A day in the life: Follow a Roseburg truck driver on his daily journey to deliver wood products
By Nicole Mark, Supply Chain & Logistics Specialist
Roseburg driver Scott Partridge starts his day long before the sun has risen. The truck is cleaned and warm, the pre-trip inspection is complete, PPE is at the ready, and at 4:30am sharp we hit the road.
The theme of the day: If you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
Scott has been driving semi-trucks for 15+ years. He has worked for Roseburg for five years driving flatbed. Before that, he was a long-haul driver, and driver trainer for A&M Transport, one of our current carriers, for 10 years. In those 15 years, Scott has learned a few things, and has lots of knowledge behind the wheel. His main piece of advice: don’t let them make you mad, just let it roll off. This is great advice when you’re dealing with unpredictable conditions: windy roads, impatient drivers, construction, shipping crews, and, in Oregon, plenty of rainy days.
But it’s not just weather that gets in the way! During Scott’s time at Roseburg, there have been a few close calls, not just with other drivers, but with animals as well. Driving in the early hours of the day poses its own challenges; meeting elk, cows, and other animals on a two- lane road in the pitch black darkness of morning will really make you slow down. Another piece of advice Scott gives to all drivers, new and seasoned drivers alike – take your time! It’s always better to slow down and arrive at your destination safely than take unnecessary risks in the name of speed.
Drivers like Scott go the extra mile for our company – like creating tools that make the job safer and easier for everyone. As you can see in the video above, the truck straps are being wrapped using a handheld drill, which was Scott’s creation. He created the plate that attaches to the drill, not only to save time, but also to prevent future injury that could be caused by years of hand-rolling straps. Soon these will be standard in all Roseburg company trucks, and this is the kind of forward-thinking ingenuity that makes the Roseburg team so special. Roseburg is proud to have dedicated, involved drivers.
Scott and I hauled veneer back and forth all over Douglas County, from Roseburg to Riddle, and as the sun came up we ventured from Riddle to Coquille, then back to Riddle, and at last ended the day back in Dillard with a great lunch provided for the drivers and their families.
These drivers haven’t had it easy over the last couple of years; we all know firsthand how the COVID pandemic has affected the supply chain, and truck drivers were key during this time!
It was a pleasure and an honor to ride with Scott to see his day to day experiences firsthand. The truck drivers who serve our mills work incredibly hard— they’re up before the dawn navigating dangerous roads to serve our mills and our customers— and really at the core keep us moving!
THANK YOU TRUCK DRIVERS – WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO!