Tag Archives: auto transport

Discussing Driver Safety With Director of Hub Operations and AutoPilot Safety Hayden Nachtigal

Creating a safe work environment for drivers is a large part of who Sweetie Boy Transportation is today. In 2020 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that more than 1 in 3 long-haul truck drivers experienced a serious crash during their time working on the road. 127 people were reported to have been injured in a crash while driving for work. Mitigating this risk is discussed with AutoPilots and Car Haulers alike every day. Director of Hub Operations and AutoPilot Safety, Hayden Nachtigal speaks about how Sweetie Boy works to make safety a top priority for all employees.

With over 200 employees, and most of them being on the road, making sure that everyone is being safe on the road is no small task. The professional transportation industry has nailed down this issue with the creation of apps such as Samsara, which Sweetie Boy uses to monitor CDL drivers. The drive service market for such apps is newer, but over time Sweetie Boy has found ways to monitor safe driving. Hayden Nachtigal speaks about how we measure our AutoPilot’s safe driving by saying, “ We use Mentor by eDriving to measure our driver’s overall safety. With the app tracking 5 major categories: Speeding, Distractions, Hard Accelerations, Harsh Braking, and Cornering”. The app uses these metrics to create a score out of 850, much like a FICO credit score. By analyzing the scores throughout the company, Sweetie Boy is able to accurately measure how safe AutoPilots are on the road. The Director of Hub Operations and AutoPilot safety goes on to speak about how these analytics are important to improving the safety metrics of the apps drivers use, “ The Mentor program we use is ever evolving and sometimes requires us to pass along the information to Mentor to improve the program”. 

Safety is constantly at the forefront of Sweetie Boy’s mission. Hayden says, “We are extremely focused on being safe everyday. Once our drivers punch in or put on their safety vest they are professional drivers”. Every day our drivers are held to a higher standard, and the effort drivers, dispatch and hub managers put in shows that. Giving drivers a clear understanding of how their Mentor score works is a part of that, “(We have) Monthly safety meetings going over trends and specific topics we need to improve on as a company with safety. Daily and weekly coachings by the AutoPilots specific manager, going into the detail about each infraction to understand the situation that led to the infraction. This way the driver learns and improves their overall driving”. AutoPilots have also turned to a friendly competition, comparing safety scores to see who can do the best at each hub. 

Overall, safety is the top priority of office staff and drivers at Sweetie Boy. Whether it’s abiding by federal standards or finding ways to go above and beyond those expectations, Sweetie Boy’s team works hard to ensure the safety of all drivers on staff. Unsafe driving is corrected, and the safety standards are always upheld and maintained.

Thank you to Hayden Nachtigal for participating in this post and for speaking on AutoPilot safety within Sweetie Boy Transportation. 

Driver Appreciation Week

Every year when National Truck Driver Appreciation week rolls around, the team at  Sweetie Boy Transportation takes a step back to think of all of the drivers that make our company move. Our team not only consists of CDL- A licensed truck drivers, but we also employ single-vehicle delivery drivers, AutoPilots and non-CDL two car haulers. With such a great team with a variety of skills, taking the time to celebrate their accomplishments is a high priority. 

Sweetie Boy Transportation has five hubs across the eastern United States, located in Cleveland, Ohio; Rochester, New York; Newburgh, New York; Dundalk, Maryland; and Richmond, Virginia. Because of this, Sweetie Boy has a large staff ranging from Connecticut to North Carolina. Sweetie Boy Hub managers Zach Williams, Shawn Twargotski, Jennifer Finnegan, Malachy Hughes, and Mere Little  discussed more about being a hub manager during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Excitement was high all around, but the main focus were the AutoPilot gift bags. Mere Little from Richmond mentioned, “I am most excited about giving out the t-shirts! Our drivers ask for t-shirts to support our brand all year long, and it’s exciting that they’re able to get them”. Shawn Twargotski also mentioned the gift bags saying, “I’m most excited to see how the APs feel about it and seeing their reactions to the gifts SB set up for them, not every company appreciates their employees like SB does so it is nice to see”. This year’s AutoPilot gift bags contained special driver appreciation t-shirts, a Sweetie Boy sticker, a WWTD ( What Would Tyler Do) bracelet, a thank you card, and other small gifts. 

