The games that drivers play and the tough task of keeping them motivated

Games or sports are an excellent tool for bonding with diverse people within the same organization. There is no denying a huge chasm between drivers on the one side and their handlers on the other

LOGISTICS MONITOR/By Ramesh Kumar

The 29×29 inches brand new carrom board, gifted to the long-haul truck drivers of R Sai Logistics by Ulhas Ambegaonkar in 2017, was on the floor under the tarpaulined shed at the large parking yard in Chinchwad, Pune. There was not one board, but three gifted, but only a single board unveiled for the inaugural ceremony.

Besides the four drivers chosen to play, more than 20 pairs of eyes are transfixed on the board. There was a lot of commotion as the white coin player readies to strike the circularly assembled 19 coins (nine white, nine black, and one red, called queen in the center). Supervisor Safrosh Khan picked the players to commence the game.

The striker hits one of the peripheral coins, disturbing the assembled coins. Over the next 30 minutes, there were many back-slapping, lewd comments, and advisories. Absolute fun for spectators and tension for players. While drivers wait for the load from Tata Motors at this parking yard, they hunker around their trucks or underneath, passing the time with nothing to do – idling simply and waiting for the phone call from the logistics department inside the plant, in the vicinity. Carrom is something they have set their eyes on ever. At best, they prefer to play cards. No other game.

“None of us thought of playing games and engaging our drivers with something to keep them busy while they wait,” concedes the bearded Khan from Lucknow, who rose from the ranks of a driver to be the supervisor.

(Five years later, I call up Khan of R Sai to enquire about his drivers’ pass-time activities. Card playing. What about carrom? None touched the three boards 2–3 days after the initial euphoria evaporated.)

Five Years Later:

However, Kamal Kishore Dargan of R Sai Logistics, head of driver training based at Manesar, says he had engaged his drivers at Sohna Road yard in badminton. “At times, we made them play throwball also,” adds he.

“Card playing is the favorite game for drivers,” asserts Khem Singh standing outside the Tughklabad ICD, where one can spot more than 200–300 trucks parked for load allotment. Yes, they bet with financial implications.

The lean Singh, a heavy commercial vehicle licence holder himself but having taken up service as a personal driver for a physician a few years ago, has worked with NGO-focused truck drivers in the National Capital Region (NCR) and thus exposed the quirks of truck drivers’ habits.

Games or sports are an excellent tool for bonding with diverse people within the same organization. There is no denying a huge chasm between drivers on the one side and their handlers on the other. Above all, given the inefficiency of 3PLs (third-party logistics) and poor production/dispatch planning inside the manufacturing sites, the detention time is long for most companies. Thus, the waiting drivers have a lot of idle time waiting outside factory gates. Can they not be encouraged to spend time in a better way?

“The initiative has to come from each company’s supervisors managing these drivers at the plant site. The shippers’ 3PL team can also pool them together to engage them with games, quiz or edutainment — including a bit of safety education subtly,” says Mohan Subramaniam, a Mumbai-based truck finance professional-turned-driver trainer focused on the hazmat segment.

By and large, transport company owners alone or in association with shippers conduct some games on the occasion of Drivers’ Day, held in mid-September. Once in a year! And give away prizes to winners. Not regularly though. “Who has time to engage them? Let them be where they are and do what they want to,” laments a supervisor at a factory in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, a huge industrial cluster.

Tough Nuts to Crack:

He is not off the mark. Drivers are tough nuts to crack. They mistrust their supervisors more than their owners. However, these supervisors deal with them regularly, and games/sports may help bridge the gap.

There are exceptions. Recently, Pallia Transport Logistics conducted a cricket match between its drivers and staff. Surprisingly, drivers won the match, and one of the drivers walked away with the Man of the Match award, capturing a couple of wickets and scoring top runs.

Drivers, if motivated enough, will be eager to participate in team games. TransportMitra has seen active participation of drivers in games such as tug of war, running races, musical chairs, and others over the years. Pre-Covid Transport Mitra managed a dozen highway dhabas catering to the long-haul truck drivers for Exxon Mobil in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Besides carrom boards in the dining section, it also provided a volleyball court, wherever possible, at these dhabas.

Indian Oil, at its Gumjal (Punjab-Rajasthan border) retail outlet, provided a volleyball court for resting long haul truck drivers desiring to play. It is doubtful how many drivers availed themselves of this facility.

It is no secret that the life of long-haul truck drivers is dull. Day in and day out. Long haul truck drivers’ physical movements are limited. Provisioning indoor or outdoor game facilities outside the factory gates awaiting load merits consideration. That will be a price the shippers ought to pay for their indifference towards the weakest supply chain.

Such a gesture will be “an exercise to keep the mind clear and the body fit for work,” as American philosopher George Santayana wrote in the July 1894 issue of The Harvard Monthly. And he pertinently emphasises the value of sports or games thus: “We talk of the matter (sports/games) with a smile as of a fad or a frolic, a meaningless pastime to which serious things are in danger of being sacrificed. … we view the sudden irruption of the sporting spirit with alarm and deprecation, but without understanding.”

Are we game?

Also read by the same author: https://thenewsporter.com/going-for-worlds-first-container-vessels-running-on-carbon-neutral-green-methanol-no-cakewalk-for-maersk/

• The main picture on top (Featured image) from Pixabay has been used for illustrative purposes only.

The author is a business journalist specializing in logistics and supply chain. He has traveled 200,000 km on the Indian highways, met over 100,000 long-haul truck drivers across India since January 2010. He has authored three books: 10,000KM on Indian Highways, Naked Banana! and An Affair With Indian Highways. He is a Life Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transportation (CILT-India Chapter). He can be reached at konsultramesh@gmail.com. In this column, ‘Logistics Monitor’, he presents a global perspective on logistics and supply chain. The views are the author’s own and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same.