Exceed Expectations!

Performance Plus Pay Update

Now You Know The Rest Of The Story

Team Effort!

ASE Certified Technicians

Operation Safe Driver Week

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

OCTOBER 2017

NEWSLETTER

Quote of the Month

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is

the result of forces working together.”

- James Cash Penney

Welcome New Non-Driving Employees:

Blake DeWolfe—Truck Technician (MI)

Kerry Rogers—Student Trainer (KY)

Susie Carl—Customer Service Rep (MI)

Exceed Expectations!

Message From: Ron Scalzo, President and COO

We are experiencing unprecedented demand in the market with several analysts

predicting year end demand to be at its highest levels in years. This combined

with major disruptions from hurricanes Harvey/Irma and the ELD mandate will

likely continue well into 2018 and beyond.

This environment creates both challenges and opportunities. We continue to expe-

rience tightening on drivers; so it is a reminder to all of us how we value and ap-

preciate the dedication and commitment of our drivers and the service they provide

to our customers. On a seasonal basis, demand is approaching an all-time high in

advance of peak season providing tremendous opportunities to drive utilization

while serving our customers. Our logistics business continues to experience tre-

mendous growth and is a great example of demonstrating the Super Service “Can

Do” spirit. With our Lakeland office taking a direct hit from hurricane Irma and

being without power for a week, our logistics team set up shop in a garage and

continued to book freight and service their customers and is on track to meet or ex-

ceed their forecast for the month.

As a quick business update, we are excited about signing on with several new mar-

quis customers while continuing to grow with many of our key accounts. We are

benefiting from the current market in the form of revenue per truck and rate per

mile which also translates into increased opportunities for our drivers.

The operations improvement efforts we initiated a few months are beginning to

yield results:

Optimizing our network to drive utilization and yield improvements

Improvements in our maintenance cost per mile as a result of our PM and

tire program initiatives

Positive trends in service levels

Increased paid miles for our drivers

As we approach the end of our third quarter and prepare for peak, we ask that we

continue to work as a team and be supportive of another. I encourage all of us to

be inspired by the example of our Logistics team in the aftermath of Irma. Let’s all

strive to Exceed Expectations as we finish 2017.

Our recently implemented Performance Plus Pay program is off to a great start! 9 out of 10 drivers who are

eligible to participant have qualified for extra pay per mile since June of this year. If you recall, this new in-

centive can add anywhere from 1 to 5 additional cents per mile to your base pay rate depending on monthly

driver performance results. On average, our drivers are earning 3.5 cents more per mile by achieving perfor-

mance goals in some or all of the measurement categories. As an added bonus, freight volumes have increased

drastically over the past 3 to 4 weeks. The U.S. economy grew 3.1% in the second quarter which is the quick-

est pace in more than 2 years. Retail season will soon be upon us creating even more freight opportunities.

There are and will continue to be more miles for each of our drivers with no end in sight. Let’s all work togeth-

er and make the 4th quarter of 2017 one to remember.

PERFORMANCE PLUS PAY UPDATE

Submitted By: Vaughn Yow, VP of Operations

NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY

Submitted By: Jay Thomas, Director of Safety

Hello, Americans! Eight years ago, Paul Harvey died at the age of 90 having been on the radio for over 70

years. He was one of my favorite radio announcers because he always told a story which ended with an un-

expected ending. The ending was always referred to as the rest of the story. Paul would sign off with, “Now

You Know the Rest of the Story.” I miss Paul because, today, you just don’t really know what to believe.

In this article, I want to provide everyone with “the rest of the story” regarding some forth coming changes

and the reasoning behind the changes.

AOBRD—ELD

Electronic logging devices (ELDs) are re-

quired to be in all CMVs by December 18,

2017. If companies are currently using

Automatic On-Board Recording Devices

(AOBRD), they have until 2019 to comply

with the ELD requirement. Super Service

has been using AOBRDs since 2011. The

service provider is Omnitracs and they are

working with the FMCSA to certify their

devices as ELD compliant. This certifica-

tion is expected by the end of October.

So, what is the difference between an

AOBRD and an ELD?

