Driver Orientation

You have probably read about some of the things that make Osborne different from other carriers, but here’s the biggest one: how we treat YOU!

We know that most people don’t like change: we get it! Our goal is to make your move to Osborne an easy one, and as headache free as possible. This starts with our straightforward pay program, where you will get paid the daily pay rate for each day you are in orientation.

Please take a look at the information below, as this will serve as your guide to our orientation so you know exactly what to expect.

Getting to Osborne

We are conveniently located on the north side of Cincinnati in a suburb called Fairfield.

Here’s the distance to our doorstep from some of our more popular recruiting spots:

Dayton, Ohio: 43 Miles
Toledo, Ohio: 190 Miles
Cleveland, Ohio: 245 Miles
Lexington, Kentucky: 118 Miles
Louisville, Kentucky: 135 Miles
Indianapolis, Indiana: 112 Miles
Fort Wayne, Indiana: 167 Miles
Detroit, Michigan: 251 Miles
Chicago, Illinois: 296 Miles
Joliet, Illinois: 303 Miles

We know you are worrying a lot about changing jobs, and so we try to take the financial risk out of the equation for you on transportation. Here are several ways we can get you here:

Your Vehicle: We encourage drivers who can to bring their own personal vehicle. This allows you the freedom to go run personal errands when you are here and taking a break. If you choose this option, Osborne will reimburse you for any fuel you purchase to drive yourself to orientation pending the successful completion of your road test.

Flight: Yes, you read that right, at Osborne we are willing to fly you here if you are over 200 miles away from our terminal. We will pay for your ticket up front, and if available in your area, we will even Uber you to the airport from your house! If you have an airline rewards account to earn miles, let your recruiter know and we’ll make sure you even earn the miles for the trip. We will need to make sure you have conducted the background check and MVR records request forms and that we have received those back before we book the ticket. If Uber is not available, we will ask that you arrange transportation to the airport. We will arrange for transportation from either Cincinnati (CVG) or Dayton (DAY) airport at our expense: this will either be someone from Osborne picking you up, or an Uber.

Uber/Taxi: If you are within a 200 mile radius of Cincinnati, and Uber or other ride share program is available in your area, we can arrange for an Uber to bring you to orientation. This will be paid up front by Osborne: at no additional cost to you. This will be a private passenger vehicle, so you aren’t having to share a car with anyone other than the Uber driver!

Rental Car: If you would like to, you can rent a rental car through any agency you choose. There is a local Enterprise, Hertz and Avis store that you can return to just right around the corner from Osborne. require a major credit card to reserve a rental car, and that will need to be provided by you and paid up front. You will also be responsible for providing your own fuel for the trip. Upon arrival here at Osborne, we will reimburse you 100% of the rental cost and regular fees & taxes (not damage, insurance, smoking charges, etc.), plus we will reimburse you for 100% of your fuel cost. Osborne cannot assume any liability for you until you actually get here and become an employee, therefore you will need to bring all receipts with you on your first day.

Bus: Osborne can arrange for a bus ticket. This will be through a company like Greyhound, depending on your location. If available, we can arrange Uber transportation from your house to the bus station; or, you can find your own way to the bus station. We will have either an Osborne employee or an Uber driver there to pick you up from the bus terminal. We all know buses aren’t the most glamorous, but sometimes, they do serve a purpose.

As you are making arrangements, etc., please remember Cincinnati is in the Eastern Standard Time Zone (EST).

Where You'll be Staying: Lodging

We do not believe in putting driver’s up in a budget, economy motel: you will always be put in a decent, business style hotel.

Locally, Osborne utilizes the TownePlace Suites by Marriott – Fairfield. We will provide every new driver with their own individual room. You can check in on Tuesday night and will check out Friday morning: all on Osborne’s dime! There is even a free HOT breakfast each morning, and the rooms have a kitchenette if you’d like to bring your own food for breakfast and dinner!

If due to travel issues with available plane or bus trips, we will set you up for a hotel room Monday night as well. If you are driving here on your own, you can opt to get a hotel room Monday night for your convenience, however, that will be at your own cost.

