Author: Frankie Clement, Senior Vice President of Information Technology at U.S. Xpress
Our Senior Vice President of Information Technology gained a new perspective after a ride along with a U.S. Xpress driver.
Technology teams exist for more than just the typical tech support function. In trucking, it’s our responsibility to make sure the driver experience is as seamless as possible, from pickup to delivery. We build applications that connect customer requests to drivers, trucks, and trailers to ensure safe and timely delivery of shipments.
I recently joined OTR Driver Russel Goins to get a closer look at the challenges our drivers face every day. The better we understand their challenges, the more we can support them.
Here are some things I learned.
The truck is a driver’s home.
My eyes were opened when I first stepped on his truck. He offered me a Pepsi from his fridge and showed me where to find food if I wanted a snack. I quickly realized this isn’t just his workplace, this is his home when he’s on the road for U.S. Xpress. Before we even hit the road, that made me rethink the things we offer our drivers. They need the tools to make them effective while they’re on the clock, and amenities to help them relax when they’re off-duty.
There’s a big opportunity for active driving alerts.
It’s common for drivers to find out about traffic or inclement weather when they become visible. Trucking maps are made to route drivers through roadways that can accommodate big rigs, not for sharing traffic delays. We’re looking for ways to provide traffic and severe weather updates on our truck tablets to alert drivers (and their supervisors) of a potential risk or delay.
Roadways change frequently.
When we got close to the delivery location, Russel turned the wrong way…according to the GPS. He has delivered to this location before and knew the correct route to get to the facility’s entrance. It turns out his mapping application needed to be updated with current maps. We’ve taken this as an action item to push regular updates to the GPS functionality on all our truck tablets so drivers can rely on their navigation system to find their destination on truck-safe roads.
Electronic processes at receivers are ideal. When we arrived at the drop-off location, there was a line at the guard shack for drivers to manually enter the details of their loads for the bill of lading. We’re working to partner with customers to automate this process through electronic BOLs and notifications when drivers cross a geo-fence around their locations. This would be a huge win for drivers to get in and out, and back on the road.
The biggest lesson I learned through this experience is this: if we do our job to make the lives of drivers efficient, effective, and safe, we’ll all be better off for it.
Thanks to all the drivers who keep us rolling.
Frankie Clement, Senior Vice President of Information Technology
