Run Silent, Run Deep

How to quickly eliminate dispatching problems

          The first time I remember hearing the phrase “run silent, run deep” was in a 1958 movie of the same name. Set during WWII, the movie is about an American submarine out to destroy a Japanese battleship that had sunk the American skipper’s first submarine.

          The phrase refers to a submarine stealth tactic, but it’s actually a very good business concept for the dispatching aspect of the towing industry. It’s what can and should be done in any towing operation that might be looking for a tactic that would allow better positioning within the industry.

          You’ll see what I mean when I say that this concept of running silent, running deep offers appropriate tools that can benefit individual dispatchers as well as help an entire crew in a dispatch center excel as a cohesive department.

          There are several advantages to running silent. In submarining, it prevented the enemy from locating the sub, which allowed the sub crew to focus on what was important — their survival — and gave the skipper extra time to work out a strategy and determine the next move.

          Today, dispatchers have the same opportunity to focus on what’s most important — shutting out the outside noise, concentrating on the task at hand, and focusing on the next move.

          What tools will help implement this strategy, and what are the benefits of “running silent” at the dispatch desk?

Run Silent

          When calls are received electronically — without verbal communication — the dispatcher can focus on the most important tasks at hand: managing trucks while receiving new calls on the dispatch screen in real time and sorted in the order that’s most helpful, whether by priority, by time, or by location.

          By communicating in this manner, the dispatcher is able to work calls without the added, and more cumbersome, step of getting a driver on the radio or phone and then having to read off the call information.

          This “running silent” shortcut helps in a number of ways by:

1. Reducing dispatching errors since only necessary information is sent to the driver
2. Permitting split-second relaying of all information
3. Reducing stress on dispatchers, and an entire dispatch center
4. Cutting the chit-chat. Every company has one driver who talks too much, explains too much, or basically just won’t shut up and do his job. Electronic dispatching eliminates this.
5. Enabling a driver to send details of a call back to dispatch without having to reach dispatch by voice to read off the information. This provides too many benefits to an operation to mention, but would include receiving more accurate information, more timely information, increased performance, increased revenue per hour, increased revenue for the driver, and more.
6. Allowing the dispatcher to view each vehicle to be towed on live mapping via GPS. By having accurate information at the time a call is taken and linking it to a dispatch screen, a dispatcher can visually determine the exact location of the vehicle. This helps the dispatcher determine the closest available truck to call (Any GPS can help; however, if a fleet GPS-mapping solution is linked to a dispatching and call-taking solution, it will double or triple the benefits).
7. Reducing issues with drivers, especially commission drivers, who get more info faster, can finish a call and get on to the next one faster, get proper pricing, and etc. Drivers get frustrated when they feel the need to talk with dispatchers and aren’t able to reach them, or need to repeat information each way, and more. Also, there’s often there’s an “attitude” issue between a dispatcher and a driver. This is eliminated as an impediment to operations.
8. Eliminating “call envy,” which occurs when a driver thinks the other driver is getting the easier call, or the more profitable call, or the closer call, or just more calls! When drivers are dispatched electronically, they don’t hear or know anything else that’s going on and can’t keep score.

Run Deep

     Working each call in electronic form produces substantially more benefits to a towing company than simply improved dispatching. These include:

1. Accountability for all calls, answering the questions Who took the call? Who dispatched it? Who worked the call? Who priced the call? What happened to the call? Cancelled? Completed? Etc.
2. Accurate driver logs, accounting of payments, billing to accounts, and driver commissions
3. Eliminating redundancy in paperwork and reducing paperwork errors
4. Reducing labor costs
5. Improving cash flow

A Winning Plan

          Having a plan that improves your operation greatly increases the odds for enhanced revenue and beating the competition. In today’s environment, conducting dispatch in the “run silent, run deep” mode by utilizing the modern tools of advanced computerized dispatching will give any company a tactical advantage.

          In the movie Run Silent, Run Deep, the skipper realized that the Japanese had an advantage. His quick thinking enabled the good guys to come out on top. You can too.

James Weaver is CEO of Tracker Management Systems, Inc., which has provided dispatch solutions for the towing industry for more than 24 years. For more information on the benefits of electronic dispatching, seewww.trackermanagement.com or call 800-445-2438.