SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - McCall Service, a family owned and operated pest control, lawn care and petroleum distribution company, has been serving Florida and Southern Georgia since 1928.
Al Formella, Vice President of Operations for McCall Service, was concerned about the rising fuel and maintenance costs for his fleet of 100 service vehicles. He had looked into GPS fleet tracking solutions for a number of years, but hadn't found a solution that met his requirements for both safety and fleet management functionality.
"It's not all about saving money-safety is really important to us as well," Formella said. "You have some aggressive drivers out there and, for the most part, we are lucky to have avoided major problems over the past several years. I felt like I needed to stop tempting fate and find something to protect our drivers." Formella found the answer to his safety concerns with inthinc. "We saw a way to kill two birds with one stone," he
said. "It provided us with a way to monitor safety as well as manage operational e ciency across our fleet."
The Solution
McCall Service installed inthinc tiwiPro across all five of the company's divisions over the course of six weeks. One trend the company watches closely is speeding. Because tiwiPro has a database of the speed limits on each street segment, it can tell drivers-verbally-when they have exceeded the posted limit. If drivers slow down within a given grace period, no alert is sent to the fleet manager; if drivers continue to speed, however, the branch manager receives a text or an email and can see where the violation occurred via the GPS-based live fleet view on the inthincPortal. The same alert system applies to seatbelt use or aggressive driving.
This kind of insight helps the company identify any common trends and serves as a flag to identify any risky drivers who need additional training.
The inthincPortal-a web-based reporting tool for managers-outlines vehicle utilization and calculates driver scores (1.0 - 5.0) based on individual habits. "We look at the driver scorecard all the way down to an individual level, not just for the overall division," said Dee Hayes, Operations Coordinator for McCall Service. "This allows us to track each
driver's performance and note improvement, which the company compares on a quarterly basis."
The Results
In addition to keeping speeding and aggressive driving in check, McCall Service uses the inthinc trip reporting and vehicle tracking and utilization capabilities. Every weekend, managers check the Portal for signs of unauthorized vehicle activity on the weekends. inthinc monitors any engine activation, tracks how much fuel was consumed (if applicable) and shows where the vehicle drove. McCall Service uses this information to
note whether or not the service truck was used for personal transportation.
McCall Service also uses tiwiPro's curfew settings. Setting the restriction for 7pm, a time when most vehicles should not be in use for work purposes, any car active after that time is flagged for review.
"Unauthorized vehicle use has dropped considerably. We had drivers come up to us and say, 'Does this mean I have to buy my own vehicle now?'" Formella said. Company managers check the Portal every Monday morning for truck use over the weekend, spotting unauthorized use and eliminating those violations-saving the company from unnecessary fuel expense.
In addition to a drop in unauthorized vehicle use, several technicians' driver scores have shown a marked improvement, jumping from the 2.0 range to the high 4.0 range within a month.
"We are setting up a safety program based on inthinc reporting and driver scores," explains Hayes. "Drivers who score in the 1.0 - 2.0 range are counseled for improvement, while those who maintain a high driver score are rewarded and recognized."
The company has also seen cost savings. With the in-cab verbal coaching, which reduced speeding and promoted more e cient driving, one driver reported gaining an extra 100 miles per tank of gas including 5 extra miles per gallon.
"He required five gallons less on his fill ups because he eliminated aggressive driving habits," Formella said. "And an additional benefit is reducing the impact on the environment-which is a large part of our company's culture."
When fuel prices spiked in Florida, the company hardly noticed a change. By using inthinc to eliminate ine cient driving habits and consequently increasing fuel effi ciency, the average fuel consumption bill remained unchanged while competing companies felt the pressure.
With the GPS fleet tracking capabilities, McCall Service is able to see how long each truck remains in a location ensuring the reported timecards reflect accurate driver logs. In addition, the company and its drivers can receive idling reports and alerts if a vehicle is left running too long.
The inthinc solution has also benefited the drivers. If the company receives any calls accusing one of their technicians of reckless driving, Formella and Hayes can log into the Portal and see whether the accused driver was truly in the wrong or not.
"Before, we had to take people's word for it, and it was really whatever the driver said or whatever excuse either side came up with, but now we have documentation," Formella said. "If we get a call about a driver, we can go right in and see the context of any situation."