Here are some of the very nice amenities at the TownePlace Suites-Fairfield:

Free Wi-Fi
Kitchenette in Every Room:
- Fridge, Microwave, Sink, Dishwasher, Coffee Maker, Stovetop
Indoor Swimming Pool
Complimentary Fitness Center
Daily Housekeeping

Local Area: Food, Activities & Shopping

Within a short distance of the hotel there are several restaurants that you may wish to visit. While some are within walking distance, please don’t play in traffic:

Gold Star Chili: Cincinnati Style Chili, yes, it’s runny, do not just get a bowl of Chili here, that’s gross! Try a Cheese Coney or a Three-Way: Chili, Spaghetti and Cheese.
Rapid Fire Pizza: Fast-Casual Wood Fired Pizza
Arby’s: Fast-Food Roast Beef & Other Sandwiches
City BBQ: Fast-Casual BBQ
Frisch’s Big Boy: Diner Style Fare and Salad Bar
Jet’s Pizza: Deep-Dish Style Pizza, ask about the Turbo crust!
Subway: Who doesn’t know what Subway is right?
McDonald’s: No explanation necessary.
Starbucks: Coffee & Light Food

Uber is available in the area for short trips around, so feel free to explore the surrounding areas. If you haven’t used Uber before, download their app from your phone’s app store, or you can visit their website. Here’s some ideas of other Greater Cincinnati adventures:

Jungle Jim’s International Market (2.6mi): Seriously the coolest grocery store you’ve ever seen, and probably the biggest. Hard to believe a grocer is a tourist attraction, but it really is!

Cobb Theatre & Cinebistro (10.2mi): A movie theater that has big leather recliners! In the Cinebistro side, you can order food right from your seat and they will bring it out to you: they do suggest getting there 30 minutes before your movie starts. The food is really good too!

Top Golf (4.6mi): Made famous in Las Vegas and Texas, this is like a driving range on steroids. Light up targets, a really neat scoring system and table side food & drink service. You don’t even have to bring your own clubs, they are sitting right there at every bay. Don’t Golf? No worries: it is still a fun & unique experience.

Cincinnati boasts some really great things to do, so if you have some free time, and want to go explore, we encourage you to check it out! We also have professional sports teams in baseball, football, hockey and soccer, as well as great museums and the world famous Cincinnati Zoo.

Shopping wise, there are plenty of places where you can go and grab some essentials. A few quick ones are:

Walgreens Pharmacy (1.4 Miles): Convenience Store
Walmart Supercenter (6.2 Miles): “Welcome to Walmart”
Kroger (4.3 Miles): Grocery Store
Liberty Center (10 Miles): Outdoor Shopping Mall with a Cabela’s Across the Street

What to Bring

Direct Deposit Information for Payroll
- Copy of a Voided Check
- Or, Bank Routing & Account Numbers
Current Driver’s License
- If you have recently moved, keep in mind your CDL is only valid for 30 days from when you move.
- Speaking of Driver’s License: Make sure you have a valid Medical Card and that the medical card has been registered with the state your license is in. If you do not have a valid medical card registered with the state, your CDL is invalid and we won’t be able to proceed until that is corrected.
Copy of Previous 8 Days Logbook
Identification Necessary to Complete your I-9 Form
- Acceptable I-9 Documents: Click Here
Personal Supplies
- Clothing Personal Care Products/Toiletries (Hotel will have basics like Shampoo & Soap)
- Medications or other Medically Required Items
- Sleep Apnea Machine, if Required
Food & Snacks
- Hotel provides breakfast each morning of your stay
- We provide lunch all three days.
- Please bring any other food or snacks that you might wish
Items for the Truck
- Tools (Hammer, Vice Grips, Screw Drivers, etc.)
- If Flying: Be sure to Check TSA before packing
- Power Inverter/GPS/CB: If you wish to have any of these items installed in your new truck, please bring them along. Our shop will be happy to install it for you. Note: We do ask that they be installed by the shop, so if you can’t bring it with you and you buy it later, let us know and we’ll put it in.
- Bedding for your Truck
- Toiletries & Cleaning Products for your Truck

Please keep in mind that when you head out Friday, we’ll be working off of the home time schedule we’ve agreed to. So if that is every other weekend, make sure you have what you need to get down the road for the following week. With not starting out until Friday, depending on where you live, I would probably plan on arriving back home late Friday, or first thing Saturday. Bottom line: make sure you have enough socks and underwear to make it back home (if we’ve included the message, there’s usually someone that didn’t!).

Orientation Schedule: Getting Down to Business

You’ve made the best decision you can as a professional truck driver: you’ve decided to join a great company. So what’s next?