The fact is, these terms are currently used

interchangeably in our industry. The pre-

sent FMCSA regulation for Hours-of-

Service compliance (FMCSA 395.15) us-

es the language “Automatic On-Board Re-

cording Device for Hours of Service Com-

pliance.” So technically, “AOBRD” is the term for the legally compliant technology today.

EOBR was the term used in the FMCSA rule 395.16, which was vacated. Legislation MAP21, passed by

Congress in 2012, requires that the FMCSA issue a new rule mandating HOS recording devices which will

be called ELDs. The term “ELD” for “Electronic Logging Device” is growing in popularity. Maybe it’s just

faster to say “ELD” than “EOBR or AOBRD?” To me, the older ones sound like something out of Star

Wars. In the table shown are the main differences between an AOBRD and the new ELD rule.

Some additional changes include providing “Yard Moves” within the next couple months. Some of the

changes which were removed from carriers include Speed and Range. As some may remember, as a carrier,

we could set parameters to allow trucks to operate under 10 mph and at a distance of no more than 1 mile

before the AOBRD would put the driver on the drive line. The custom carrier modifications are fading away

under the new ELD mandate. Hence, why you see trucks around the country doing the 4 mph shuffle to

avoid using up drive time.

When Yard Movements go live you will be able to once again drive within certain radiuses (yards) without using your

drive time (properly identifying the movement). Keep in mind, Yard Movements will not stop your 14 hour clock.

Several people have asked about articles which indicate there will be no enforcement or that OOS violations penalties

will go into effect on April 1, 2018. So, I thought it would be appropriate to point out some details about these state-

ments. First, let’s talk about what is happening behind the scenes. The FMCSA and its state enforcement partners are

preparing materials and conducting training for their compliance and enforcement staff. The Commercial Vehicle

Safety Alliance (CVSA), an organization dedicated to improving the uniformity of roadside inspection and enforce-

ment efforts in North America, recently added ELD-related information to its “North American Standard Out-Of-

Service Criteria” (OOS criteria), the pass fail criteria for driver and vehicle inspections. The purpose of the OOS crite-

ria is to identify critical violations that render a driver, vehicle and/or cargo out of service until condition(s) or defect(s)

can be corrected or fixed. The new CVSA OOS criteria is updated and published each year on April 1st. Therefore,

the official OOS criteria enforcement will be published April 1, 2018.

However, don’t be fooled. Drivers in violation of the HOS regulations will receive violations and could be placed out

of service prior to the April 1, 2018 publication. In fact, Super Service LLC has had some drivers find out the hard

way they can be placed OOS. Also, keep the term “ELD” in mind. Super Service is currently using AOBRDs and the

OOS criteria has already been published for AOBRDs.

If you have additional questions about the ELD mandate, please feel free to contact myself or any safety personnel and

we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

CRUISE CONTROL

As everyone is aware, Super Service LLC has two different speed limiters (or governed speeds). One for the foot pe-

dal and the other for cruise (62mph & 65mph). As you also know, Super Service LLC takes safety very seriously. Not

only your personal safety, but the safety of the motoring public with which you share the road. It is for these reasons

we will be making changes to the tractors to permit you to operate our equipment at the same speed (65mph) regardless

of whether you are using cruise or manually using the foot pedal. In addition, because it is unsafe to operate any vehi-

cle on wet or slick surfaces, the cruise control will be inoperable when the windshield wipers are in use. Your life is

very important to us and these changes will help provide you a safer work environment. Although I cannot use tech-

nology to control the use of cruise control when driving at night, it is highly recommended NOT to use your cruise be-

tween the hours of midnight and 6 am. Crash data indicates driver who doze at the wheel with cruise on suffer more

serious injuries than drivers who were not using cruise. I guess it is easy to see that if you doze off without cruise you

are likely to also not be pressing the throttle. But I hope everyone knows by now “NO LOAD IS WORTH YOUR

LIFE OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS” so you should not be driving if you are tired.

