Morgan Corporation keeps its workforce truckin’

The truck body manufacturer creates operational efficiencies and streamlines its workforce management with Dayforce.

If you’ve ever driven in North America, you’ve probably followed behind a Morgan Corporation truck at one point or another. For over 65 years, Morgan’s mission has been to design, develop and deliver the best truck bodies in the world. It’s the largest truck body manufacturer in the United States, making everything from parcel delivery and refrigerated trucks, to flatbeds and dump trucks.

Starting in 1952 with a small welding shop in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, Morgan has expanded to 12 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., and two in Canada. The company employs over 2,200 people across both the manufacturing and service areas.

“Morgan is all about people, they are the backbone of this company. That's where all the design, craftsmanship and technical knowledge of how to build a truck body come together. We would be nothing without our people,” explains James Keith, Morgan’s Senior Director of Operations.

“The people that work here range from 18 to 65 years old. We have four generations in the workforce. They're committed to their jobs, and they want to produce a quality product,” adds Jason Sevcech, Morgan’s Senior Operations Supervisor.

With a diverse and knowledgeable workforce that is crucial to the company’s success, Morgan needs to ensure that they have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

Technical industry, complex workforce

The manufacturing industry is particularly challenging, as companies have to bring people, skills and material together in one place to get the job done effectively.

“It's a very high-volume industry, and there are a lot of technical aspects in the truck bodies we build,” says Keith.

With such a large, widespread workforce, the company needed a better solution.

“We had an old, antiquated system that was very cumbersome to work with. We had to punch clocks, and we didn't have data analytics that management could easily access,” says Keith.

Being in an industry that is so heavily reliant on scheduling its workforce efficiently, access to data in real-time was crucial.

“We have an attendance policy, and it's important that we know if people are coming in late or not coming in at all, as it directly affects production. At the end of the day, we're a manufacturing facility, and our goal is to produce quality trucks. If we don't have the right people here and we don't have the manpower that we need, then we can't reach our production goals,” explains Amy Sutton, Morgan’s HR Coordinator.

Morgan partnered with Ceridian, and implemented Dayforce Workforce Management to help them continue down the right road.

Moving forward together

“Workforce management is about getting everybody going in the same direction, trying to meet a common goal, and I use Dayforce as a tool to do that,” says Sevcech.

Morgan uses Dayforce Recruiting, Payroll, Performance Management, Benefits and Workforce Management. By leveraging Dayforce, Morgan has been able to coordinate its employees in ways that simply weren’t possible before.

“We use it to schedule shifts, so our employees know ahead of time what we're planning. It's a shared view of our labor structure, our labor scheduling, and vacations scheduling. Employees can go in and request days off, supervisors can see what the employee's requesting and if it works with the schedule,” explains Keith.

It also helps managers track employees’ time and attendance, to ensure that people are where they need to be, when they need to be there.

“When an employee doesn't show up first thing in the morning, we use Dayforce. Supervisors at the start of the shift will open up Dayforce to see who has clocked in and who has not. If someone's out sick or not able to come in, supervisors are able to find someone to replace them right away. It gives us immediate knowledge that someone is not on site at the beginning of the shift,” says Keith.

“Seeing those problems before I even leave the house allows me to plan better. It allows me to react to issues quicker, and prevent some issues altogether,” adds Sevcech.

Better decisions with data

Along with being able to view data in real-time, pulling detailed reports has helped Morgan make better scheduling decisions. “Information is how we run our business, so real-time information allows us to make decisions more quickly,” explains Keith.

“We're able to pull benefits enrollment reports, attendance polling reports, as well as information regarding overtime, how many vacation days somebody has taken, and how many flex days they've taken. All of these reports are things that we need on a daily basis, and now we have that information right at our fingertips,” says Sutton. “We are turning 17 or 18 trucks a day out of this one plant, and overtime can get out of control if it's not managed appropriately. Our managers are able to keep that overtime in check with the use of Dayforce, it makes it so much easier.”

Opening lines of communication

Employees now have access to an integrated system that gives them visibility into important information about their schedules and time off requests.

“Dayforce allows people to see their schedule on their phone, and if there are any changes to it, they appear there right away. Sometimes, there might be a need for them to come in early, and the supervisor's able to change that so the employee can see it on their app,” says Sutton.

The accessibility of the app has also benefits managers, as they are no longer tied to their computer when managing administrative tasks. “Operating from my phone, I'm able to stay on the shop floor. I'm able to stay moving,” says Sevcech.

It is important for Morgan to remain compliant with labor laws, and to be able to communicate with their workforce at all times.

“The importance of labor management is meeting the federal laws and state laws, making sure people are getting paid for time worked, making sure they're getting appropriate breaks, and also knowing where they are in the facility. If we have an emergency and I've got to find out where employees are to get them out of the building, I'll use Dayforce.” says Sevcech.

Going the extra mile

In an industry where time is such a valuable commodity, creating efficiencies in workforce management has made a huge impact on employee productivity.

“On average, in a day, I'll spend about two hours in Dayforce, whereas before, it took one person all day to do the same job,” says Sevcech.

“It helps me do my job more efficiently, it's a lifesaver. I didn't have access to something like this before coming to Morgan, and now that I have Dayforce, I couldn't imagine being able to do my job without it,” says Sutton.