Kienstra Ready-Mix Concrete Reports Reductions in At-Fault Risks After 18 Months With SmartDrive

SAN DIEGO, May 5, 2020—SmartDrive Systems, a leader in video-based safety and transportation intelligence, announced today that Kienstra Ready-Mix Concrete has experienced a reduction in at-fault collisions since rolling out the SmartDrive^® video-based safety program in 2018. In addition to the reduction, SmartDrive has provided tremendous insight to Kienstra’s investigation process. Further, during a recent 12-month period, Kienstra was exonerated in several instances where company drivers were found to not be at fault, as a result of video evidence from the SmartDrive program.

“These results are unprecedented for our business and we can confidently point to SmartDrive as a primary factor in helping us achieve these outcomes,” said Pat Wessels, executive vice president of Kienstra Ready-Mix Concrete. “In today’s environment of ever-increasing insurance premiums and nuclear verdicts, having a great safety record is not enough. We need to stay ahead of the curve.  SmartDrive allows us to easily coach our drivers on safer driving behavior and practices, whether at our facilities, at customer sites or on the road.”

Founded in the mid-1940s, Kienstra supplies ready-mix concrete across the St. Louis regional area in Missouri and Illinois, with a mission of delivering a quality product at a fair price along with excellent service. The company launched a pilot of the SmartDrive program in summer 2018, with the aim of exonerating drivers and reducing risks associated with operating vehicles in challenging construction environments. After recording extraordinary early results, Wessels and his team chose to cut short the pilot and roll out the SmartDrive program with Extended Recording across its entire fleet.

Following implementation of the SmartDrive platform, Kienstra immediately saw a transformation in driver attitudes and a reduction in risky driving behavior. The fleet experienced improvement across nearly every one of SmartDrive’s more than 70 safety measurements. Specific improvements include:

• Reduced driving without two hands on the wheel by 56%
• Reduced failure to stop at stop signs by 70%
• Decreased unsafe following by 25%
• Decreased unsafe backing by 26%

“Even though we know our drivers do a great job and generally are not at fault, it’s usually the big truck that gets blamed when an incident occurs,” said Wessels. “We wanted a way to prove without a doubt that our drivers were in the right along with teaching better driving habits, there is no better way to do that than with video evidence. I knew SmartDrive was a powerful tool, but the results have exceeded my expectations. It’s one of the better decisions we made.”

Ready-mix concrete represents SmartDrive’s fastest growing market segment, which the company attributes to several factors, including ready mix-specific triggering and SmartDrive’s extended recording capability, which continuously records video, providing valuable context to incidents that may not be collected during a standard 20-second recording. As well, SmartDrive 360 provides maximum visibility to protect the driver and those working around the vehicle throughout the day.

“We’re proud to offer an extremely robust and tailored solution that can be configured to perfectly suit the unique needs of construction and ready-mix fleets,” said Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to video-based safety. Kienstra, like other fleets in this sector, face distinct challenges, from navigating congested jobsites with uneven terrain to operating heavy-duty specialty equipment. We look forward to our continued collaboration to help Kienstra meet and exceed its safety goals.”

About Kienstra Ready-Mix Concrete

Founded more than 70 years ago, Kienstra Ready-Mix Concrete is a fourth-generation family-owned company serving the St. Louis bi-state area. Supplying concrete in both Missouri and Illinois with 20+ plants, Kienstra thrives in the areas of technical expertise, quality and delivery.  The company’s core values are competency, fairness, honesty, loyalty and quality.

About SmartDrive

SmartDrive Systems gives fleets and drivers unprecedented driving performance insight and analysis, helping save fuel, expenses and lives. Its video safety, predictive analytics, telematics, compliance and personalized performance program help fleets improve driving skills, lower operating costs and deliver significant ROI. With an easy-to-use managed service, fleets and drivers can access and self-manage driving performance anytime, anywhere. The company, which has been ranked as one of the fastest growing companies by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ for six consecutive years, has recorded over 15 billion miles and compiled the world’s largest storehouse of more than 300 million analyzed risky-driving events. SmartDrive Systems is based in San Diego, Calif., and employs over 725 people worldwide.

For more information on SmartDrive Systems, please visit www.smartdrive.net.

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Media Contact:
Havas Formula for SmartDrive Systems
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• Posted by Melissa.Senoff@smartdrive.net
• On 5 May 2020