SMITH SYSTEM – DEFENSIVE DRIVING CLASS FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS

Recently we made the change from teaching Smith System to teaching the National Safety Counsel’s Defensive Driv-

ing for Professional Truck Drivers course. You may ask why the change when both are good programs and teach driv-

ers skills to be safer on the roadways. I’ve always been the type of person to ask why. If we are going to change, why

did we decide to change? In 7th grade, my math teacher told the class Pi was equal to 3.14159 and I asked why. I

guess she was having a bad day or thought I was just being me and she answered me, “Because I said so.” After a

short debate, I was told sternly to proceed to the principal’s office. Well, things are not much different today as I still

like to know why.

National Safety Counsel’s Defensive Driving Course for Professional Drivers spends more time teaching drivers why

it is important to maintain a 7 second following distance instead of just telling drivers to do it. They spend time on real

skill building exercises including how to look for the unexpected instead of just aim high in steering. I think if we all

share why we are doing something or changing something you get better results. Learning is a continuous cycle of

gathering knowledge which means you need to know why in order for you to actually learn.

Though I am not Paul Harvey, I hope the information shared here will be helpful to you. If you have questions or con-

cerns, regardless of the topic, please feel free to call me or a member of my staff. The Safety Department is a resource

to you. It is up to you to use it. Be safe and thank you for what you do!

TEAM EFFORT!!!

Submitted By: Fred Needham, VP of Sales/Marketing

Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc throughout the Southeast and effected hundreds and

thousands of people, including several of our drivers. I heard many touching stories of

our professional drivers offering to donate their services to help with the relief efforts.

Irma had a tremendous impact on our logistics office in Lakeland, as they lost power

for several days. Given the size and scope of what they do, we had to put on our rally

caps on and figure out how to get them back on line. The main issue was there were

not any generators within 500 miles of Florida due to the outrageous demand. One of

our sales staff reached out to one of our long-term customers, Camping World, to see

if they could assist. They did a company-wide search and found they had two genera-

tors which met our needs in their retail store in Nashville. They generously sold both

of them to us at their cost and the sales person got them loaded up in their SUV and

headed to our terminal in Ellenwood.

Once they arrived, Tim Cooke (our Shop Foreman) took full control of the situation.

Since we needed to get an extra empty trailer back from Florida, these were attached to

the frame behind the cab. Due to the preciousness of this particular cargo, he took great

care to ensure it was completely secured to arrive intact and in a safe manner for all. This

picture is BEFORE the two chains and padlocks went on. David Yon took the baton and got things rolling, literally. He

knew the traffic was going to be terrible, as everyone was re-

turning back from their refuge in Georgia back to Florida at the

same time. He had a super attitude and was all-in on doing what he could to make

this happen. David also did a great job managing his clock to accommodate for all

of the time needed to secure things and began his run with fresh hours. After the

fact, he said it ended up being some of the worst congestion he had ever encoun-

tered in south GA, but overcame those obstacles and arrived in Lakeland the next

morning.

With the help of his staff and his father, Brandon was able to set up a makeshift of-

fice in his garage, which had recently been converted into a play area for his two

small children - please note all of the toys in the background! This allowed his team to work for almost three

full days before power was finally restored to their office.

You cannot turn on a TV or a radio today and not hear all of the nega-

tive things which are going on around us. Although this is a very small

thing in comparison, it is still a great example of how we can all still

come together as people, as a company and as fellow Americans to

lend a helping hand. Thanks again to everyone who made this possi-

ble!

David Yon (left) and

Brandon Bodine

MAINTENANCE MINUTE—ASE CERTIFIED

TECHNICIANS

Submitted By: Fran Kephart, Director of Maintenance

The above photo recognizes our ASE certified technician in our Grand Rapids, MI maintenance facility. Mike Rice, Truck Techni-

cian, is currently certified in T8 Preventive Maintenance and T4 Brakes. Laif Lampson, Body Shop Technician, has earned ASE

body certification in B2 Paint and Refinishing, B3 Non-structural Analysis and Damage Repair and B5 Collision Mechanical and

Electrical Components. Jim Miller, Truck Technician, has also earned certifications in T8 Preventive Maintenance and T4 Brakes.

