With the implementation, Transport America now has a system to curate potentially hazardous weather events by alerting Fleet Leaders and drivers of weather alerts and identifying future undispatched loads and projected routes that might also be affected.
Transport America is able to produce more accurate weather alerts to empower its team to make educated decisions to help keep drivers and freight safe and optimize fleet utilization in the face of weather disruptions.
“After last year’s harsh winter, we were looking for a tool to keep our trucks safer and moving in bad weather,” said Tom Benusa, CIO of Transport America. “We were stuck manually and intermittently reviewing weather information, and eyeballing what trucks it might affect. ALK was able to provide us the tools to build exactly what we needed.”
The company’s automated system meets three goals, he explained: to keep drivers safe, to keep their cargo safe and to ensure that assets are optimally utilized. “We’ve been very impressed with the functionality so far and know that we’ll be able to expand our capabilities as we continue to use the platform.”
ALK Maps Weather Alerts pulls in severe weather alert information directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Transport America has integrated this module with its internal alert system. The system runs across Transport America’s entire fleet every 20 minutes and offers Fleet Leaders the real-time data they need to identify new weather related issues for their specific trucks.
This information enables Fleet Leaders to make critical safety decisions based on where their drivers are and where they are headed. Transport America’s Customer Service team is provided weather-related insight for their projected routes up to three times daily so they can easily assess the impact and decide if a load should be re-routed or held.
“Fleet Leaders can now proactively contact their drivers and make sure they are aware of the weather situation and ensure their safe passage,” continued Mr. Benusa. “In addition, we can look further ahead into future routes and project which might be affected by weather. We now have the information far enough in advance to make the decision to re-route ahead of storms or, if needed, reach out to clients to schedule earlier or later pickups and deliveries. It’s a significant enhancement to our customer service as well our fleet logistics.”
Weather Alerts is available to purchase as an additional module for the ALK Maps or PC Miler Web Services platforms.
