Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/409540
46 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 sleeper berth and more likely to be using the Xpress Mobile app. This information triage will take place automatically in the company's back-offi ce fl eet management platform, called XPM. The driver's status will be visible to fl eet managers by way of an indicator light in XPM's planning grid, says Jeff Seibenhener, chief information offi cer. A recent addition to Xpress Mobile is helping to improve drivers' work life- styles by providing visibility to the status of load "repower" events. Drivers use this feature when they are scheduled to meet another driver at a pre-arranged location to swap trailers. The app will show each of the drivers involved in the exchange where the other truck is in relation to the designated location. The remaining miles, estimated time of arrival and location of the other driver all are visible on a digital map. Previously, drivers had to get these track- ing updates from their fl eet managers in order to coordinate their schedules. Besides planning and communica- tions tools for drivers, Xpress Mobile provides drivers with mobile access to the company newsletter and training videos. The mobile office U.S. Xpress also is developing a mobile app called Xpress Offi ce to provide offi ce workers with the same real-time connec- tivity to corporate communications that Xpress Mobile gives to drivers. Seiben- hener believes the offi ce version will be a more effective platform for communi- cations than e-mail. Push notifi cations will remind people about news that is important to their work lifestyles. "This is the new normal for com- municating," he says. "Push notifi cations have become the standard for informa- tion and awareness." Xpress Offi ce will be designed like an interactive newsletter that uses video and other visual tools to present informa- tion. The company's quarterly town hall meeting could be broadcast on video in real time for offi ce employees to view from their mobile devices. With more than 70 remote sites, the ability to get information to people in real time will help prevent misinformation, Seiben- hener says. Aside from Xpress Offi ce, U.S. Xpress employees already are able to stay con- nected with the full functionality of their desktop applications using any mobile device. Fleet managers can access the company's XPM fl eet management soft- ware to dispatch drivers and view assets. U.S. Xpress has extended all of XPM's onsite desktop applications for planning, scheduling and fl eet man- agement into a seamlessly integrated HTML-5 Web interface. Users do not have to go from one XPM application to the next to fi nd orders, track ship- ments or check load confi rmations; everything relevant to their jobs is available on one screen. Users also do not need to manually refresh the information displayed on the webpage or click "enter" to send information to the server. All two-way communications take place auto- matically in real time regardless of the device's browser or version. In addition to making workers more productive inside and outside of the offi ce with its unifi ed Web platform, U.S. Xpress also has reduced its soft- ware training time by more than half. When the company hires a new fl eet manager, it no longer has to spend weeks training them how to use its core legacy systems. All fl eet managers and executives also have access to the company's busi- ness intelligence platform to monitor real-time key performance metrics from their desktops or mobile devices. By using technology to stay con- nected with drivers and employees at every level, U.S. Xpress has been able to improve work lifestyles for everyone while being more productive. CC J I N N O VATO R S profi les carriers and fl eets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking's challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com or 800-633-5953. Jeff Seibenhener, U.S. Xpress' chief information offi cer, is working to enhance Xpress Mobile for drivers while creating a similar app for offi ce workers. Xpress Mobile has more than 5,400 active users sending more than 19,000 messages and transactions per week.