The above photo recognizes our ASE certified technicians at our Somerset, KY facility. Wade Higginbotham, Body Shop Techni-

cian, has earned body certification B2 for Painting and Refinishing. Joey Vaughn, Truck Technician, has ASE certifications in T2

Engines, T4 Brakes and T8 Preventative Maintenance. Brian Sexton, Service Manager, has completed certification in T4 Brakes.

Finally, Austin Thurman, is a ASE Master Certified Truck Technician. He has earned his Master Certification by completing all

seven certification categories. Austin is certified in T2 Engine, T3 Air Conditioning/Heat, T4 Brakes, T5 Suspension, T6 Electri-

cal, T7 Drive Line and T8 Preventative Maintenance.

We do have additional technicians with expired ASE certifications. Many of these technicians are in the process of registering for

recertification. We encourage all technicians, ERS Coordinators and Service Managers to register for the certification test and

work towards becoming an ASE Master Truck Technician or Body Technician. We will continue to celebrate the success of the

maintenance staff as the ASE certifications are renewed or new certifications are earned in future newsletters. Please congratulate

these technicians on their accomplishments the next time you visit one of our maintenance facilities.

Left to Right: Mike Rice, Laif Lampson, and Jim Miller

Left to Right: Wade Higginbotham, Joey Vaughn, Brian Sexton

and Austin Thurman

Employee Profile—Steve Steinberg

Steve Steinberg started his career in transportation in 2005 at Gainey Transporta-

tion after graduating from Grand Valley State University. He has been a Driver

Manager, Team Driver Manager, Logistics Coordinator and a Planner in his 12

years in the industry.

He and his wife Michele have been married for 8 years and have a 9 year old son,

Ayden. They enjoy traveling every chance they get and love exploring new places.

They also love going to Michigan football games, camping, and spending time

with family and friends by the pool.

Ayden and Steve

Michele and Steve

OPERATION SAFE DRIVER WEEK

10/15/17 -10/21/17

Submitted By: Jeff Adelman, Compliance Manager

Law enforcement agencies throughout North America will engage in heightened traffic safety

enforcement and education aimed at combating unsafe driving behaviors by commercial motor

vehicle (CMV) drivers and passenger-vehicle (car) drivers as part of CVSA’s Operation Safe

Driver Week, Oct. 15-21, 2017.

Unsafe driver behaviors by CMV drivers and passenger-vehicle drivers continue to be the lead-

ing cause of crashes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) “Large

Truck Crash Causation Study” cites driver behavior as the critical reason for more than 88 per-

cent of large truck crashes and 93 percent of passenger-vehicle crashes. CVSA’s Operation

Safe Driver program was created to help to reduce the number of crashes, deaths and injuries

involving large trucks, buses and cars due to unsafe driving behaviors. During Operation Safe

Driver Week, there will be increased CMV and passenger vehicle traffic enforcement.

Examples of unsafe driver behaviors that enforcement will be tracking throughout Operation

Safe Driver Week are speeding, failure to use a seatbelt while operating a CMV or in a passen-

ger vehicle, distracted driving, failure to obey traffic control devices, traveling too closely, im-

proper lane change, etc.

Last year, Law enforcement officers issued warnings/citations to 11,182 commercial motor ve-

hicle (CMV) drivers and 9,466 passenger-vehicle drivers during 2016 Operation Safe Driver

Week.

The top five warnings and citations issued to CMV drivers were: 1. State and Local Moving Violations – 56.7 percent

2. Speeding – 19.6 percent

3. Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device – 7.6 percent

4. Failing to Use Seatbelt While Operating CMV – 7.1 percent

5. Using a Handheld Phone – 2.4 percent

The top five warnings and citations issued to non-CMV (passenger vehicle) drivers were: 1. Speeding – 39.4 percent

2. State and Local Moving Violations – 37.1 percent

3. Failing to Use Seat Belt – 11.7 percent

4. Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device – 1.9 percent

5. Inattentive and/or Careless Driving – 1.5 percent

Avoid violations by obeying the rules of the road and doing excellent Pre-Trips, In-route,

and Post Trip Inspections. Remember, a violation free DOT inspection, properly logged

and turned in within 24 hours pays company drivers an additional $50 bonus.

CONGRATULATIONS RASCH FAMILY!!!

