Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/835233
72 commercial carrier journal | june 2017 TECHNOLOGY: AUTOMATING DRIVER PAY At the time of pickup, the fleet's dealer customers receive an automated shipping notification with the expected delivery date. e dealers use this to provide their own customers with pickup information for vehicles ordered directly from OEMs. e electronic POD began in 2006 – or at least the thought of it. At the time, Centurion started using a mobile application from Airclic on Nextel phones. Drivers would scan the VIN numbers of the vehicles they picked up at ports. In 2007, Centurion took another step toward electronic POD by installing PeopleNet's mobile platform. e fleet later upgraded from the vendor's dash-mounted driver displays to its Windows Tablet device and engaged its Tailored Solutions group to develop a custom auto-hauling workflow. With the workflow, Centurion drivers receive load assign- ments and scan vehicles at pickup. e scan triggers an automat- ic notice to customers for the scheduled delivery date. Land says the company eventually should be able to provide an accurate delivery ETA within a two-hour window. If vehicles are damaged in transit, drivers can use the Tablet and workflow to capture details and provide instantaneous information to customers. Upon delivery, drivers capture an electronic signature from the customer. Last year, Centurion replaced its legacy Unix-based fleet man- agement system with TMW Systems' TMW.Suite platform. e integrated PeopleNet-TMW workflow allows the fleet to invoice customers on delivery day. "at is something that auto haulers have never been able to do," Land says. "We've always had to wait for the driver to return with paper bills of lading to provide a proof of delivery." Centurion is testing a new Android tablet for PeopleNet's ConnectedFleet platform and plans to begin deployment across its 255-truck fleet in July. "e pairing of PeopleNet and TMW has significantly po- sitioned us for automation of driver pay," Land says. Soon, management of driver settlement sheets will be completed electronically through the fleet's Synergize imaging solution. "is process will produce significant gains by further reduc- ing paper, decreasing empty miles and increasing the overall drive time," she says. Using the Android tablets opens new possibilities to host safety meetings online and to implement a driver scorecard. Drivers will be able to view their weekly performance for mileage, on-time service and other areas to earn rewards. All communication will take place between TMW and PeopleNet. "No one will be pounding away on a spreadsheet," Land says. Mobile driver apps Mobile driver apps also can clear a path toward automated driver pay. e technology is helping fleets and drivers accel- erate the flow of POD receipts and other trip documents to the office to complete billing and payroll. Fleets with over-the-road operations traditionally have paid for drivers to use overnight mail and truck stop scan- ning services. Today's apps can capture pictures of PODs, toll receipts and other trip documents and index these images to loads. Venezia Bulk Transport is vetting vendors of different mo- bile apps to help the drivers of its 500 trucks. e Limerick, Pa.-based company currently uses an overnight dropbox mail service that does not guarantee that documents will arrive on time. With an app, drivers will be able to get trip documents to the office instantly to "prevent some frustration" in meeting the payroll deadline, says Frank Venezia, director of operations. Another feature Venezia plans to include in an app will Jacksonville, Fla.-based Centurion Auto Transport now uses PeopleNet's Tablet to capture electronic POD receipts but plans to transition to the new Android platform. Limerick, Pa.-based Venezia Bulk Transport plans to use a mobile driver app to capture documents needed to complete billing and payroll for the drivers of its 500 trucks.