Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/252139
30 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2014 departure warning and space cushion monitoring systems. This integrated safety system automatically saves a 20-second clip that contains 10 seconds of footage leading up to the critical event and 10 seconds afterward. A hyperlink to the video – along with related data such as the vehicle's speed and location – is e-mailed to the safety department. Saia used 20 driver volunteers for the experiment. As videos started arriving, management found that in nearly all cases, unsafe motorists caused the incidents, O'Dell says. Saia did not need to counsel a driver for an at-fault incident until after about fi ve months of monitoring. "(The video) demonstrates the professionalism of drivers," he says. "It also helps to increase our awareness of what they are looking at." As part of rolling out video-based monitoring across its fl eet, Saia plans to hire a new staff member to monitor the events and to identify opportunities to counsel drivers and to provide more recognition for professional safe driving. Besides using technology to mitigate risk, Saia is making signifi cant strides in fuel effi ciency. The company uses telematics to capture vehicle and engine data. At the end of each trip, the device shows drivers their fuel- effi ciency performance from start to fi nish – every ignition on/off event. Drivers and fl eet management are monitoring the percentage of time that drivers shift in the optimal torque band. The fl eet's goal is 90 percent, which more than 90 percent of drivers have reached, O'Dell says. In 2013, Saia installed trailer skirts and fairings and began purchasing units with automatic transmissions as it continued to decommission tractors with poorer mpg performance. For the third quarter of 2013, Saia achieved a company average of 6.8 mpg, a new record. If the current rate of improvement holds for 2014, Saia expects to save $6 million per year over its 2010 mpg levels. Stratifying data For Saia, one benefi t of capturing and transmitting so much fi eld data is under- standing events better, both on an individual level and by looking at singular events in the context of overall trends. "By itself, an incident does not bring a good visualization to mind," O'Dell says. While some drivers might have zero hard braking encounters, others may have weekly incidents. One explanation could be that drivers on the high end work in major metro- politan areas, but the data might tell a different story. Saia quickly is able to identify driv- ers in need of counseling and retrain- ing by comparing trends by geo- graphic area to fi nd the outliers and exceptions. Video footage also shows the cause for incidents such as hard braking. Safety managers know in- stantly if the incident was the driver's fault by using the video and a myriad of other details about the sequence of events, such as time, location, speed and engine rpms. One detail that Saia has chosen not to capture as part of its investigation is video footage of the driver. Some fl eets use video-based risk management systems that capture in-cab video to detect incidents where distracted driv- ing might have played a factor. "From a privacy and professional- ism standpoint, we have decided to not do that," O'Dell says. "People are sensitive to that." Performance management system With the technologies Saia has in its ve- hicles, gathering data about drivers and critical safety events is the easy part. With 5,000 drivers spread out across 147 terminal locations, the ability to interpret and disseminate information to the right stakeholders quickly is what creates value, O'Dell says. Saia has built scorecards that are sent monthly to drivers that show how their performance compares with their peers for defensive driving skills in terms of events captured by the company's lane departure and space cushion monitor- ing systems. The scorecards are used to reward top performers and to identify drivers that need additional training or counseling. The scorecards are one of several features of Saia's custom performance management software system. Before it developed this software, manage- ment was requesting each terminal to keep fi les on driver performance. "Whether they did it, we didn't know," O'Dell says. "Today, we have visibility centrally to what is in a person's performance management fi le. The data we are gathering is used to provide feedback to the individual. To me, that is huge. We've always had safety meetings and talk about what you need to do to be successful. Today, beyond having those discussions, we are giving you a regular performance report." Saia's ability to manage its volumes of data by using cumulative metrics and building a framework to identify and understand risk is driving results. "You are going to rise to the top if you have regular bad habits," O'Dell says. "You can't hide." CC J I N N O VATO R S profi les carriers and fl eets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking's challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com or 800-633-5953. The safety record of drivers that complete Saia's CDL program exceeds that of the more experienced drivers the company hires, says Rick O'Dell, chief executive offi cer.