FUELINER – FleetBoss Case Study
Series 6000 System
Petroleum Delivery Based in Dubuque, Iowa Types of Vehicles: Freightliner Trucks Fleet Size: 39
Little Events = Big Problems
Bill Skinner, safety director of Fueliner, a petroleum delivery company, recalls when one of the company drivers had a truck roll over in 2009. After that, the company downloaded the engine control module (ECM) and found that the driver had several hard stop and hard brake events right before the accident. Skinner says if the company had that information beforehand, or known that particular driver had a history of hard stops and hard braking, it might have been able to prevent the problem.
Why FleetBoss with 15 tanker trucks and 6 straight delivery trucks in 4 locations throughout Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, Skinner explains that tracking driver behavior was the biggest driving force for acquiring the FleetBoss Series 6000 telematics and he appreciates the software’s flexibility and ease of use for drivers.
“You can’t trust how well drivers drive based on their word alone because they’ll tell you they had a great day but when you look at the data, you’ll see speeding events, hard brakes, hard stops, harsh cornering and all those little events,” he says. “Those little events could lead up to the big one.” And for Fueliner, it did.
Increasing Awareness and Compliance with Visuals.
The previous telematics system Fueliner utilized didn’t have a visual screen to allow drivers to see how many hours they had worked in their day or how much time before they could take their break. But as a commercial company, having this visibility is important to stay on top of Department of Transportation (DOT) Hours of Service (HOS) compliance.
Skinner says FleetBoss helps keep drivers aware of their weekly hours so they can stay within regulations. The drivers simply login to the HOS function, which then creates a standard driving log.
The HOS function has already helped the company prove compliance during a DOT audit. “I was able to prove our HOS compliance by easily printing 6 months of driver logs. I use the HOS function every day to easily check to see if drivers are within their hours,” Skinner says, adding, “I love it, and it is the easiest system to use for drivers and management compared to other systems out there.” The technology also gives dispatch a useful tool to make schedules and determine each truck’s location. Skinner says specifically that dispatch uses a weekly summary function to manage drivers’ loads on a day-to-day basis.
Positive Recognition For Good Behavior
Skinner says to address poor driver behavior the company gives drivers monthly reports and points out areas with room for improvement. Before taking any disciplinary action, Fueliner offers drivers chances to modify their driving tendencies and then rewards them with positive recognition for any good behavior displayed. Skinner says this is a way to manage fleet safety without coming down on drivers. And he points out that the company has seen success with this method.
