Our Daily Responsibilities When Working For a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Our Daily Responsibilities When Working For a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Looking at the job description, being an HGV driver looks simple as all you have to do is drive and deliver… right? Well there is much more to it than that!

As a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, we can assure you that working in the haulage industry is no piece of cake – it requires organisation, concentration, safety, reliability and accuracy.

Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Whether you are just trying to understand or training to become an official HGV driver, we have gathered a few daily responsibilities and factors we have to consider before going on one of our journeys.

Basic Responsibilities

As a basic job template, your daily responsibilities working for a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire would probably include:

  • Transporting finished, raw, important and fragile goods from point A to point B, to and from manufacturers or retail and distribution centres.
  • Inspecting your vehicle regularly to ensure safe delivery and the prevention of any harm.
  • Absolute safe and legal driving when operating the Heavy Good Vehicles, ensuring no harm comes to the loaded materials, surrounding vehicles and people including yourself.
  • Planning delivery routes and following the schedule accurately.
  • Ensuring all deliveries are made on time, respectfully and professionally – treating our customers with the best customer service possible.

These are just your basic responsibilities as an HGV driver, but there are also a lot of more in-depth responsibilities we need to consider before going on our journeys or even starting our day.

How To Join A Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Obviously, every professional job requires some sort of training and practice, so especially due to the risks and responsibilities of operating an HGV, loading and unloading goods and interacting with customers, you need to be properly acknowledged and experienced. We will just go over the bare minimum for this one, however, if you would like more information on how to join the Haulage industry, check out one of our recent blogs, “Becoming an Official HGV Driver For a Haulage Company”.

Firstly, employers must be able to evidently prove they are over 18 years of age, own a full valid driving license and a Certificate of Professional Competence. These are three incredibly important things to have (apart from experience) when applying for an HGV driver position, as they are legal requirements.

You also need to be skilful for the job, such as responsibility, good time management, respectful, problem-solving, driving skills, the ability to focus for a long amount of time, great judgement etc. Skills are required for any job, they look impressive on your application and they help get the job done significantly.

Finally, and probably most importantly, you need to understand the full risks and responsibilities of your designated job, and how you can manage them. For instance, you need to know how to check your vehicle, your mental and physical state, how to plan and organise a route and delivery etc. put your problem-solving skills to the test.

Checking Your Vehicle

Your HGV should be regularly checked by yourself and a professional – Ideally by an expert on a weekly/monthly basis whereas you should be checking the basics before leaving for a journey. This includes things like tyre pressure, lights, petrol, oil levels etc. just in case of an emergency. After all, your job is running on time quite crucially and running late can affect your clients’ impression on the company quite dramatically, depending on the level of your tardiness.

When working for a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, the majority of the time your designated vehicle is your responsibility, so you need to check your vehicle regularly and organise an expert inspection etc. whilst your company just covers insurance, damages or other factors. Again, it all depends on your contract and the organisation you work for.

Failing to check your vehicle at these times can increase the risk of any unexpecting breakdowns or vehicle emergencies. It just wastes time, creates stress and can cause the company to look unprofessional.

Planning Your Journey

Organisation is the true key to a stress-free drive. Being prepared hours before a journey creates relaxation and a happy driver ready for the day ahead. Want to know how you can achieve this, here are just a few ways:

  • Check the weather the night before and when you wake up. This way you can prepare for any dangerous conditions you are going to be driving in.
  • Have a nutritional, delicious meal about an hour before you leave – This way you have the right energy levels and it has time to settle before you leave.
  • What about time management? Work out how long it will take to get there, plan your route and then consider adding extra time to your journey duration in case of any emergencies or traffic that could arrive.
  • Will you need anything for the journey ahead? For example, water? snacks? entertainment (things that aren’t too distracting) such as podcasts or CDs etc.

This might be your job, but it is your journey, so make yourself safe, organised and comfortable ready for the delivery ahead.

Taking Care of Yourself

A huge responsibility you should be doing even if you aren’t an HGV driver is taking care of your physical and mental state. This includes eating properly, sleeping regularly, keeping yourself active and regularly exercising etc. Not being in a fit state can really affect your journeys and personal reliability, causing you to not only NOT enjoy the journeys but also potentially become an unsafe driver.

If this is quite a difficult challenge to you, ensure that you at least do it the night before i.e. have a healthy meal, a relaxing evening, a night of great sleep and an energetic breakfast ready for your journey.

As a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, where there are a variety of villages, towns and cities full of busy roads and construction, we understand the risks and responsibilities of loading, unloading and transporting goods to and from relevant locations. We are an excellent, experienced team of individuals that obey these daily responsibilities we have just listed above. If you are looking for a high-quality haulage and transportation service, contact us today!

Thank you for reading.