Driver salaries are seeing an extraordinary jump, with increases up to 15% and higher. However, not even a surge in driver pay will solve trucking’s capacity problem. Drivers are difficult to find, labor turnover rates are high, and freight rates are increasing about 30% year over year.
It will take more than pay increases to attract new drivers. Rather than harping on needing more trucks and drivers, a new approach needs to be taken to determine a solution for the existing problems; the industry needs to consider ways to better utilize existing trucks and drivers. Many non-productive hours occur during the loading/unloading of a truck, from sitting in traffic or at a dock, or clocking in/out at a jobsite. Anything you can do to cut wasted time in your transportation operation will help to contain costs and keep drivers happy and trucks on the road.
Command Alkon’s TrackIt solution was designed specifically for the Heavy Building Materials community. This is a flexible and fully customizable solution to track fleets and meet specific needs, including in-cab time and attendance functionality focused at recapturing lost time in the yard. TrackIt helps you drive a more efficient fleet and improve your profitability.
GPS Truck Tracking and Telematics equipment gives management a constant view of the location and performance of their entire fleet. With Command Alkon’s TrackIt, businesses are able to:
- Monitor how long a driver takes a break
- See in real-time where driver stops and when driver starts
- Determine whether drivers veer off pre-planned routes
- Check reasons behind unplanned delays
- Verify unsafe driver behavior
- Get real-time status of trucks so customers can be alerted if delivery is running late
- Map location of trucks at all times in real-time
- Monitor compliance to hours of service regulations
- Capture in-cab time and attendance
The information gathered with TrackIt can be used to enhance a driver’s performance by showing areas for improvement, such as breaking at a restaurant on the approved route rather than one 10 miles away or taking too long to clock in/out.
To deliver a better experience to our customers, we recently introduced TrackIt Turn-Key Service. This will replace hardware failures or repair warranty issues at no charge to the customer while also eliminating large, upfront CapEx costs. The service offers new ruggedized tablet options with replaceable batteries and new, fully functional and reliable engine interface devices.
Companies with requirements for robust engine diagnostics also benefit from the new TrackIt Turn-Key Service solution. A new Engine Data Connection (EDC) device is optional, along with a specialized software stack from a company called Noregon, which will provide customers with more reliable, and more overall engine data than has ever been available. The combination of the EDC device with the software will allow fleet owners and operators to easily capture and transfer the engine diagnostic data from their trucks.
