DC transport manager if the driver is constantly booking unfeasibly long duty hours, to find out why.
Horses for courses.
I talk a lot about loading waste from the store. But what is it? What does it look like?
This is 9 lifts of waste waiting for me to collect out of my Cardiff store, directly adjacent to the loading bay. 6 TKT’s, 2 card bales, a double stack of D pallets and a bundle of folded milk trollies.
In about 5 minutes I will load one of the card bales (heavy), then a bank of 3 TKT’s against it, then another bank of 3 but with the centre box missing to accommodate the stack of d pallets so they don’t fall over. I will finish up with the milk trollies, pinned against the TKT’s with the final card bale and the remaining TKT alongside.
To save time the entire shebang is loaded directly above the three axles of the trailer to minimise the distance I’m walking to get them on and off again.
A very interesting thread to follow. When you show fallen cages of milk and collapsed pallets, I can’t understand why the load securing bars aren’t used. Surely if they’re not available at the RDC the trailer shouldn’t be loaded. Put the blame back in the traffic office instead of the driver carrying the can again.
BB
Great read and thanks for sharing.
I would invest in a ratchet strap or two for those real nightmare top heavy pallets. Not to tight though just will help stop em toppling. Course as soon as you buy one you can guarantee you will never need it.
rob22888:
Highlander:
As for loading,I always put the milk up front and trap them in with the freezer boxes,then when it comes to tipping,just pull the last box back a bit and it acts as a brake if the milk cages decide to go walkabout 
Why don’t they just have Arla/Wiseman/whoever deliver the milk direct to the stores like Aldi do? Save you a lot of fannying around.
No idea.Maybe they can buy the milk cheaper because they don’t have to pay for delivery by the dairy.Also,as a lot deliveries are done through the night the drivers would need store keys,which Lidl maybe don’t want to do.
I know I could see those milk cages in hell sometimes 
As you’ve seen from the OP’s photos,the shop loading bays are on a slope,so if one does make a break for it, it soon gets a bit of speed up 
. Best not to try and stop it or its going to hurt.Hopefully not many bottles will burst when it tips over.Think I’ve lost 2 cages over all the years I’ve been doing it,but nothing was ever said.
The DPs can be a pain too.As already said,stacked too high and easy to tip over.I always try and move a DP and a euro at the same so it gets some support.Good job its all done with electric trucks
rob22888:
Highlander:
As for loading,I always put the milk up front and trap them in with the freezer boxes,then when it comes to tipping,just pull the last box back a bit and it acts as a brake if the milk cages decide to go walkabout
Why don’t they just have Arla/Wiseman/whoever deliver the milk direct to the stores like Aldi do? Save you a lot of fannying around.
Most of the time it’s only 5 or 6 cages you deliver so wouldn’t be worth the big guys going in
Hey homeward. I see Mark has started to tart the truck up. He does a pretty good job of them. Are you on the company FB page?? When you speak to Islywn next tell him Richard says hi and hope he’s doing ok.
m1cks:
rob22888:
Lidl looks like a job where you’d become a master of the blindside reverse. Every Lidl i’ve ever seen has an awkward looking blindside bay, not a job i’d especially like to do on days when the car park is full & busy.
Do you think they use the same store format as they do in Europe where the vehicles are left hand drive?
Hi All from what I hear yes all LIDL loading bays are designed for left hookers so a bit of a challenge on a busy, wet or dark days / nights also not forgetting the ever helpful public drivers so all the best to all. All messing aside if someone around from store ask for a banksman they may amaze and help until you get the nack but believe me you will still have those bad days ha ha all the best.
What a good insight into your work. It shows that I know nothing about loading my load.
If you was a documentary I would gladly enjoy watching it.
Good read guys. Do they have any RDC in Hampshire near Basingstoke?
midlifetrucker:
Drift:
Dipper_Dave:
midlifetrucker:
I let my hgv lapse on 45 birthday. Hadn’t used it for 20 years. 4 years later by business gets in trouble and I have to look at a way of raiding some more cash. Did the medical and bought a digi card and blagged my way into some part time work to get back in the swing. Now do anything from a day a week to a full week. Got to be honest I enjoy it. Don’t think it is harder than the old days. Trucks are a piece of pi$$ to drive. Comaraderie seems to have gone but hey that’s the modern era. I do anything from multi drop to rdc work and book clients direct. Most pallets I have moved in a day physically with a pump truck -156.
+1 Similar story to mine, business went ■■■■ up, HGV licence dusted off, digi tacho arrived then back in the driving seat with a bit of help from the agency. Cab happy all over again, although luckily I found myself on the wrong ind estate on the first job and got some reversing practice in- surpised after 10 ish years off how quickly it came back- well i was always crap at reversing anyway 
Pretty much the same for me after being made redundant and then getting a labouring job, being asked then to take the medical and dust off the licence and a wagon appeared in work with a wage rise
Rise of the old ■■■■■
Rise of the old ■■■■■. I print t shirts as part of my other business. I think I might do that on one. Well put
I’d buy one!
Although at a very young 54 I’m not sure I’d qualify as old… 
If you go into a Lidl car park in Northern Ireland (possibly the same elsewhere?), you’ll notice red and blue (I think) lines painted on the ground though out the car park. Apparently this is for the delivery drivers to guide them through the tight car parks, and straight onto the loading bay. Put the front drivers wheel on the blue line when going forward, and the rear wheels will miss the cars - provided they’re all in the spaces - then when you get to the red line, but it in reverse, keep the wheel on the red line, and just wait for the bang! 
Any well-documented post of this nature that saves at least one upset from happening to another driver in the future - gets my applause.
I reckon this sort of post will be “required reading” come the next DCPC in 5 years…
Informative post. W@nk job.
Excellent post, OP - really well-written and well illustrated.
Nice post, a bit outdated now. Update comming?
