How smaller haulers can use data and information to level the playing field.
With improvements in internet connectivity [5G] and more data moving to the cloud in less time, end-user expectations on what they can do with data are becoming more immediate. In other words, fleet owners want comprehensible information at their fingertips in real time that helps them better run their business. Further, fleet owners’ attention spans are being taxed with the need to digest complicated application dashboards, along with balancing their drivers’ in-cab stimuli to maintain safety and productivity. Today’s fleets also require much better connectivity with their end users—specifically with new subscriptions, more accurate billing and real-time route and asset oversight.
Using that as the backdrop of what is currently viewed as “normal fleet operations”, the notion of introducing ‘connectivity’ to an already tech-saturated market segment might (at first) fall on deaf ears. That is until a fleet owner is acquainted with the notion of a truly connected truck and the potential of what it brings to a fleet’s safety, productivity and its bottom line.
At first blush, the word “connectivity” has different meanings for different people. So, for sake of clarity, I am defining connectivity as: the ability of the asset being digitally ‘connected’ to their fleet’s back office to facilitate routing, customer service and billing; connected to their maintenance ERP system for real-time/near real-time maintenance assessment of both chassis and body; and connected to dispatch to track the vehicle’s location and route productivity (which provides the basis for more accurate pricing of services). Finally—but of primary importance—monitoring the asset’s safety and driver’s environment are also key components of connectivity.
Currently, a modern refuse collection vehicle might have four different cell services in their truck: one each for safety, routing, engine monitoring and another for positive service verification—each with its own subscription cost and cellular connection. This can be further complicated by multiple monitors inside the cab, wiring (installation) complexities and less-than intuitive processes that often times fall on the vehicle’s operator to manipulate—in addition to their primary responsibility of safely and efficiently driving a large RCV through crowded neighborhoods or commercial properties to pick up trash.
Data is Fuel; Information is Power
Leck Waste Services, headquarted in Ivyland PA, has operations in Bristol, Coopersberg, Kutztown and Newtown, PA. Running 75 trucks, Leck services 30,000 customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, working commercial services, roll-offs, septic, portable toilets, transfer trailers, and an MSW transfer station.
In 2018, Leck was seeking a program to provide better coaching for drivers who exhibit behaviors they wanted to call attention to—reducing the number of accidents as well as practices that were unnecessarily hard on their equipment. After looking at various solutions over the course of several months in 2018, Leck approached 3rd Eye®, part of Environmental Solutions Group. Knowing Eric Monsen, ESG VP, Regional Sales, Leck Waste Systems’ President, Jason Leck had faith in their ability to provide reliable data solutions while working with a previous vendor. “We were aware of ESG’s acquisition of 3rd Eye. We knew if the ESG team, which has built trucks for 120 years, was investing in technology, it was something we needed to investigate.”
Environmental Solutions Group’s (ESG) Connected CollectionsTM Digital Strategy includes SaaS modules like Verif-EyeTM, Optim-Eyes®, Certif-EyeTM, Magnif-EyeTM and 3rd Eye® Safety, where fleet owners can have reams of information at their fingertips to truly help them make better decisions, faster. All of this can be accomplished over one cell connection. The system is based on reporting ‘exceptions’, meaning ESG’s systems are smart enough to begin looking at a fleet’s operational data and knowing when to report based on parameters—or exceptions—that have been delineated by the fleet owners. This type of data collection then progresses into reports based on this exception data being converted to comprehensive information and ultimately customized reports that readily make sense to fleets. “We started by providing safety data that fleets wanted to help them better handle driver coaching events, such as hard stops, cell-phone use, and distracted driving as well as post-incident fault mitigation,” said Monsen, adding, “it was eye-opening when fleets began to look at data revolving these types of behavior—and how fleets used that quickly to improve their operations.”
Monsen said that smaller fleet owners have traditionally refrained from taking advantage of these types of technologies in the past because of the expense. With the advent of 3rd Eye
Artificial Intelligence [AI], machine learning, and next-generation software development, the cost and complexity of these systems are now well within reach of smaller haulers who can then use the information to run a safer, more productive, and, ultimately, more pro table operation. In short, it levels the playing field and allows smaller fleets to compete with the larger national fleets and larger budgets.
