Grapevine, TX. LinkeDrive announced the release of its Driver and Truck Analytics (DATA) platform this week at the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) 2014 annual convention being held here in Texas, March 23-26. The cloud-based solution is intended to help commercial and private fleets attain new levels of performance in fuel efficiency and safe driving.
LinkeDrive’s flagship product, PedalCoach, which is a driver-focused application that instantaneously measures, coaches and rewards drivers for safe and fuel-efficient driving, serves as the conduit for the real-time information that is captured and transmitted from fleet vehicles to the DATA platform in the cloud. DATA was developed to instantly analyze and present this information to fleet managers in a highly configurable and intuitive dashboard.
According to the company, by using the mapping support of DATA, managers can go beyond viewing the location of assets to seeing how each vehicle and driver is performing while the vehicle is still moving down the road. DATA also tracks performance across the entire fleet and by fleet segment.
“We are really announcing a platform,” Jeff Baer, LinkeDrive Founder and CEO said during the TCA press conference. “Everything we do over the next ten years will be built from that.”
DATA is intended to enable managers at all levels in an organization to identify key performance metrics (KPIs), run comparative reports and use its drill-down capabilities to quickly get the information they need to improve fleet performance and profitability.
According to LinkeDrive, driver managers can use DATA’s patent-pending approach to evaluate and score all drivers across the fleet. The score is fair and normalized. Managers can quickly determine which drivers are outperforming their peers in fuel and driving performance and then provide coaching for those lagging behind.
In the cab, drivers can see their scores at the end of each trip (ignition on/off event) through PedalCoach. With DATA, managers and drivers are seeing the same information as it happens, which helps to make communication and training simpler, immediate and more effective.
Fleet equipment managers can use DATA to conduct A/B testing of aerodynamic equipment and compare performance among different engine and vehicle systems to make smarter spec’ing decisions, Baer noted. Senior-level executives can measure and compare driver managers; measure fleet-wide KPIs such as idling, fuel consumption and vehicle utilization; and identify underperforming assets.
“We are going after every decision a driver might make that could affect the bottom line,” observed Baer. “We are showing fleets and drivers [real-time information they each require] without their having to look for it.”
"For our customers, DATA fundamentally answers one question: 'Are my drivers doing the best they can, given what they have to work with?' Baer said. “DATA is the foundation for the industry's first truly fair pay-for-performance program for drivers. It enables drivers, managers and executives to be working from the same information set, which effectively squelches typical excuses for poor fuel mileage. It is fast, flexible, and fun," Baer noted.
“We knew from day one that our drivers want to score well and win,” he added. “Now with DATA, that friendly, competitive spirit is working its way to fleet managers as well. The sky is the limit with this platform as we now have drivers, managers and executives speaking the same language as they work towards achieving the same goals."
With the DATA platform, LinkeDrive is also able to administer a driver rewards program on its customers’ behalf. Its LinkeDrive Performance Pay program uses drivers’ LinkeDrive Score and driving performance to create an automated system that can be used by fleets to recognize drivers for their achievements.
