Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/485023
52 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MARCH 2015 M ore than 70 percent of drivers use smartphones or tablets, launching them ahead of the national rate of 56 percent. Besides responding to emails, texts and Facebook notifications during breaks, many also use smart devices to stay engaged with work. Recognizing this monumental shift in connectivity, fleets are using mobile apps to help drivers earn more money, get paid faster, improve safety and stay with them longer, among other benefits. "Gamification" describes one of the recent trends in fleet mobility. Many apps now incorporate game elements such as scorecards and leaderboards to foster competition among drivers and appeal to a basic emotional need: to obtain status and achievement. When used effectively, mobile tech- nology engages drivers and can become a differentiator. Here are five areas where carriers and technology providers are focusing on mobile strategies to retain drivers. Fuel savings Efforts to improve fuel economy tradition- ally have been met with fierce headwinds. Drivers may lose interest if they feel penal- ized by factors beyond their control, such as load weight, weather and topography. Russell Smith, a driver for Joplin, Mo.- based Transport Distribution Co., has a different sentiment – that the fuel bonus at TDC is "a family affair." "We don't look at ourselves as driv- ers," Smith says. "We look at us as family members. If I can help another family member get a bonus, then I'm doing my job, and I feel a whole lot more involved in the company." TDC uses a mobile app from Pedal- Coach to help drivers achieve the bonus, which is paid out every 18,000 miles. PedalCoach gives instantaneous feedback on throttle input through its user interface that resembles a digital gauge. The gauge has three zones – green, yel- low and red – and a needle that represents the fuel's flow rate to the engine. Drivers strive to keep the needle in the fuel target – the "green zone" – that is calculated instantly using engine data and external inputs such as temperature. "If you're giving (the engine) way more fuel than it needs, you see that," Smith says. With PedalCoach, Smith has increased Five ways fleets can use mobile technology to engage, retain drivers BY AARON HUFF