Rand McNally announced that ACME Truck Line, Inc. has chosen to install its TND 760 devices for mobile communication, fleet management and navigation. ACME, a Louisiana-based carrier with more than 2,800 owner-operators and 120 locations, is focused on the oil field and energy industries.
With a fleet comprised totally of drivers who own their own trucks, ACME sought a technology partner that would provide value to the company but also to the owner-operators.
“Changing processes or introducing new technology is difficult in any industry, and oil-field transportation is no exception,” said Mike Coatney, president of ACME Truck Line, Inc. “We already understood how these devices would benefit the company, but we wanted to be sure that they would add immediate value for our drivers as well.”
Coatney said ACME’s drivers have quickly embraced several features of the TND™ 760 including the unit’s easy-to-use interface; Rand McNally’s navigation (with which many are familiar having used a Rand McNally GPS or the Motor Carriers’ Road Atlas for a number of years); and ease of installation – the device is a simple, no-holes-drilled connection, able to be installed in fifteen to twenty minutes.
”During our evaluation process, we found the ability to track trucks using the TND 760 greatly reduced the need for dispatchers to call those drivers for status updates,” said Tyler Coatney, project manager, ACME. “The automatic flow of information provided by the device will help support our long-standing commitment to excellent communication and on-time delivery for our customers.”
Other important considerations as ACME evaluated device vendors included having an Hours of Service application, the ability to integrate with ACME’s custom-developed management system and other TMS systems in the future; and the use of information gathered to process fuel-tax reporting.
Holland Transfer is an asset-based regional truckload company that began serving the Statesville, N.C. area in 1907 and today operates a fleet of 40 tractors. Needed improvements in the company’s CSA BASIC “Fatigued Driving” score provided the impetus for Holland Transfer to seek a mobile communications partner with ELD capabilities. Manual recordkeeping errors were negatively impacting Holland Transfer’s scores. The company had implemented a zero-tolerance policy for major Hours of Service violations to combat the issue.
“With a zero-tolerance policy, we were losing good drivers over HOS violations. That wasn’t helping us from an overall company perspective. We made the decision to find a partner to help us implement E-Logs in advance of the industry mandate,” said Gene Kaiser, vice president of Holland Transfer. “One year into implementation, our BASIC score (now called Hours of Service Compliance) has improved dramatically, and our HOS violations are zero.”
Now that the company and its drivers have had a chance to work with the devices, they are finding additional value. For instance, the use of the devices and the data available via the Rand McNally Connect web portal has significantly reduced check calls. Dispatchers can now see where each load is, send messages to drivers, and quickly assign backhauls. The use of E-Logs has helped dispatchers make better decisions when selecting trucks and eligible drivers for a particular load.
Holland Transfer serves the retail and automotive markets, requiring special attention to on-time deliveries. By monitoring progress through the Connect web portal, their dispatchers can inform customers of arrival and departure times more accurately.
Kaiser said Holland Transfer’s drivers are enjoying many of the navigation features of the devices, such as warnings regarding sharp turns and speed limit changes. The TND™ 760’s easy-to-use interface has made training drivers a simple process.
