If your general interest in civil engineering led you to a career in the field of transportation, it’s essential to know that the industry is changing rapidly. In fact, for people who are relatively new to the field, there are several core facts worth knowing. Additionally, even if you have been on the job as a transport engineer for a while, it’s smart to review some of the latest ideas and developments in the sector.
Perhaps the most significant changes are taking place in fleet management, where the legal environment has led to all sorts of new requirements. In a similar way, the concept of superior customer service is becoming a more central part of the engineer’s job. While multiple organizational challenges lay ahead, it’s imperative for today’s professionals in transport to learn about the many ways to enhance ROI (return on investment). What about traffic flow and routing? They remain two of the core tasks for every transportation-oriented company. Consider the following below.
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Fleet Management is Job One for Transport Companies
Fleet managers are at the very heart of the transportation system. Many have a wide range of prior experience as transport engineers in other fields but chose to operate fleets because they enjoyed the challenge and non-stop activity of the job. There’s a constant need to understand the rules set out by FMCSA about what constitutes a commercial vehicle.
The definition hinges on the type of work the driver is doing and what kind of vehicle he or she is operating. Just because the car or truck is being used in the course of a business does not necessarily bring it under the official definition. Why is the question such an important one? Because it determines who must get a commercial driver’s license in order to work. To find out more about this issue, consult an authoritative guide that outlines what the FMCSA rules are for commercial vehicles and what it means to classify a truck or car as such.
Customer Service is a Central Part of the Equation
It’s easy for engineering professions to forget that customer service is a part of most job descriptions. In the transport industry, in an effort to improve operations everyone is part of the team that works toward delivering goods to a buyer. When everything works well, and the delivery reaches its destination on time and in good shape, the company stands to build a long-term relationship with yet another satisfied client. Studying traffic patterns and calculating how long it will take to make hundreds or thousands of such deliveries is directly related to the customer service function in any business.
Routing and Traffic Flow Are Essential Elements
Truck routing and traffic analysis are core components of any company’s everyday duties, particularly those in the shipping and transportation sector. When it comes to dealing with large numbers of trucks that cover vast geographic regions in several time zones, the skills that engineers bring to the table are indispensable. In modern organizations, all those calculations are built into computer programs and applications, which means it’s important for engineers to understand how to create digital resources that get the job done.
