Daco Paving fortifies its family culture with Verizon Connect Reveal dashcams

If you live in a planned community or subdivision in one of the outlying suburbs of the Houston area, Daco Paving may have had a hand in constructing the neighborhood roads you travel.

The company, which launched in 2014 and has 130 employees, works with home builders to construct roads and bridges for new communities. Because Daco builds new neighborhoods on raw land, much of its work takes place in remote rural environments and isolated locations. This can make managing its distributed workforce more challenging, especially with employees who work in the field.

Daco needed a more reliable way to track the location and usage of its heavy equipment as well as the driving behaviors of its workers using company-owned vehicles. It found an effective asset-tracking solution in Verizon Connect Reveal, an end-to-end fleet management platform.

Navigating the challenges of unique terrain

Daco, which is headquartered in Hockley, Texas, has a fleet of cars, trucks and heavy mobile equipment that it uses on job sites around the Houston area.

Daco previously relied on another fleet management solution, but couldn't get the software outfitted on all of its trucks. It would've had to purchase an expensive custom package to integrate the solution into all its vehicles, said Penny Coleman, the company's Controller. Daco needed a way to get near-real-time insight into the location data and maintenance needs of all of its vehicles—not just a few. Moreover, the company didn't have opportunities to monitor its drivers' behavior to ensure they fit into the company's culture and vision.

Additionally, Daco crews typically work in remote areas where there's just raw land, so the firm needed a solution with the connectivity and coverage to reach those areas. Daco needed to address these issues and improve tracking of its vehicles and equipment to ensure its crews worked efficiently. The company also needed better ability to mitigate unfounded insurance liability claims when company-owned vehicles were involved in collisions, Coleman said.

After learning about Verizon Connect Reveal and taking some time to assess the solution, Daco ultimately decided to make the switch.

Improving asset tracking in the field

Verizon Connect Reveal is an advanced fleet management platform that gives customers location and driving telematics data to improve worker productivity, boost driver safety and reduce vehicle and equipment maintenance costs. The platform features an integrated driver and road-facing dashcam solution that records and logs activity inside and outside each vehicle, which can be valuable if an accident or another traffic incident occurs. Users also receive a variety of near-real-time alerts via text, email or within the platform for occurrences such as speeding, smoking, drowsiness and tailgating, as well as access to reports with a complete history of activity for each driver with timestamps and location information. Users can access all these insights from an easy-to-use dashboard.

Coleman said the video footage of driver activity and alerts have really benefitted Daco Paving's operations. Coleman recalls one time when she and her team suspected an employee was smoking inside one of Daco's company-issued vehicles. The employee had previously denied doing so, but one day Coleman received a smoking alert with video footage that showed the driver actually had smoked inside the vehicle. The company immediately took disciplinary action.

"I was able to send that video to his supervisor. His supervisor saw it, and there was no way he was going to deny it. This was shortly after we had the cameras installed," Coleman said.

Verizon Connect Reveal has also helped Daco reduce its insurance risks. Integrated road-facing cameras help Daco better protect itself from unfounded claims from other motorists.

"We have to say, 'No, this was not our fault.' We have to pull out the cameras. We have to show the film," she said. "The insurance companies—once they see that you've got this in your vehicle, they understand you're doing everything you can to protect them, because that's what you're doing—you're protecting them and yourself."

Coleman said Verizon Connect Reveal gathers information the minute an employee starts one of Daco's vehicles or pieces of equipment. This isn't only helpful for tracking, but also equipment maintenance and workforce management.

"You don't have to depend on an employee or one person to give you the time and hours that are on that particular machine. We can pull it up from here," she said, referencing the Verizon Connect Reveal dashboard.

Daco also gets information on how long its crews have used a piece of equipment and reminders about when to perform routine maintenance on its vehicles and equipment. Once its mechanic performs this work, it's all recorded in the platform. The company uses these records to provide information on equipment depreciation to its bonding agents and insurer.

Building better business culture and operations

What has made Verizon Connect Reveal work so well for Daco isn't just the technology itself, but the support it has received.

Sam Dowdy, Lead Account Development Representative on the Verizon team, helped Daco reap more value from Verizon Connect Reveal. Dowdy worked with Daco to properly configure the solution and is always on standby to jump in and help the company troubleshoot any issues. The Daco team has forged such a collaborative relationship with him that they've given him the nickname, "Saint Sam."

"We all know Sam by name and know him by number. He's just absolutely amazing," Coleman said.

She added that Verizon Connect Reveal—and the dashboard cameras, in particular—has improved Daco's operation in ways that are both measurable and immeasurable. Daco is a very family-oriented business anchored on values such as honesty and integrity, so the data from the solution helps Daco feel confident that they are retaining the employees who help reinforce these values.

"If they don't want to be filmed, they don't belong behind the wheels of my cars," Coleman said, adding that "we've had a lot of guys that have been with us from the beginning. This is their home. They're providing for their families. We do a lot for and with our employees. We have over 130 employees. I personally feel responsible for their families. I don't want someone to do anything that could put them in jeopardy at all."

Verizon's solution also gives Daco additional assurance its employees are doing the right thing and allows the company to proactively address issues that could undermine its operations and its relationship with clients.

"The guys are actually better drivers for it," Coleman said. "We had one driver who said, 'I'd get in my own vehicle at the end of the day, and I'm paying attention to this or I'm slowing down that—and my wife even noticed.' These cameras carry over into their personal lives and they're making them better drivers."

Daco Paving has noticed major positive changes overall since opting for Verizon Connect Reveal and dashboard cameras.

"Our company is so much better now because of these cameras," Coleman said, adding that Verizon Connect Reveal "has helped us weed out so many bad things. It has completely changed how our crew behaves."