Central States Manufacturing to deploy Omnitracs MCP50

Omnitracs, a provider of fleet management systems to transportation and logistics companies, announced that Central States Manufacturing, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of metal building products, will deploy Omnitracs’ Mobile Computing Platform 50 (MCP50) and key applications across its 85-vehicle fleet.

Central States Manufacturing selected Omnitracs’ MCP50 and applications–including Hours of Service (HOS) and Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR)– to enable safe two-way information exchange between drivers and the back office, while also helping to improve regulatory compliance and overall fleet safety.

“Our primary objective in adopting Omnitracs’ mobile fleet management technology was to improve the reliability and frequency of information exchange between drivers and dispatchers,” said Tim Allen, compliance manager at Central States Manufacturing. “Each of our facilities handles their own regional product deliveries across rural routes with limited to no connectivity, and being out of service is not an option for us. Omnitracs was the ideal choice to help meet our operational and safety needs, providing us with greater visibility into what happens on the road, in addition to incredibly proactive and responsive customer service.”

An employee-owned company, based in Lowell, Ark., Central States Manufacturing has six locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Texas, North Carolina and South Dakota. Having previously used a different fleet management system, the company tapped Omnitracs to overcome the challenges with two-way communication between drivers and dispatchers in areas along the regional delivery routes where connectivity is limited.

Central States Manufacturing is adopting the following applications on the MCP50 platform:

• Hours of Service—an Electronic On-board Recorder (EOBR) application that provides up-to-date information on driver-hours availability to help ensure regulatory compliance and improve productivity
• Vehicle Inspection Report—eliminates paper DVIRs, making it easier for drivers to record pertinent inspection information to help fleets save money, increase accuracy and completeness, and improve reporting, compliance and defect resolution

• Critical Event Reporting—monitors vehicles for critical safety-related events and provide immediate notification to help fleets manage driver behavior, improve fleet operations and prevent accidents
• Performance Monitoring—helps fleets manage fuel consumption by monitoring fleet data and driver behavior practices such as speeding, idling, and over-revving impact truck fuel consumption
• Analytics Manager—converts critical information from Omnitracs applications into dashboards, graphs, and tables for a comprehensive view of fleet operations