Five good things that happened in trucking this week—July 23

The industry has proven time and time again that trucking is a team sport, with multiple players (drivers, dispatchers, technicians, and warehouse workers), captains (fleet and maintenance managers) and umpires (CSA inspectors) each making sure that each route leads to a successful completion. This week, trucking has joined together to award those who have scored big through constant collaboration and innovation. Here are five good things that happened in trucking this week. 

Women In Trucking announces annual photo contest winners

The seventh annual “I HEART Trucking” photo contest was centered around the theme "I AM ESSENTIAL," a nod to the critical importance transportation and logistics played during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over 100 participants submitted creative photos at the end of June. Nearly 4,700 votes were cast to determine the People's Choice Winners and a panel of judges determined their favorites for the Judges' Choice Winners.

Check out the winners here, who will also be recognized at a special "I HEART Trucking" reception at the WIT Accelerate! Conference & Expo Nov. 7-9 in Dallas, Texas.

Bestpass raises nearly $8,000 to fight against disease

Bestpass recently raised $7,926.00 for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to give back to the community while also encouraging healthy activity through the company’s Tour de Cure event.

The Bestpass Tour de Cure team included 48 employees, customers, and partners from around the country. Three team members raised more than $1,000 to become Champions to Stop Diabetes. The initiative was spearheaded by Bestpass Gives, an employee-led committee within the company that is responsible for identifying opportunities to contribute to the community in a meaningful way while also building relationships across functional teams.  

“We’re extremely grateful for the amazing support from the Bestpass team, not only for their effort in raising crucial funds, but for raising awareness around the importance of being active as well,” said Jeff Collins, executive director of ADA Upstate New York.

Seattle students help Kenworth use AI for weight optimization

Four students from Seattle University joined together for the Turn Prediction Project, where they built upon what worked and what didn’t work from other students who took a run at using AI for Kenworth’s “weight optimization” in recent years. With the amount of data available, the students were able to figure out weight from thousands of trucks Kenworth built every year. 

Ultimately, the students came back with predictive modeling, based on AI, that was “incredibly accurate,” according to Reid Nabarrete, Kenworth’s assistant chief engineer. “When we audited their predictions, we found they were within 1% of our manual calculations. And, those were consistent calculations,” Nabarrete said. “So, a customer with a ‘standard’ truck weighing in at 16,000 lb. for example, could give us a list of spec changes, and the students could come within 160 lb. of the actual true build weight. And they could do it in minutes, not hours.”

Nabarrete said this is a great example of giving students a tangible project that has the potential to impact business. “That’s why our partnership with Seattle University is so exciting and gratifying for the students,” he said. “The students are all in when putting their skills to work in a meaningful project. We’re excited to work with and mentor them and see if their work can be taken to the next stage.”

While the Seattle U students have now graduated and turned their tassels, their work is moving forward within Kenworth. “We plan to take what they’ve produced and refine it further,” Nabarrete said . “I fully expect we will be using AI in weight calculations with our customers on a regular basis in the very near future.”

FedEx Brazil makes 7,000 blankets out of company uniforms

Did you know that four tons of FedEx uniforms produce 7,000 blankets?

FedEx employees across Brazil led this annual sustainability project to benefit people in need for over 20 humanitarian organizations and for animals waiting to be adopted at local animal shelters.

Two Werner drivers reach 1M safe driving milestone

To Derek Leathers, president and CEO of Werner Enterprises, “in order to reach 1,000,000 accident-free miles, safety has to be your top priority in everything you do.”

And for two Werner pro drivers, safety is their top priority as they reached that safe driving milestone with over 1 million accident-free miles. David Marfisi and Woodrow Moore accepted their recognition and posed for pictures with their award and Werner’s Road Team Captains.