Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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38 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2015 technology R estaurant Technologies works with many of the national chains – including McDonald's, KFC and Burger King – as well as many other regional and independent restaurant groups, servicing more than 21,000 foodservice locations. One of its distinct advantages involves the use of a telemetry system – a "black box" – at customer locations to monitor fresh cooking oil supply. When inventories drop to a certain level, replenishments are sent automatically in one of the company's customized delivery trucks. Restaurant Technologies also can synchronize its pickups with its deliveries. When one of its Kenworth T370s pulls into a restaurant, it can replenish the establishment's cooking oil tank with fresh oil, while at the same time drawing out used oil from the restaurant's storage tank. "We are the only ones that can do that on a national basis," said Becky Mueller, national fleet manager. The company has a fleet of nearly 200 medium-duty trucks domiciled at 41 depots across the country. "Our patented design with multiple tanks gives us a unique delivery advan- tage that also includes simultaneous waste oil removal all in one unit," Mueller said. While oil management is an ongoing service for these companies, Restaurant Technologies also supplies all the oil management equipment and storage tanks, as well as a Web-based cus- tomer portal that sends automated alerts to customers when standard operating procedures are not in compliance. It also provides ongoing training and equip- ment maintenance. "In a low-margin industry, we have a competitive advantage of not only sav- ing our customers money in the delivery and pickup of oil, but in providing quality in everything we do," said Mueller. "It's why we have a 98 percent reten- tion rate with our customers." In 2013, Restaurant Technologies began replacing its fleet with Kenworth T370s in single- and tandem-axle configurations; there are 30 currently in service with more on order. The tandems are spec'd with Paccar PX-9 engines rated at 350 hp and mated with Allison automatic transmissions. The single- axle T370s are powered by the Paccar PX-7 engine rated at 300 hp and also matched with Allison automatics. Since the Kenworth T370s leave fully loaded with oil – six fresh tanks hold up to 20,000 pounds of oil on the tandem axles, and the single axles handle 12,000 pounds of oil in three fresh tanks – saving weight was a consideration in the specs. Mueller said on any given week, up to 800 routes will be driven, each with 10 to 14 customer stops. Its routes range from 85 miles for the day up to 650 miles. – Aaron Huff 950-truck fleet. Super Service said that during the first six months, it reduced its turnover rate of the highest-risk 10 percent of drivers from 203 percent to 66 percent, retaining an average of 20 drivers per month and saving more than $60,000. r 0NOJUSBDTa provider of fleet man - agement solutions, announced that household goods mover Atlas Van Lines has deployed its Mobile Comput- ing Platform 50 and suite of applica- tions, including Hours of Service (HOS), to help meet its fleet safety and regula- tory compliance goals by allowing it to track drivers' hours in near-real time, leading to more efficient fleet management and increased reporting accuracy. r &QJD7VFannounced that Clayton, Ala.-based flatbed company Boyd Bros. Transportation is equipping more vehicles with its in-cab satellite TV pack - age after seeing a significant increase in driver retention – more than double – from an earlier EpicVue installation in a sample group of 150 vehicles. EpicVue also announced that it will be the exclu - sive sponsor of the Truckload Carriers Association's Highway Angels recogni- tion program. r 3BOE.D/BMMZannounced that Mc- Neilus Steel of Dodge Center, Minn., installed its TND 760 devices across its private fleet of 126 trucks to track ship- ments, log drivers' hours of service and streamline communications between dispatch and drivers to control logistics and costs further. Most of the installa - tions happened during driver fuel-ups, Rand said. r &MFDUSPOJD'VOET4PVSDFannounced that J&M Tank Lines of Birmingham, Ala., transitioned to its payments platform, going live with EFS' integrated fleet card and MasterCard payments platforms. r 5IF"TTFU*OUFMMJHFODFTVCTJEJBSZPG *%4ZTUFNTa provider of wireless machine-to-machine asset management systems, executed a contract with one of the world's largest furniture makers to deploy its VeriWise Track and Trace battery-powered trailer management technology on a fleet of about 2,300 trailers for real-time GPS location data via cellular communications and Web- based software. */BRIEF Restaurant Technologies uses telemetry, equipment design for delivery advantage Restaurant Technologies uses a telemetry system – a "black box" – at customer locations to monitor fresh cooking oil sup- ply, said Becky Mueller, national fleet manager. Continued from page 36