Driver appreciation doesn’t stop when the week is over, as our staff works year-round to help Sweetie Boy maintain their mission of delivering vehicles. Our drivers made amazing strides last year (2022) with our CDL haulers delivering 73,000 cars and driving over 3 million miles, and our AutoPilot team delivering 87,000 cars over 8.2 million miles. Jennifer Finnegan in Newburgh spoke about her passion for driver appreciation, “Every week I buy my own treats for the treat box just for my drivers just in case they get hungry out there and it’s my way of showing them I care”. Shawn goes the extra mile, and goes into detail about how he helps his haulers by saying, “ We pull cars in the mornings, if we have the time to check fuel we let them know if they need gas or not, and stage cars at night so they can leave early”. At Sweetie Boy, our office staff does their best to understand the struggles our drivers may go through, Mere Little explains, ”I try to thank them whenever I see them. It’s hard to be out there on the road all day by yourself. It’s important to reiterate they are part of a team, part of something bigger. I listen to their struggles with traffic, wait times, and crazy people out on the road to better understand what they go through on a daily basis. This reinstates my great appreciation for everything they do”. Zach Williams in Dundalk gets personal with his drivers by saying, “When i know they have a lot of stuff going on personally I try to cheer them up and give them a hug if they need it and buy them donuts and coffee in the morning or lunch in the afternoon…You never know what someone going through and sometimes they just need someone pull up a chair and listen”.  While our CDL drivers have already exceeded last years’ miles driven, it’s hard not to always want to celebrate such a hard working team.

What does it take to be a great hub manager? Malachy in Webster mentioned feeling a competitive spirit, “We have multiple hubs and although I want them all to thrive I want to be the best one”. Shawn states that being a hub manager involves continuous learning, “Knowing when a truck driver or AP comes to my hub they know they’re going to be taken care of. I’m not one to sit around; I pull cars, park cars, move cars around on the lot to keep organized, while also learning new things everyday to make myself better, whether it be getting to know an AP or something within logistics”. Zac knows that it takes an effort to be the best you can be by saying, “I just try to do better than the day before. I give my company, office staff and drivers 150% of me every day. I’m hoping I can show someone else coming up that if I can turn my life around then so can you and I’m living proof of that”. 

During this week it’s important to recognize how much our truck drivers do. There are over 3.9 million truck drivers in the United States, delivering goods from foods, to furniture to vehicles. Jennifer acknowledges this by stating, “Appreciating drivers is important because without them we wouldn’t have half the stuff we have”. Sweetie Boy’s truck drivers and AutoPilots are always at work helping Sweetie Boy fulfill their duties, and the office team could not be more grateful for the drivers that deliver vehicles every day. This appreciation resonates deeply with Zac,  “I really just want to thank the CDL hauler and Autopilot for everything they do good bad or ugly we are in this as a team and i just hope they all know how much they mean to me, and without them there is no Sweetie boy Transportation nor a 9930-BWI hub.  So thank you drivers for EVERYTHING!”

A great big thank you to our hub managers that took the time to speak with me about driver appreciation, and an even bigger thank you for all of the car haulers that are able to make what we do possible. This gratitude runs deep. Bea Safe.

Get To Know Our Staff: Interview With AutoPilot and Recruiter Sharel Crews

In December of 2021, Sharel Crews joined Sweetie Boy’s team of AutoPilots, and throughout her time has become a part of the Richmond office team as a recruiter. Marketing Coordinator, Sidney Shealey, got the chance to touch base with Sharel and talk about her experience working at Sweetie Boy so far.

“What is your current position and what was your position before this?”

 “Well my current position is kind of both, I am kind of in recruiting and AP (AutoPilot), so I continue to do both of those and I was an AP before working in the office” 

 

“Okay, so you do both recruiting and you do driving? When do you drive?” 

“Actually, I drive to and from work. So I go ahead and pick up a unit in Virginia Beach and drive it here and then they have a unit back so it is a pretty good gig!” 

“Alright, so what do you like best about your current position?” 

“Well, I like that I have the best of both worlds. I love talking with people, I think that is what I am good at. I have never met a stranger. So I think the position here is perfect for me, and then with that said I can also tell you exactly about the job because I do it! That is probably part of another question but still it is such a perfect combo”

 

“I actually really like to hear that you get the best of both worlds. How has being an AP helped you in doing what you do now?” 

