Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/85388
technology in focus: BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE Changing the future N information systems keep fleets out in front of their operations BY AARON HUFF early everything a fleet does creates data. Having so much of it in different formats and from various sources creates a challenge. Fleet executives and managers want a "single version of the truth" to make decisions. Business intelligence systems can provide this and offer fast access to relevant information. BI tools generally come in three levels: historical, real time and predictive. Through a user-friendly interface, users can get high-level historical informa- tion with quick drill-down features to make split-second decisions. If a customer calls to request a new rate quote, a dispatcher can use the "It's kind of like magic, but it works." – David Broyles, Averitt Express truckload operations manager Xpress transportation management system from PCS Software to bring up multiple data panes in a matter of seconds. One pane shows what the com- pany historically has charged the customer, a second pane shows the rate for other customers with similar loads, a third pane shows any relevant load rating matrices or tariffs, and a fourth pane shows the average rates for the trucking industry on a 12-month line graph. Fleets also can incorporate rate data from TransCore DAT's load boards in their analysis. The DAT Truckload Rate Index integrates with TMS software to pull rate information automatically from DAT's large freight bill database – about $18 billion annually. The index shows linehaul rates in the spot and con- tract market, net of fuel surcharge. In addition to looking at historical trends, users also can view a real-time market map to spot daily rate trends. Besides enhancing a user's access and visibility to historical information, many companies are adding BI tools such as dashboards and per- formance monitoring systems – real-time tools designed to catch exceptions and changes to companies' leading indicators. In the Xpress TMS, carriers can establish a company standard for the minimum profit per load. If a dispatcher tries to make a load assignment that is below standard, the system will interrupt the dispatch process and alert management that a dispatcher needs approval to make the assignment. Betting on the future BI systems designed for advanced predictive analytics can identify changes and patterns in data likely to correlate with future events and outcomes. Patterns in the data that a fleet collects on drivers could indicate a personal financial or emotional problem in a driver's life; this pattern could indicate distraction and fatigue – as well as the root cause of an accident in the near future. Accidents, injuries, driver turnover and other costly events are not random, says Vikas Jain, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Enterprise Services' Software-as-a-Service group, which includes FleetRisk Advisors' pre- 42 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JUNE 2012 The truckload division of Cookeville, Tenn.- based Averitt Express uses FleetRisk Advisors' safety, fatigue and workers' compensation models. dictive analytics platform. "These events are highly correlated to changes in drivers' behavior," Jain says. "They are the result of stresses in a driver's environment. If you can identify those changes in behavior ahead of time and remediate, then you can prevent the event from happening. " The truckload division of Averitt Express has used FleetRisk's safety and fatigue models since April 2009; the Cookeville, Tenn.-based fleet recently added the work- ers' compensation model. Each model analyzes a wide range of data to identify at-risk drivers. At Averitt, fleet managers are assigned at-risk drivers for meetings. Since the infor- mation FleetRisk provides is predictive in nature, the purpose of the conversation is to find out how drivers are doing person- ally. Is anything weighing on their mind? Can the company help in any way? Since using FleetRisk, Averitt has seen a 30 percent reduction in accidents per million miles and a decrease in high-speed rear-end collisions. "It's kind of like magic, but it works," says David Broyles, truckload operations manager of the 1,400-truck fleet. While BI tools come in many varieties, the goal is the same – to deliver reliable information to the right person at the right time to make a positive difference.