Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/641412
34 commercial carrier journal | february 2016 D uring his trucking career, safety expert Don Osterberg has seen many fleets use data to understand what is really happening. Some are more suc- cessful than others. On one occasion, a data analyst asked Osterberg if the reefer units on trailers contributed to risky driving behaviors. Without definitive driver performance data, questions like this remain unan- swered, and incorrect conclusions can be drawn. Having massive amounts of data is not always useful, either. "That's the beauty of video," Osterberg said. "The clearer the picture you get is what gives you the understanding to tailor interventions more effectively." Osterberg shared a number of insights during a meeting at SmartDrive's office in San Diego, where CCJ got a preview of the company's new SmartIQ Transporta- tion Intelligence Suite. Osterberg retired from Schneider National (CCJ Top 250, No. 8) last June as the company's senior vice president of safety, security and driver training. He recently joined SmartDrive's board of advisers. Steve Mitgang, SmartDrive's chief executive, expects the company's growth to exceed 70 percent this year, largely as a result of transportation companies wanting to be better and more efficient at using the industy's data "explosion." "Just about every one of our recent customers had a nontraditional business problem they were trying to solve with data," Mitgang said. One recent customer is Nussbaum technology Transportation. The Hudson, Ill.-based company began a pilot project with SmartDrive last spring that led to implementing a fleetwide video safety program in July. Jeremy Stickling, director of human resources and safety for the 300-truck carrier, plans to use the SmartIQ Suite's expanded ca- pabilities to dig deeper into driver safety and fuel performance data to improve results. With the suite's data and report- ing capabilities, Nussbaum will be able to measure and benchmark drivers' habits for acceleration and "smooth driving" to preserve energy and save fuel. "We can start giving drivers things they can deliver on," Stickling said. SmartDrive uses its SmartRecorder in-vehicle device designed to capture stream- ing video and data from cameras, sensors, electronic control modules and a variety of third-party vehicle safety systems. The device is loaded with software and algorithms engineered to monitor and interrogate real-time data to detect specific patterns of risky driving called "triggers" that lead to collisions. Certain trigger events are offloaded for review by driving analysts who add context for environmental factors and behaviors such as distraction or cell phone use that contribute to risk. SmartDrive calls the added context "risk observations." The event and telematics data is transformed into SmartIQ Scores, which are numerical values for every driver and the overall fleet; the higher the score, the higher the collision risk. The scores are normalized by the hours and miles driven. The scores are foundational to the SmartIQ Suite. All of the suite's online data visualization tools, key performance indicators, drill-down NEW ERA: Many fleets are using data to understand what is really happening. DATA EXPLOSION: Transportation companies want to be better and more efficient. ADDING TO EXPERIENCE: Industry data will impact the next generation of leaders. Seeing and scoring drivers SmartDrive talks evolution of video, big data One of many data visualizations in the SmartIQ Suite shows the savings opportunity for reducing engine idling. Reporting tools in the SmartIQ Suite compare fleet performance to industry peer groups.