Fleet Operations interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your background + your path into fleet operations.
2. Tell me about a fleet, terminal, or dispatch operation you've owned end-to-end.
3. Why trucking vs other transportation modes or supply chain paths?
4. Why fleet operations specifically vs safety, maintenance, or commercial roles?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our operating model + terminal + lane footprint?
7. Tell me what you understand about our safety profile + CSA performance.
8. Walk me through how you'd attack driver turnover in a fleet running 90%+ annual churn.

Technical concepts to master

• HOS + ELD + driver lifecycle

  11 / 14 / 70-hour HOS rule · ELD mandate + AOBRD transition · Driver lifecycle stages · Drug + Alcohol Clearinghouse · PSP (Pre-Employment Screening Program)

• CSA + safety scoring + audit readiness

  CSA BASICs · Intervention thresholds · Compliance review + safety rating · Roadside inspection levels · Video telematics + coaching

• Maintenance + uptime + PM cadence

  PM cadence (A / B / C) · Uptime + breakdown discipline · Trade cycle + asset age · Spec'ing a tractor · Idle reduction + APU

• Dispatch + asset utilization + lane economics

  Dispatch model archetypes · Loaded ratio + deadhead reduction · Detention + accessorial economics · Dedicated vs OTR vs regional economics · Spot vs contract freight mix

Practical drills

• An OTR fleet runs 200 seated tractors at $2.20 RPM (revenue per loaded mile). Current loaded ratio is 86% (deadhead 14%). Drivers average 2,200 miles per week. What's the current revenue per truck per week? You're given a plan to cut deadhead to 10% via dispatch + brokered-backhaul work, lifting drivers to 2,300 miles per week. Quantify the lift + assess whether it's worth a $100K dispatch reorganization investment.
• You inherit a 300-driver OTR fleet running 95% annual turnover. Cost per replacement is ~$10K all-in (recruiting, orientation, lost productivity during onboarding). Walk through how you'd diagnose the problem + propose an action plan with quantified targets.
• Your fleet's CSA scores show HOS Compliance at 78th percentile and Vehicle Maintenance at 82nd percentile - both above the 65% intervention threshold. Walk through how you'd diagnose + drive both down over 6-12 months without disrupting service.

Smart-question anchors

• Operating-model mix - OTR / dedicated / regional / intermodal / specialty + how fleet ops org reflects it
• Safety + CSA posture - BASIC percentiles, video telematics + coaching, audit history
• Driver workforce - company vs owner-operator, turnover, pay structure, recent driver-pay actions
• Maintenance + asset strategy - PM cadence, trade cycle, fleet age, owned vs leased posture
• Technology stack - ELD, TMS, dispatch system, telematics, predictive analytics investment

Sourced from

FMCSA - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration - 49 CFR Parts 380-399 + SMS Methodology + CSA program documentation · ATA - American Trucking Associations - Standard Trucking and Transportation Statistics + State of the Industry reports · ATRI - American Transportation Research Institute - Operational Costs of Trucking annual report · CVSA - Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance - North American Standard Inspection Program + Out-of-Service Criteria · Transport Topics + FreightWaves + CCJ (Commercial Carrier Journal) + Overdrive trade press