Why Track It with TrackIt? The Value of Auto Statusing

One question lingers like an apparition over every ready mix producer; where are my drivers, and where is my product?

With TrackIt’s Delivery Cycle Monitoring add on, accurate statuses are fed back to the producer in real time. Now, they can understand where each of their drivers are and in which stage of the delivery cycle they are in, whether it be “Begin Pour,” “End Pour,” “Wash,” “Loading,” Loaded,” and “On Job Wait Time.” Minimal hardware with easy installation gets trucks connected and on-the-go quickly.  Drum direction and speed are captured throughout the delivery process providing an accurate count of rotations as well as the status of the truck at the jobsite.

This improved visibility provides a more accurate idea of when a truck will return based on End Pour/Wash statuses.  Having this information helps them to plan for more efficient loads – and the more loads that can be delivered in a day means more dough for the company as a whole.

Instead of having to manually punch in the status of the delivery cycle, drivers can focus on exactly what they were hired to do – drive and ensure that they get to their destination on time. When statuses are automatically updated, more accurate information is fed back to dispatch personnel and enables them to make informed decisions about when the next load should leave for the job. Drivers are also given the necessary information needed to determine whether to add more water to the mix en route if the optional Water Add Meter (WAM) is being utilized with the Delivery Cycle Monitoring add on.

The WAM delivers water added value to the TrackIt Cloud for use in capturing/calculating water volume added (gallons/liters) and w/c ratio if COMMANDbatch integration is enabled. The amount of water allowed as well as the amount of water that has already been added is displayed to the driver on the tablet in the cab so that the end result is a quality product delivered to the customer. The TrackIt Batch summary report displays auto status information and water added information on a load-by-load basis.

Producers can use these reports in audits for quality control and can combat liabilities because they have a true recordation of all of the instances in which water was added to the mix throughout the delivery cycle. Not only does this benefit the producer, but the customer also benefits from understanding the amount of water that has been added to the product so that jobsite personnel can refrain from adding an excessive amount of water.

Think about your own operations and daily workflows – how often do you forget to complete a task, email someone back, send off a report, etc.? For me, that’s a daily occurrence. The same is true for ready mix truck drivers. Sometimes drivers get distracted and forget to punch in which status of the delivery cycle they are in. Working from inaccurate information affects the ability to make good decisions that decrease operational costs and increase fleet efficiency. When working with accurate information, dispatch can optimize scheduling and keep up to date with the location and status of each truck so that they can inform inquiring customers with accurate information into their order status.

When a producer can have the right answers pertaining to their customers’ orders, it strengthens their relationships and instills a sense of trust that enables both parties to conduct their operations more confidently and with each other’s success in mind. Buyers and suppliers can see at any given point just how many concrete mixer trucks are ticketed, en route to the job, waiting on site, pouring, and traveling back to their plants.

“Knowing that my trucks are at the begin pour status or the end pour status lets me know whether or not I can assign trucks to different plants and dispatch them. It has been a huge help for us, and it has helped me to understand the efficiency of my drivers.”

- Jeremy Sloan, Vice President of Operations at Ohio Ready Mix

(To read more about Ohio Ready Mix's experience with TrackIt's Delivery Cycle Monitoring add on, click here!)

Could your dispatch personnel, drivers, and customers benefit from a tool like this? Visit www.commandalkon.com/gettrackit to learn more!

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