Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/923471
48 commercial carrier journal | january 2018 COVER STORY: DRIVER GAMIFICATION N.Y.-based petroleum and fuel hauler, implemented the Vnomics system in 2012. Every month, drivers who score 98 percent or higher receive a $25 gas card for personal use. About 10 percent of the 89-truck fleet's drivers qualify each month to receive the gas cards. Brian Brundige, Terpening's operations and safety manager, calls the True Fuel score a "shi score" because it encour- ages drivers to shi progressively in the optimal rpm range. Drivers get a visual readout of their True Fuel score at every "ignition off " stop through an in-cab display. Since Terpening began using Vnomics, the fleet has increased its average mpg from 5.1 overall to 5.8 in the summer and 5.3 in the winter. Automating rewards While many fleets likely already have the data they need to measure and evaluate driver performance, they may lack the resources to administer a full-blown gamification program that includes points and rewards. Stay Metrics administers an online rewards and recognition program for carriers using metrics from virtually any type of telematics or driver management system. Once Stay Metrics clients set up a custom rewards program, they are able to award points automatically to drivers for their achievements. e rewards platform sends email notifications to drivers when points are awarded, prompting them to login regularly and monitor their progress. Drivers can redeem their points toward a selection of more than 40,000 items from an online catalog. Liquid Trucking has been using a privately branded version of the Stay Metrics rewards program since 2013. e company, which has terminals in Plattsmouth, Neb., and South Sioux City, Iowa, also uses Stay Metrics' surveys to gain feedback from drivers on areas that impact job satisfaction and engagement. Liquid Trucking pays drivers by the hour for all on-duty and driving time. Since using Stay Metrics' rewards program, one visible impact is having drivers "begging me for safety training" to earn points, says Jason Eisenman, human resources manager. "I used to have to literally beg them. e whole role is reversed. ey want to do it faster than I can give it to them." Besides earning points for completing safety training online, drivers also can benefit from a number of other rewards categories such as violation-free logbooks and having no accidents. Drivers can redeem their points for cash through payroll or buy items online. At Liquid Trucking, about 50 percent of the points are redeemed for cash, while drivers who are married with kids tend to redeem them for items from the catalog, as their families oen become involved in the rewards program, Eisenman says. In the past four years, Liquid Truck- ing's turnover rate has dropped from 68 percent to 24 percent, a trend he credits to the rewards program and driver surveys that provide management with the infor- mation needed to make changes. is year, data from surveys indicated that increasing home time for drivers would further improve the company's retention rate. "at's a tough one to fulfill as a truck- ing company, but we will see what we can do," Eisenman says. With the volume of information available on driver performance and the endless opportunities to use gamification strategies to engage drivers with rewards and recognition, the process never stops. Four years aer starting the Red Re- wards program at Paper Transport, Schill is not finished yet. "We are just getting started," he says. Vnomics' True Fuel automated system scores drivers using machine learning algorithms to determine a vehicle's fuel potential and the actual fuel used. Stay Metrics administers an online rewards and recognition program for carriers using metrics from virtually any type of telematics or driver management system. Liquid Trucking, which has terminals in Plattsmouth, Neb., and South Sioux City, Iowa, uses a privately branded version of Stay Metrics' online rewards program.