Submitted By: Steve Maat, Director of HR

Congratulations to Jon Rasch, Director of Operations, and family on the birth of a

beautiful baby girl, Delaney Jade Rasch! Delaney weight in at 6lbs 10oz and is

20.5 inches long. She was born on 9/14/17.

3

October Driver Years of Service Recognition—Thank You!!!

Name Years of Service

Borde, Hugh 9

Kimray, Donald 9

Neff, Thomas 9

Shaw, Darell 9

Williams, John 9

Barber, John 10

Barber, Richard 10

Barber, Theresa 10

Chappel, Harvey 10

Bean, Jessie 15

Cervantes, Clarence 17

Nguyen, Minh 18

Zukauskas, John 19

Hahn James 20

Svirid, Sergei 21

Name Years of Service

Anderson, Charles 1

Anyanwu, Edward 1

Buffington, Cory 1

Burr, Leroy 1

Civitello, Michael 1

Grandberry, Paul 1

Gruszecki, Randal 1

Khing, Kyaw 1

Kirkpatrick, David 1

Polchek, Anthony 1

Teribury, Frederick 1

Tobias, Stan 1

Tun, Sai 1

Vining, Jeffery 1

Williams, Candice 1

Brouse, Shawn 2

Higgins, Larry 2

Lockhart, Tiffany 2

Rhinebeck, Jesse 2

Barnes, Jeffery 3

Hayes, Michael 3

Boersen, Bryan 4

Scott, Susan 4

Newman, Albert 5

Dearman, Mark 6

Raymond, Edward 6

Simington, George 6

Browder, Demarquenes 7

Limban, James 7

Rusk, Homer 7

October Non-Driving Employee Years of Service Recognition

Thank You!!!

Name Years of Service Position

Matthew Cathey 1 Regional Sales Manager—GA

Douglas Omedeo 1 Emergency Road Support—GA

RJ Shinn 1 2nd Shift Driver Manager—MI

Kristin Moon 3 Customer Service Rep—GA

Eric Schut 3 Driver Manager—MI

Kelly Dornon 4 3rd Shift Load Tracker—MI

Curtis Johnson 4 Shop Shift Foreman—GA

Danny Caldwell 8 Recruiting Manager—KY

Scott Wood 10 3rd Shift Driver Manager—MI

Melissa Ayers 16 Customer Service Rep—TN

Tommy Taylor 16 Regional Sales Manager—TN

Mickey Wilson 16 Billing Specialist—KY

Steve Duncan 18 Emergency Road Support– KY

Cheryl Metternick 23 Benefits Administrator—MI

Mark Collins 24 Emergency Road Support—KY

September Clean Road Side Inspection List

We Pay $50 For Every Clean, Properly Logged Inspection

Dale Dasho Randy Carter Alan Bailey

Aubrey Tolle Brian Williams Bobby Kirkland

John Cedilnik Linwood Mills Jason Hill

Herman Gooding Cameron Bartlett David Allen

Jaelen Sanders-Parker Carlos Brignoni Russell Lowe

Mark Reed Michael Campbell

Earn Up To $2,000 for

Driver Referrals

We know our Super Drivers come in contact with other safe, experienced professional drivers every day. We hope you will consider sending them our way! Now, telling them about the opportunities at Super Service is even easier.

We created a new handout, espe-cially for referring prospective driv-ers. So, when you find someone who could be a great fit for the Su-per Service Team, send them our way! Drop by the Recruiting De-partment and pick up a few of the new driver referral door hangers to-day or contact recruiting at 800.326.8889 for all the details! Re-fer safe, experienced drivers and start earning $$$$ today!

- Super Service LLC Recruiting

We have Safety Meetings every Friday at

Super Service terminals. Join us for some

good grub and important safety information.

Safety will be available to answer questions.

Upcoming Events

Super Service, LLC

6000 Clay Ave SW

Grand Rapids, MI 49548

616-530-8558 x1341 ph

616-588-6391 fax

smaat@superservicellc.com

Super Service Social Media Program

https://www.facebook.com/superservicellc

https://twitter.com/superservicellc

Super Service Blog:

http://blog.driveforsuperservice.com/