SmartDriveHeadquartered in Indiana, Fraley & Schilling is a premier lightweight fleet operator hauling metal products, building materials and machinery in the eastern third of the United States. Acknowledging that it is a pioneer within the transportation industry, the company is always looking for the next technology to help make its fleet safer and to protect its drivers.
Following a competitive review and pilot program, Fraley & Schilling selected the SmartDrive program due to the easy-to-use technology interface, superior support, overwhelmingly positive initial results and unmatched driver coaching tools
In the first 18 months of installing the SmartDrive solution on all company-owned trucks, Fraley & Schilling saw a 67 percent reduction in its collision frequency rate. With a deep, sustained commitment to safety, the company has continued to see meaningful impact from the SmartDrive program. To date in 2017, the fleet has driven more than 19 million miles and has seen a 42 percent reduction in its year-over-year collision frequency rate. Along with cementing the company’s culture of safety, the SmartDrive program has allowed Fraley & Schilling to realize a cost savings of two cents per mile driven due to reducing collision frequency and being able to more efficiently allocate resources.
Fraley & Schilling deployed the dual-camera SmartDrive system with in-cab and forward-facing cameras across all owned trucks. By including the in-cab camera, Fraley & Schilling’s safety team is able to gain more complete insight into what the driver was doing at the time of an incident to better support and exonerate drivers, as well as provide tailored feedback to correct potentially dangerous habits and reduce the number of collisions.
To gain wide driver buy-in when rolling out the SmartDrive system, Fraley & Schilling began introducing the idea of installing a video-based safety program during quarterly driver safety meetings. Drivers who volunteered as beta testers had the SmartDrive technology installed in their trucks and championed the system to colleagues through presentations at terminals and one-on-one meetings. Previously skeptical drivers quickly realized the value of the in-cab camera in making them even safer on the road.
“I was reluctant to have the in-cab camera installed in my truck,” said John Steele, a driver for Fraley & Schilling and 15-year veteran behind the wheel. “I thought it was just constantly streaming video. But after learning more about the system and fully understanding that it is only triggered to record based on my driving or if I choose to record something happening on the road around me, I’m 100 percent behind having them onboard. It’s comforting to know the video is there in case of an incident to help defend me. At the end of the day, we all want to be better, safer drivers.”
Through a comprehensive coaching program, coaches use actionable data received from recorded events to provide hands-on training and corrective measures to ensure drivers have a keen understanding of the triggering event and how they can improve their driving skills.
Mike Posz, director of safety at Fraley & Schilling