Seeing Immediate Results
Involving Leck’s Fleet Manager, COO, Operations, CFO, Director of Safety and the President of the company, the entire implementation process took nine months to put in place because Leck went through a three-month pilot program, then evaluated the results. Then, Leck needed to secure financing, and finally install the system into the fleet.
“At Leck, we were able to realize a 25 percent savings in insurance cost by implementing 3rd Eye Mobile and using the system to drive coachable events from 157 events per month when we started—down to less than 10 events a month,” said Leck. “This allowed Leck Waste Services to see a six-figure return on annual insurance costs in their Waste Captive insurance program.”
Additional Solutions
With the collaboration between ESG and Leck established, 3rd Eye engineers and Leck management began to look at additional data that could be converted into meaningful information that would help them run a more pro table, more productive operation, while maintaining an atmosphere of uncompromised safety. One of these areas was
Commercial Front Loader overages—the negative impact it had on Leck’s bottom line—and the missed opportunities for upselling that were not fully realized until the Verif-EyeTM Connected Collections positive service module was introduced to Leck.
“When 3rd Eye came to me regarding how I was handling my commercial overages, at first, I didn’t know how to respond,” said Leck. “I mean, we knew that overages were occurring, and we had our drivers taking pictures with their Mobile-PakTM tablets of those containers that were over owing. We estimated we had about 2 to 3 percent of our commercial stops in some type of overage situation.”
When a fleet owner looks at the true anatomy of a scale-house ticket and then backs out the scheduled revenue generated from the route, versus the actual tipping fee charged based on the tonnage that crosses the scale—the true impact of overage becomes clear—and it took Leck by surprise. “Our eyes were opened pretty quickly when Verif-Eye identified that we actually had 8 percent overages, which made us realize we needed something that captured overages automatically—allowing the driver to focus on servicing customers. Bottom line, the additional 4 to 5 percent we didn’t account for was coming out of our pocket,” said Leck. “Verif-Eye also provided us with video evidence of those repeat offenders as well as the historical data to go back to those customers to either increase the size of their container or the frequency of their pickup. In the first month we were able to drive $10,000 to the bottom line by right-sizing customers and by capturing insight to customers’ accounts that were decreased due to the pandemic. That money fell directly to the bottom line and allowed our company to right size our customers’ needs during the post-pandemic uptick.”
To help ESG sales teams better communicate this to end users, a simple online calculator has been developed to allow fleets that run commercial front loaders to assess what their potential revenue could be if they captured overages using their own data. “Given the response we’ve received after running the Verif-Eye Commercial Front Loader Overages calculator by a few of our customers, it’s pretty clear that pictures are worth a thousand words—or in some cases—potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the size of your fleet,” said Monsen.
“When you have customers using their own data—and then seeing what the potential is—it becomes a great way to introduce Connected CollectionsTM as the information we’re providing them lives up to our mantra of helping fleet owners make better decisions, faster.” The information collected from a customer’s first exposure to the calculator is saved and then compared to data collected during a full four-week Verif-Eye demo on a customer’s route. Once a customer sees the actual overage data pulled from their route compared to what they originally estimated—the potential opportunities become very clear.
“We have customers who are running overages of 14 percent,” said Monsen. “Without the ability to capture overages and charge back to their end users, the hauler would be upside down in terms of overall profitability. Now these customers have the information they need to work with end users to provide better service while get paid for the efforts.”
Impact on the Bottom Line
Vehicles are getting more and more advanced in their systems and Connected CollectionsTM by ESG provides fleet owners—big and small—with technologies that previously were only viable to larger fleets with deeper pockets. “At the end of the day, we have a much better understanding of our fleet’s operational cost and overall readiness—thanks to information provided by Connected CollectionsTM,” said Leck. “We have added tens of thousands of dollars to our bottom line through improvements in operational safety, controlling
commercial overages, and identifying and correcting maintenance issues before they become a problem. That allows us to better serve our
customers, which strengthens our relationships with our end users while allowing Leck to compete with larger national fleets.” | WA
Jeffry Swertfeger is Director of Marketing for Environmental Solutions Group (Chattanooga, TN). He can be reached at (813) 957-1846 or e-mail [email protected].