Interstate Power Systems improves operational visibility and driver safety.

Challenge

As a manager of corporate safety for IPS and 40+ years of experience in safety and risk management, Bill Boyle knows a thing or two about building a strong corporate safety culture. When he joined IPS, he discovered the company was paying tens of thousands of dollars to an external safety consulting agency just to store driver files instead of actually helping the company become safer. He knew he had to find a better fleet safety solution.

“The agency’s process was extremely time consuming, costly, and did not identify any of our driver deficiencies. It was terribly managed,” Boyle said. “I knew there was better technology out there that could benefit us with actionable data to improve driver safety, protect the business, and reduce operational costs.”

Solution

At the time of his search, the Department of Transportation began rolling out its Federal ELD mandate. This made it even more important to find a solution that improved fleet safety practices at IPS while maintaining compliance with DOT regulations.

“We found that Motive was one of the providers that matched nicely with our needs,” Boyle said. When it came time to convince the company’s decision-makers, Boyle easily proved cost savings from Motive by changing unsafe behaviors and improving ELD compliance.

Increasing visibility into risky driving behaviors

Currently, Interstate Power Systems uses the Motive Vehicle Gateway to access Safety Hub for harsh driving and speeding information, as well as Geofences to track and get alerts for unauthorized use of vehicles. They’re also evaluating the Motive AI Dashcam to detect unsafe driving behaviors such as cell phone use and close following. That would allow the team to leverage automated coaching, scoring, and reporting to pinpoint ways to reduce driver risk and coach them to become safer.

The company also uses the Motive Compliance solution to optimize drive time and minimize violations. With the Motive Driver App, drivers can easily complete logs and inspection reports, avoid HOS violations, and transmit ELD output files for roadside inspections.

Results

Using data to improve driver safety and compliance, and customer relationships

Since deploying Motive in 2018, IPS has seen significant improvement in unsafe driver behavior and a reduction in fleet safety incidents and DOT citations (which also appear on the driver’s personal record), and less time spent in roadside inspections.

“We’re required to report our drivers’ personal driving history annually and we’ve found that drivers who routinely log into the Motive app have improved their DOT driver scores dramatically,” said Boyle.

For example, a group of 816 drivers driving the 336 vehicles with the Motive Vehicle Gateway received 74 personal driving citations over a one-year period. Another division operating with approximately 100 vehicles without any Motive equipment installed had 207 personal driving citations issued to 45 drivers during the same period.

“I just about fell off my chair when I saw that,” Boyle said. It was clear to him that Motive wasn’t just improving driver safety while they were on the clock with IPS. Drivers were continuing their safe driving behavior into their personal lives. It’s data like this that encourages Boyle to take a holistic approach to driver and fleet safety.

“Whether they’re injured at work or in a crash while they’re off, they’re injured,” Boyle said. “If we have our drivers adhere to policy procedures at work, they’ll adopt that in their personal life.”

Improving fleet safety during onboarding

IPS also integrated Motive into its driver onboarding process. All new drivers, regardless of prior motor vehicle record, must drive vehicles with Motive’s Vehicle Gateway during their probationary period. When drivers log in, they’re required to complete a pre-operation checklist through the Motive app. The Motive ELD also helps Boyle and his team monitor driving behavior like hard braking, acceleration, cornering, and engine idling — all important factors in fleet safety. 

IPS enhances fleet safety and its bottom line

Since switching to Motive, IPS has lowered its insurance rate and saved nearly $1 million in vehicle maintenance. In 2019, IPS had 15 insurance claims filed and $1.1 million worth of vehicle damages. In 2022, vehicle damage costs were down to $157,000 for the year. And by mid-summer of 2022, the company only had two claims and $52,000 in accident repairs.

“I’m happy with Motive,” Boyle said. “It provides access to valuable data that is critical to ensuring driver safety and protecting our business.”

Learn more

Discover the tracking and telematics and compliance solution that Interstate Power Systems trusts with its fleet safety.