Having a video-based surveillance system can help improve fleet safety, but Groendyke Transport (CCJMore Top 250, No. 112) learned that their systems can be even more effective if they are underpinned by the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
The Oklahoma-based tanker carrier, an eight-time winner of the National Tank Truck Carriers North American Safety Champion Award, has recently been busy replacing its outdated surveillance system with Samsara’s latest AI-powered video technology. .
Dennis Harris, Fleet Support Manager at Groendyke, has spent more time in planes than in trucks, traveling from one fleet location to the next, leading technology shifts. As of Tuesday, Harris said he has installed his Samsara AI system on about 65% of the 1,000 trucks. Cameras monitor the driver, the road ahead, and the road behind.
So far, Samsara’s AI is better than the old system.
“We learned a lot of things that we missed with other systems,” says Harris, one of the biggest concerns was cell phone use.
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Groendyke was able to decouple the cameras from their previous video system when switching to Samsara.Commercial Carrier Journal Entries
“The only way they could see [a cell phone] If something else caused it, such as a hard braking incident, a collision, or speeding,” Harris said.
Samsara’s AI-based system understands actual cell phone usage and alerts both drivers and fleet managers.
“They’ve had to talk to a lot of drivers about it because the system sees it. It’s more common than it used to be. [with the prior system]said Harris.
In the event of an accident such as mobile phone use, hard braking or speeding, the driver will hear an audible warning in the cab and receive an incident report in the app so you can work with your fleet manager to understand your driving performance.
Drivers start with 100 points each day. Incidents are recorded, but drivers are not necessarily penalized unless the behavior continues.
In the case of speeding, a warning will be given to any driver who exceeds the speed limit by 5 mph twice within a 24-hour period.
“After you do that three times, you’ll be sitting with someone and being coached,” says Harris.
Like the drivers they watch, AI systems aren’t perfect. Drivers are allowed to carry cell phones in their trucks, but cell phone mounts trick the system into thinking the driver is using a phone when they are not actually using it. can do.
“The system has to learn where the phone is,” says Harris. “We are still in the learning process.”
Meanwhile, Harris said drivers were responding positively to the new system.
Potential to reduce costs while increasing safety
SafeFleet’s Vice President of Rearview Safety, Joseph Schechter, said: Bring MobileMule AI to market, explained that AI systems can be used to reduce costs because they directly provide fleet managers with review-worthy and reliable incidents.
“With the old contract, you pay for every event and have someone actually review the data,” says Schechter. “If there are many events, they are paying off the roof because they are all reviewed. They review whether it is an actual incident. , the alert is dismissed even if nothing actually happened.”
With an AI-based system, the severity of an event is more carefully analyzed before alerting fleet managers. The system can set the tool to be as sensitive as it likes.
“In this case, you’re managing your data, you’re managing your reports, and you have an AI that actually does all the work,” says Schechter. “We may have fewer incidents and pay less money, which gives us an edge as a result.”
Both Samsara and MobileMule AI offer driver privacy features such as blurry or completely blacked-out videos that rely on biometrics to show the driver’s behavior without revealing their face.
Schechter explained that major fleets have opted to use MobileMule’s privacy features to assuage union concerns.
Groendyke may adopt Samsara’s privacy features in the future.
“Samsara has a lot of options to offer, and as we start collecting more data, we’ll be able to determine what we need and what we don’t,” says Harris.