“Well obviously I know EVERYTHING about it. I know what can go wrong. And if it has been done, I have done it! So I am a little more relaxed when somebody says, ‘Oh, I left my plate’. But ya, I have done it. If it has been done I have done it. So I can actually tell them everything not to do as well as what to do so it is a perfect combination! I mean being out on the road, you can tell them things like, ‘Look, you are going to be stuck in DC traffic,’ or, ‘You are going to get stuck at CarMax’ I have been there, I know exactly what they are going to be facing”

 

“What advice would you give to somebody who wants to become an Auto Pilot?” 

“Well, I absolutely love the job. You have to love driving. You have to be patient. Just those sorts of things. If you don’t love driving it is definitely not going to be the job for you. Just relax, drive, and take your time” 

“Oh absolutely, I think about it every time I get in the car for a long drive for something. Last summer I drove from Richmond (Virginia) to New Jersey and I was thinking to myself, ‘Could I be an AP?’ And by hour two of my drive I was like, ‘Ugh! Driving is so boring!’”  

“Right. Exactly. And they can play music or you can use a radio or stuff like that… but make sure that they know that you can’t use your phone or things like that. It is so relaxing to me though! Just take your time, relax when you get in the car! Don’t worry about your apps, don’t worry about anything else, just drive! Be safe and drive! So that would be the advice I would give them”  

 

“Now this one is not directly related to work, but what motivates you?”

“Just getting up in the morning. You know, getting up in the morning. Being able to get up in the morning. My husband, my grandchildren, they motivate me to do better. My job motivates me! Honestly, I want to do a good job at whatever I do. So that motivates me to do better and better. Coming into this job I never dreamed I could do what I do right now. So that motivates me to try and do even more!”

 

“I love that! I love knowing what makes people get up in the morning. So what is your favorite part about working with Sweetie Boy?” 

“I think it’s the best job that I have ever had. Seriously, I love it. I love this job. I love Tyler and Katie, I cannot wait to see what they can do with this job. You know, when you look for… let’s use a church. If you look for a church, it’s not a building, you are looking for a leader, and I would follow them just about anywhere. I love that part. I love that I know who owns the company. You know, you go to one of these other big places, ‘Well, who does this? Who pulls the strings? Where are these people?’ They are right here, and they are personable, you know?” 

“Oh absolutely, that was one thing that I love about coming to work here. When I had my first interview, one of the first people who greeted me was Tyler, and I got to know who started this company, what he wanted to do, and where he wanted to go. It is so inspiring knowing what they want to get done and that they are able to get it done. And what are you most excited about in Sweetie Boy’s future?”

 

“That is what I am excited about, the future! Just what you were talking about, seeing where they can go, seeing where they are going to go, because I think Tyler has such a good head on his shoulders, and I don’t want to use ‘young’ because for anybody, that age, but to look at his age, and see where he wants to go, it is very inspiring to me. Yeah, I can’t wait to see how far he can go. If I am a part of this or not, I just want to see how far they go” 

“Oh absolutely. I remember when they first opened up the Newburgh Hub location last year and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, brand new location, we are growing so much!’ Just hearing about what plans they have always gets me really excited”

“Me too! Me too! When we come off the interstate down here you know you see the hub and it’s got all these arches now and I am like, ‘Oh wait! That’s ours!’”

 

“So, what do you think about our new location? The new Richmond headquarters?” 

“That is a good question because it is not about the location for me, it is about the people that are inside. It is not about the building; it is about where we can take the building. It doesn’t really matter what street it is on, for me. It is about who is there and who is progressing in there, who is making it go forward. I think it is going to be great!” 

“Your husband Johnathan is a CDL driver, correct?”

 

“Mhmm!” 

“And how long has he been driving with Sweetie Boy?”
 

“One or two months before me, so a little over a year. Well… it will be two years in November for him, and then two years in December for me”

 

“Do you have any final thoughts, comments, anything that you wanted to share about your time in Sweetie Boy that you would want to include?”

“I think for my last year, I couldn’t imagine working for any other company. You know.. Going through that (cancer diagnosis) they’ve been so supportive with anything that I’ve needed. Off for surgery and then chemo and things like that, they’ve been really supportive… Let me work when I can. So I don’t think any other company would have been as gracious, I am grateful…I was diagnosed back in April of last year. This past May I had my one-year scan and it was clear!”

Thank you to Sharel Crews for taking the time to speak more about her experience working at Sweetie Boy. Staff like Sharel and her husband are people that make Sweetie Boy thrive.