Petroleum Transport Equips Fleet with PeopleNet's Onboard Computing System
Petroleum Hauler Using eDriver Logs® to Automate Hours of Service and Boost Efficiency
MINNEAPOLIS - October 29, 2004 - PeopleNet, the leading provider of onboard computing and mobile communications systems to the nation's transportation industry, today announced that Petroleum Transport Co. (PTC) has equipped its fleet of 106 power units with PeopleNet's onboard computing and mobile communications system.
PTC, a regional and short-haul bulk carrier, hauls gasoline and other petroleum products from tank farms to a diverse client base of independent retail outlets throughout the southeastern United States. Because backhauls are virtually non-existent, the company looks for ways to keep its units fully utilized. As a result, PTC operates around the clock, slip-seating its 225 drivers out of 14 terminals strategically located to ensure average turn times of less than five hours per load.
To further boost efficiency of its operation, PTC turned to PeopleNet. According to Lynn Parsons, Chief Information Officer for PTC, PeopleNet's GPS satellite tracking and mobile communications capability provided greater visibility of the individual units and their status.
The technology, which was integrated with the company's billing and accounting software, allowed PTC to centralize its dispatching in its Mt. Airy, N.C. headquarters. Previously, when drivers finished with a load, they had to come back to the office to get their next assignment from dispatchers located in each terminal.
"This was a radical change for us," explains Parsons. "The ability of communicating with our drivers on a real-time basis has eliminated the need for the paperwork exchange and cell phones. PeopleNet has given us the ability to increase the number of loads we can haul and the revenue we generate simply by reducing the time it takes to dispatch our units."
But the improved visibility of the fleet offers other benefits. "From a security standpoint, we feel that we're at an advantage knowing where our equipment is, especially if the government ever mandates that," she says. "But the bigger advantage is that we can give the customer a good idea where their load is."
In another effort to boost efficiency, PTC drivers will use eDriver Logs®, PeopleNet's electronic log keeping feature. "This will help reduce the time it takes to fill out logs and to maintain them," according to Parsons. "With PeopleNet, we don't have to manually log miles, track routes and record fuel purchases. We are also using the system to compute our fuel taxes."
In addition, PTC plans to use the system's PerformXTM real-time vehicle performance evaluation tool "to make sure our drivers are driving the truck appropriately," she says. "We want to make sure we're getting better fuel economy by reducing speeding, idling and over-braking."
The PeopleNet system has become the standard for GPS-based location tracking, two-way voice and data communications, electronic driver logs, and Internet-based fleet business tools to provide consistent, reliable communication between business owners, dispatchers, drivers and shippers.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, PeopleNet is the fastest-growing provider of Internet-based onboard computing and mobile communications systems to the transportation industry, including truckload, LTL, private, and service fleets. The company serves several Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and Canada and has signed more than 1,000 customers since our inception 10 years ago.
For more information about PeopleNet, call 888-346-3486, e-mail info@peoplenetonline.com, or visit www.peoplenetonline.com.
