Like most things, one size never fits all. The same rings true for telematics systems; data and reporting should be customizable to your fleet’s specific needs. Whether you want to keep your thumb on nonproductive time, monitor driver performance, make sure your vehicles are healthy, or optimize your routes, it’s imperative to choose a solution designed for your particular business.
National Ready Mix Concrete Co.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Co. (National Ready Mix) is a subsidiary of National Cement and is one of the largest ready mix concrete suppliers serving the Southern California market since 1946. They have twelve concrete plants, hundreds of trucks, and they deliver to projects of all sizes, from the smallest home project, to building highways, high rises, and hospitals. Their ability to perform on the most difficult jobs has been their trademark since their San Fernando Valley beginning.
Designed Specifically for the Industry
National Ready Mix uses Integra for dispatch, and they wanted a telematics system that would easily integrate with their dispatch system, but they also wanted something that was highly customizable and that they could tailor to their needs. They were sold once they discovered the customization that Command Alkon’s TrackIt offers in their dispatch and truck tracking operations. They use the system for vehicle tracking and statusing, driver time and attendance, vehicle/driver alerts and messaging, driver performance, navigation, electronic logging, and asset management, and they run all of their payroll through the system.
Their implementation process was very smooth, and Command Alkon worked with them to ensure the solution was tailored to their specific needs. The reporting capabilities can be set up as in-depth as they want or as simple as they want, and they have the ability to schedule them out weekly and disperse them across the organization. They can monitor the drivers in the yard and get them off the clock in a reasonable time.
“TrackIt has eliminated any issues that we used to have when it comes to payroll. Drivers and managers both have one version of the truth should any problems arise.”
- Russ Morton, Safety and Environmental Officer at National Ready Mix
With any new technology implementation, there are going to be some individuals who don’t adapt to a new way of working so easily, which was the case for some of National Ready Mix’s drivers. Since they also use TrackIt for payroll, the drivers have gotten used to having to use the system if they want to be paid properly. Both the drivers and management love the transparency that the system provides from a time and productivity standpoint.
Get Buy-In from Dispatch, Drivers, and Managers!
Now with TrackIt in their toolkit, National Ready Mix is able to report on individual drivers to better manage fleet health, fleet history, driver history, and driver evaluations. The data can be used to look at specific drivers’ miles per gallon and look at where they’ve been and why.
The Driver Performance module keeps track of drivers’ behavior behind the wheel to promote safety and save costs and emissions. The system can keep track of hard-braking, acceleration, speeding, idle time at the plant, and more. All of these behaviors are recorded and aggregated to provide visibility to individual driver performance in comparison to overall fleet performance.
They can closely track the time that they’re loaded through to the time they leave the yard, and they are able to get them off the clock in a reasonable time. They even set timers to notify them after a certain time if the driver isn’t off the clock.
TrackIt has also helped National Ready Mix’s dispatch easily manage their day. They’re able to look at the map and keep tabs on each truck at once. They know the estimated time for each truck to arrive back at the plant, they can see if there is traffic and mitigate sending trucks that route, and they know when their trucks are close to the plant so that they can get ready to ticket and load them again to send them off to the next job.
TrackIt’s Engine Data Subscription delivers real-time vehicle data from the engine database to the TrackIt cloud for use in asset management as well as for import into engine diagnostic systems.
“The Engine Data Subscription enables us to monitor the health of our vehicles. For example, just the other day I got an alert for a low oil pressure for one of my drivers. I was able to get a hold of him on the radio and have him pull over. I found out he was two gallons low on oil, saving the engine from a potential disaster that could have costed us thousands.”
- Russ Morton, Safety and Environmental Office at National Ready Mix
Command Alkon has also released an Engine Data Alerts & Analysis (EDAA) module for TrackIt. EDAA enables preventive maintenance schedules, ensuring users can identify issues quickly and stay current on routine service tasks. The system would enable National Ready Mix to create automatic reports notifying the shop of what maintenance needs to be handled for the day, which is something that they have expressed interest in adding to their existing TrackIt subscription.
Interested in finding out how TrackIt can benefit your operations? Visit www.commandalkon.com/gettrackit to learn more!
