The American Trucking Association forecasts a record-high driver shortage of more than 82,000 this year. The cost of replacing drivers is even more staggering. One study found that, on average, fleets lose $13,500 each time they fill an empty seat. At this level, a 500-truck company with a 75% driver turnover rate would spend more than $5M every year to train new drivers.
Reducing turnover will naturally lower driver recruiting and training costs, but fleets can get the desired results by working from the other direction. They can improve driver retention by making training more efficient and effective while saving unnecessary expenses.
Many fleets do this with custom mobile driver apps. For example, as soon as recruiters schedule a start date for a new driver, the driver will receive a text or email to download the company’s mobile app. At this point, drivers can access orientation training and other helpful job tools remotely, helping them become familiar with the fleet and the tools they will use on the job.
Drivers complete orientation training by accessing documents and content through the app, either from a learning management system (LMS) or their fleet’s digital media library. When using a neatly organized dashboard within the app, drivers get acquainted with messaging, trip planning, and other tools before official training begins.
When drivers arrive at the office, fleets can often complete any remaining orientation training in a single day, saving hotel costs and getting drivers on the road faster, earning revenue. While on the road, drivers continue using the custom app to get information and training content on equipment, safety topics, and other resources to significantly reduce phone calls and in-person training meetings.
NAPA Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 178) gets all these benefits and more from its custom driver app, and gives its drivers real-time mobile access to information, documents and training content to do their jobs as safely and efficiently as possible.
Giving drivers targeted content
At most fleets, including NAPA, drivers frequently contact their maintenance department with questions about their equipment. Sean Davidson, an application developer helping to manage NAPA’s custom driver app, was approached by a maintenance manager with an intriguing question: Would it be possible to upload vehicle-specific training content to the fleet’s custom app?
NAPA has over 400 trucks powering its mix of dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed operations. Each truck type has a unique set of requirements, compounding the fleet's training issue. Their custom app has an extensive media library, but they needed a way to serve up training materials specific to the assigned equipment. For example, drivers who pull flatbeds don’t need to access training on how to operate reefers.
“Some documents might pertain to a specific driver, or some might pertain to a particular truck based on the VIN, or the make, model, or year,” Davidson said.
Davidson gave the maintenance manager the green light to film short training video clips to help drivers better operate equipment, focusing on functions like turning a new reefer model on/off and setting the temperature.
Today, NAPA stores and retrieves media files in its cloud-based app platform. To ensure each driver has the training they need, Davidson uses the platform’s media APIs to automatically retrieve specific files for drivers based on the truck or trailer type and displays them on a simple webpage in the fleet’s mobile app.
Davidson created a database to cross-reference the media files with drivers’ assigned equipment in the fleet’s transportation management system (TMS). “If our dispatchers assign a different tractor or trailer unit to that driver, the content on the webpage changes on the fly,” he said.
As a practical example, when a driver is assigned a new reefer trailer, the video created for this specific make and model is displayed in the driver’s media library, ensuring they can access the information remotely and deliver the load successfully.
On-demand media access
The possibilities for creating app-based training content for drivers are endless. With a custom app platform that integrates with TMS, learning management systems (LMS), and other technologies, fleets can give their drivers one-click access to the information they need to do their jobs safely and efficiently.
In addition to creating video training content, NAPA Transportation uses its media library to give drivers access to essential documents. To comply with fleet guidelines, drivers must keep documents in their vehicles for licensing, load permits, and more. NAPA is exploring the possibility of digitizing the documents and using the system to give drivers on-demand access to current and pertinent files based on assigned equipment, loads, expiration dates, and other index values.
Some fleets create PDF documents of customer loading and unloading sites. Drivers access these instructions, workflows, and aerial map views in their fleets’ custom apps to plan their trip's final mile ingress and egress details.
Elevating the driver experience
Training is an essential part of the driver experience. Fleets like NAPA, using custom driver apps, are giving drivers essential information to make their work safer and more productive.
NAPA’s mobile app has also improved driver satisfaction and retention. The fleet’s turnover rate is less than 55%, significantly less than the 94% historical rate of large truckload carriers tracked by the American Trucking Associations. Keeping more drivers behind the wheel has drastically reduced its need to train new drivers and conservatively saves the company $1M annually in training costs, explains Jim Brighton, IT Director at NAPA.
Another important driver training strategy NAPA and other fleets use is evolving mobile technology by gathering feedback and suggestions. Administrators can act on driver input by creating and deploying updates through the custom app platform, showing drivers they listen and respond quickly to their needs.
Custom mobile apps like the one NAPA Transportation uses enable fleets to conveniently deliver targeted, on-demand training to help drivers perform at their best and lighten the administrative workload for office and shop employees. Investing in technology to improve driver training has far-reaching benefits on retention, productivity, and bottom-line results.
