Case Study
Professional driver with a freight forwarder

Company:

The haulage company with a fleet of over 100 vehicles is run as a family business and employs 178 people. Among them are two employees with deafness, who help to cover the demand for skilled workers, which is quite high and difficult to meet at the company and in the industry in general.

Owner's comment:

"Inclusion can only work if the companies play along and are prepared to bear the costs and organizational effort. It would be easier for companies if the same funding was approved for job inclusion as for other areas of society. But with a sincere willingness to commit to inclusion in their own company, there are no hurdles that cannot be overcome with relatively simple measures. Companies should throw their fears of contact overboard and boldly hire and include employees with disabilities without hesitation."

Disability and impairment of employees:

The two employees are deaf. Acoustic information, such as signals (e.g. warning signals) and spoken language, must therefore be converted into visually or tactilely perceptible information for them. On the one hand, this leads to challenges during vocational training when teaching the relevant training content and, on the other hand, makes communication with customers more difficult. The GdB (degree of disability) is 100.

Training and job:

One of the employees completed a three-year apprenticeship as a digital and print media designer before deciding to work as a professional driver. The other employee had wanted to become a truck driver since childhood, but this was not possible for people with deafness in his home country. The application process at the company was largely the same as for other people who apply. During the interview, pen and paper were also used for communication. The haulage company had previously trained a young man with deafness and was open-minded as a result of this positive experience.
The content of the vocational training was no different to that of hearing professional drivers. However, a specific driving school was commissioned for the vocational training, which offers courses tailored to people with hearing impairments. Sign language interpreters were hired for the vocational training at the vocational school and the final exam. For the IHK examination, the trainees received compensation for disadvantages after submitting an application to the chamber, i.e. the duration of the examination was extended. This ensured that the longer time required to perceive the information and understand the exam content could be compensated for.

Workplace and work task:

Professional drivers deliver building materials to construction sites on behalf of the building materials companies that manufacture them. To do this, they drive standard trucks or road trains and use cranes and forklift trucks to load the goods at the building materials companies and unload them at the construction site.
Orders are placed via a system with logistics and scheduling software and a corresponding device with a display in the truck. The necessary daily communication takes place via smartphone using WhatsApp.
In addition to driving, the daily tasks also include administrative work, such as collection and delivery note processing and expense accounting. The employees also come into regular contact with employees from the warehouse, the trades and those responsible on the construction sites. The professional drivers are also responsible for the care and maintenance of their vehicles.
In direct communication with customers, they have always been understanding. If improvised communication with the help of gestures, facial expressions and sign language interpretation by the hearing person is not sufficient, a smartphone can be used as a writing device for communication.

Work organization:

Sign language interpreters are hired for external training courses. For in-house training, a computer with a microphone and speech-to-text software (input software) is used, which simultaneously transmits the words of the people giving the presentation as text onto a screen using a projector. Improvised communication is used with colleagues and customers alike.

Occupational safety:

In addition to the acoustic warning signal from the distance sensors, better rear view cameras have been installed on the trucks to ensure that obstacles are detected in good time when reversing. The cameras have a higher resolution than conventional rear view cameras as well as a coloured distance bar for additional visualization.

Assistive products used:

Input software
Rear view camera

Promotion and participation:

The company has borne the costs for better rear view cameras and the speech-to-text software itself. The use or support of sign language interpreters can take place within the framework of participation in working life by the employment agency (e.g. during job interviews or trial work and induction) or within the framework of accompanying assistance in working life by the integration or inclusion office (e.g. during meetings or further training).

ICF Items

Reference Number:

PB/111052


Last Update: 1 Oct 2024