Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/821508
62 commercial carrier journal | may 2017 TECHNOLOGY: DRIVER MOBILE APPS location on a Google Map by using the trailer locating feature in CTG Mobile. Drivers also can use dispatch messaging and document cap- ture tools to send images of proof-of-delivery and compliance documents to the office. e app pays for itself by reducing the cost of drivers using truck stop scanning services, Schrier says. On a weekly basis, as many as 80 percent of Covenant's 4,000 drivers use CTG Mobile, and the company receives 65 percent of all paperwork electronically through the app. CTG continues to develop custom features for CTG Mobile. In addition to trailer location, a driver scorecard is a popular custom feature, and soon the scorecard will be tied to a rewards program. "Every employee wants to know how well they are doing," Schrier says. e scorecard gives drivers a daily ranking within their peer group. Each group is no more than 100 drivers who are in the same business segment, such as dedicated, with similar job ten- ure. "e smaller the group size, the more control they feel they have to get to number one," he says. A scorecard metric for route compliance shows drivers their mileage variance from planned navigation routes. ey can provide feedback to explain why they varied from a route, allow- ing management to create better routes and ensure drivers are getting paid for every legitimate mile. e scorecard soon will include fuel metrics for behaviors that drivers can control, such as idling, rather than overall mpg. Overall, the purpose of CTG Mobile is to give drivers an easier way to do their work, Schrier says. "Any time you remove frustration, it removes turnover," he says. "One of the biggest benefits of the mobile app is that we so- licit feedback and ideas through surveys. Drivers give us a bunch of great feature requests. We are trying to meet all of them." Expanding driver workflow Last summer, Riverside Transport converted to the Ships billing and settlement system from EBE Technologies. As part of the conversion project, the Kansas City, Mo.-based carrier added EBE's Connect Mobile Capture app to allow drivers to capture and submit trip documents such as bills of lading. "I felt comfortable with the workflow," says Brian Hedge, IT director for the fleet with 450 trucks and 1,100 trailers. "It is easier to use things that come with prebuilt integrations." e CMC app is integrated with both EBE's Ships system and Riverside's enterprise soware from TMW Systems. Loads assigned to drivers are listed automatically in CMC, allowing them to capture and index images of trip documents as part of their workflow. e Ships system sends automatic notifications to drivers through the CMC app for any missing paperwork before Riv- erside's weekly cutoff date for payroll and settlements. e app has made it easier for drivers to send their paperwork on time, enabling the company to speed its billing cycle by a full day. Hedge is considering an optional EBE module that will allow Riverside's drivers, 75 percent of whom are owner-operators, to access an online portal where they can store and access images of their business and personal receipts. Partner integrations Suppliers of enterprise mobile apps see an opportunity to add third-party applications to give drivers a single sign-on experi- ence for a variety of workflow responsibilities. Pegasus TransTech designed its Transflo Connect partner plat- form to expand third-party soware integrations through Trans- flo Mobile. Cat Scale was an early Transflo Connect integration. Rather than installing a separate mobile app from Cat Scale on their phones, Covenant drivers use CTG Mobile with embedded functions from Cat Scale's own mobile app that allow them to view and capture weight measurement records as they cross Covenant Transport's CTG Mobile app uses Pegasus TransTech's Transflo product and gives drivers a single sign-on experience to the full range of the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based carrier's workflow. Kansas City, Mo.- based Riverside Transport added EBE Technologies' Connect Mobile Capture app to allow drivers to capture and submit trip docu- ments such as bills of lading.