This Midwest-based trucking company knows how to nail compliance and efficiency

Established in 1976, R&M Trucking has been moving freight around the United States with the help of their fleet of 200 heavy duty trucks. Having a fleet of this size helps them provide a wide range of services that include hauling street freight, rail containers and flatbeds as well as moving airport cargo, warehousing materials and serving as a certified cargo screening facility. With so many moving parts to manage, R&M wanted a solution that would help them manage compliance, monitor safety, eliminate manual processes all while delivering excellent customer service. Implementing a combination of Verizon Connect Reveal and Logbook solutions helped them do exactly that.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Safety

R&M prides itself on practicing safety measures that go above and beyond what is required for a company in their industry. Using a combination of Verizon Connect Reveal and Logbook, they are able to comply with their own safety policies by receiving real-time alerts for any driver behavior that may cause problems in the future.

“Logbook has helped us keep our safety scores down by ensuring that any time a driver is stopped on the side of the road and his Hours of Service (HOS) are checked, he’s fully compliant and there’s not a shadow of a doubt whether his logs are current. The solution has helped with any negative safety scores we might have had,” says Mike Narvaez, Safety and Compliance Director.

When it comes to dispatch, Verizon Connect Reveal helps R&M see exact driver location, and if they’ve run into any problems along the way. “If a customer calls and wants an ETA or is worried about where a driver may be, I can log into the solution and see where they are. It gives me accurate up-to-date information on driver location,” says Corey Christensen, dispatcher at R&M.

Eliminating Manual Processes Helps Improve Productivity

Like most trucking companies in the industry, R&M was used to navigating around stacks of driver logs, reports and paperwork – all of which were transferred to an Excel spreadsheet and manually analyzed. In an industry where things move quickly, R&M now relies on Verizon Connect solutions to help eliminate manual processes to increase productivity company-wide.

“Overall, having Logbook has made things easier for our drivers. They don’t have to struggle with filling in lines on a log book form from the seat of their truck. You’re always current, your form and manner is perfect – you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s one less thing on the driver’s mind when he’s got a million things already going on,” says Narvaez. 

Drivers even noticed a difference in their day-to-day activities. “Before we had eLogs, we were wasting time filling out a paper log book and it’s possible a lot of mistakes were being made. Logbook makes the process more efficient, less time consuming and you get your job done a lot faster with less interruptions,” says Wayne Marchant, driver at R&M.

With their goal of increasing productivity met thanks to the help of Verizon Connect Logbook, R&M was able to free up employees to do other tasks they couldn’t do before since so much time was spent pushing paper. “Not having to work with paper, frees up the driver to do their main job – drive,” says Narvaez.

Getting on the Compliance Ball

Companies that operate heavy duty trucks and track Hours of Service (HOS) are required to be compliant with the FMCSA’s ELD mandate by December 2017 – and R&M fell right into that category. They decided to act sooner rather than later and implemented Verizon Connect Logbook in November 2016, just about a year before the mandate took effect. “We knew we needed to get on the ball and find a solution when we saw the regulations went through,” Narvaez says.

Once R&M selected Verizon Connect as their provider for GPS fleet tracking and HOS monitoring, the installation process moved very quickly. “We set up our installation date and Verizon Connect scheduled installation on Saturday. They were here all day and for the few trucks they couldn’t get to on Saturday, they came out before work. They were here as early as 3:00 am installing before the drivers came in,” states Narvaez.

Having Logbook has helped change driver behavior at R&M. Narvaez and his team use the solution to closely monitor what our drivers do on a daily basis, down to the minute. This helps them stay ahead of the game and make sure they remain compliant when it comes to driving hours, eliminating the need to back track and review past driver logs. “I don’t have to worry about a driver making a mistake or not keeping his log book current. On the back end, the filing is amazing. What were mountains or driver logs and receipts in the past are now on file in the cloud. It’s great,” he states.

For any company still trying to decide on a provider to comply with the ELD mandate, Narvaez says the time to act is now. “It’s here. You have to comply and you have to follow the law. The sooner you get on board, the better you’ll be. It’s a process, not a light switch. A company that waits to the last minute to be compliant, won’t be. That’s the bottom line.”