A grounds maintenance company running 23 crew trucks and 19 trailers gave every trailer its own checklist and history.
The challenge
Trailers moved between crews every week, so a broken light or worn ramp belonged to nobody.
Spring brought new drivers who had never done a pre-trip check.
What they changed
Trailers became units with the crew truck and trailer checklist; failures route to the yard lead, not the driver.
New drivers are invited by phone number and walked through the checklist on their first morning.
“We used to find out a trailer light was out when someone got pulled over. Now we find out at 6 a.m.”
Where they are now
The whiteboard is gone; the yard lead clears trailer defects from the shop queue each morning.
Winter is now when the trucks are serviced, because date-based services were pulled forward.