Prior to your Arrival Day the following items will need to be satisfactorily completed before you join us:

Completion of your DOT Driver Application (with previous employer verifications)
Motor Vehicle Records Report
Criminal Background Check Report
FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) Report
FMSCA Clearinghouse

Arrival Day: Tuesday
We have to get some basic items out of the way that convert your conditional offer of employment into an actual job. That will include the satisfactory completion of following:

In-Person & Onsite Interview
Road Test & Driving Skills Assessment
Pre-Employment Drug Test & DOT Physical (make sure you have any health documents you may need for conditions or medications to provide our DOT doctor i.e. your up-to-date sleep study if you have sleep apnea)

Note: This will be conducted in an automatic transmission tractor. Fair warning: this is more than your quick 15 minute trip around the block road test. Applicants must demonstrate they can satisfactorily complete all facets of driving a truck. Some examples include, proper pre-trip, backing, maneuvering, shifting, cornering, as well as, on-road driving.

All said and done, this is about a 3-5 hour process with the road test, DOT physical and drug test.

Once all of those items have been successfully completed, we will take you back to the hotel (unless you drove your own car), and you can get rested up to start orientation!

Orientation Day One: Wednesday
Someone from Osborne will coordinate a pick-up time with you the day prior to get you to orientation. If you drove your own car here, please be here and ready to go at 9am. Here’s a brief overview of what ground we will cover before your day is over on Wednesday:

Employment Paperwork

I-9 Form
Income Tax Withholding Forms
Direct Deposit Information (Remember your canceled check or account info)
Other Miscellaneous Company Specific Forms

HR Review

Explanation of Benefits, Time Off, Vacation & Leave Policies
General Company Employment Policies
Company Procedures
Pay Cycle

Safety Review
Here at Osborne Trucking, we take Safety seriously and that is why it is the first thing we talk about once all your paperwork is complete. And here you will discuss and talk about the expectations to be a Professional Osborne Truck Driver, to keep you safe, and everyone around you safe. Here are some of the topics that we will discuss:

Hours- of- Service Rules & Regulations
Omnitracs ELD Training
Bendix Safety System
Safe Driving Tips
Adverse Weather
General Safety Rules of the Road
SMITH System Introduction

Meet & Greet with Management Team & Facilities Tour

Offices
Warehouse
Driver’s Lounge
Maintenance Shop

Ride Along with an Osborne Driver

Day one will end around 4pm EST. Someone from Osborne will drop you off at the hotel, unless you brought your own car.

We will provide lunch on Wednesday.

Orientation Day Two: Thursday
Hopefully at this point you are already starting to feel like part of the family! Same routine as yesterday, we’ll pick you up at a pre-planned time then head over for orientation.

Here’s the course overview for Thursday:

Finish Reviewing the Driver’s Reference Guide

Maintenance Overview

Tractor and Trailer Care
DEF Regeneration System
Breakdown Procedures
Assigned Parking & Shop Policies

Smith System Classroom Training Continued

This is a big part of what we do here at Osborne, so please pay attention.
There will be a test at the end!

Finish ELD Training

Ride Along with an Osborne Driver

Day two will end around 3:30 or 4pm.

We will provide lunch on Thursday.

Orientation Day Three: Friday
The same routine as the others: we’ll pick you up at a pre-planned time . Today we will finish up any operation and safety training from Wednesday we may not have gotten to yet. And the best part of the day: you get in your new Osborne tractor!

Dispatch & Operations Training

Customers
Customer Routes
Paperwork Procedures
Communication
Hours of Service
How Osborne Dispatches
Re-enforcement of topics from previous days

Review of Safety, Maintenance, and Overall Orientation

Check in & Assignment of Tractor

Log into Omnitracs
Complete New Truck Check In
Familiarize yourself with your new tractor
Dispatch & Receive your First Load

We will provide lunch on Friday Afternoon.

The days reflected on this schedule might change a little bit based on holidays, and other scheduling conflicts, but overall, this gives you a good idea of what a normal orientation schedule is.

Pride in Your Ride Program

We take a tremendous amount of pride in our company, and having our name on the doors, so we thought you might too!

Every driver gets the option to have their name put on the door of their tractor, as a way to show the world that you take pride in your new ride!

Also, for any of our drivers who have served in the Armed Forces we would welcome the opportunity to say thank you for your service and to honor your service by putting your branch of military on your tractor. You bravely served your country, and we want the men and women out there on the road to be able to honor your service as well!

And don’t worry, if putting your name on your truck isn’t your thing, we understand and you can opt out of this program: no pressure!

Welcome to the Family

Once you complete orientation and are sent out on your Maiden Voyage at Osborne, you are now officially a part of the Osborne Family of Drivers. Since 1959 this has been a place that great drivers just like you have decided to call home.

We are proud to have a group of safe and professional drivers who are motivated by a genuine desire to do a great job for our customers, and at the same time, provide a reliable and consistent living for them and their families. Welcome to the Family!