march2023 - 23

Operations at Fleet Advantage. " If a
customer came to us and said, 'Hey,
[my fleet] feels kind of erratic; I'm
having trouble getting trucks,' we
would say, 'Okay, let's start from
the beginning. Let's understand
your data.' "
This prompts Fleet Advantage to
drill down into the fleet's components,
financial costs, and miles per
gallon to create a plan that leads the
customer to their intended stability.
" And it's not just about a one-year
strategy, but it's about a three- or
five-year strategy around making
sure we set them up on a lifecycle
[where] we're going to understand
what the cost is, " Antonellis
explained. " We're going to understand
how it's going to change over
time and then help them get back to
a place where they feel comfortable. "
Compliance and
inspections
Nowhere is this transparency and
visibility more critical
than in
vehicle inspections, a topic that all
fleets large and small must address.
Whether it's via Fleetio's GPS tracking
a driver's path around a vehicle
during an inspection or Zonar's
Electronic Verified
Inspection
Reporting (EVIR) solution, which
requires operators to scan specific
tags in each inspection zone before
they can move on, federal compliance
is a key asset of many fleet
management systems.
" The primary constraint that we
all need to comply to is [Department
of Transportation] compliance, "
said Dave Walters, senior solutions
engineer, Trimble. " So, we always
start there. We have to have a PM
system that supports DOT compliance.
Are we inspecting the vehicles
at the proper time? Are we maintaining
compliance when we go to
California? Do we have a current
California BIT inspection on file? "
These granular questions are
particularly impactful for smaller
fleets, where the consequences of
a violation are less easily absorbed
than by a larger organization. But
even so, a bigger transportation
company may be more vulnerable to
insufficient pre- and post-trip inspections,
or pencil-whipping, simply for
their size making accountability and
enforcement more difficult.
" If you look at safety overall,
the violations that are found at
roadside inspections are typically
tires, mirrors, and brakes, " said
Fred Fakkema, VP of Safety and
Compliance, Zonar, and former
commander of the Commercial
Vehicle Division of the Washington
State Patrol. " Those are all critical
components of your pre-trip
[inspection]. So, we set it so it's done
right, and done right the first time to
ensure vehicle checks are up to code. "
Killpack Trucking experienced
this inspection verification firsthand
as well as the resulting maintenance
and communication benefits.
" Before switching to Zonar, they
were doing inspections on the honor
system, kind of like what some fleets
still do on paper, " Fakkema recalled.
" Drivers come in after completing
the trip, they leave a piece of paper
on the dashboard to indicate what
needs to be fixed. Well, when you
think about that, and the maintenance
person reading the writing,
you realize this may not be the clearest
way to share information about
necessary safety and compliance
updates for the vehicle. "
Communication
and efficiency
Communication issues such as these
between drivers, technicians in the
shop, and back-office management
are another frequently mentioned
benefit of fleet management systems
for organizations large and small.
" I don't have to wait for a check
engine light come on, [for] a driver
to see it [and] evaluate whether or
not he wants to call me, " Hagen said.
" [Samsara] automatically sends me
a notification, whether they like it
or not; it's completely autonomous. "
Additionally, fleet management
systems provide their users with
constant access to their fleets,
regardless of where they are or what
they're doing-at least, as long as they
have a solid internet connection.
" I don't have to be at my desk to
access information; I can just hit
the app, " Hagen continued. " I can
find my loads, I can dispatch, I can
look at my maintenance, I can look
at the live feed of the video going
down the road. "
But this efficiency extends beyond
real-time asset information. For
maintenance shops, management
platforms can organize technical
information as well.
" Over the years and even to this
day, we see a lot of platforms out
there that have a telephone book
of information, or it used to be the
CD ROM [in the shop], " said Chris
O'Brien, chief operating officer,
Fullbay. " It was overwhelming; there
https://www.ta-petro.com/amenities/truck-repair-maintenance/preventive-maintenance
march2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of march2023
