Duncan Oil transforms fleet operations while cutting costs.

Challenge

As a reliable petroleum supplier, Duncan Oil was facing a myriad of operational hurdles in efficiently managing its 100-vehicle fleet. Vehicle theft, missed customer timelines, compliance fines, safety violations, vehicle downtime, and rising fuel costs were impeding the company’s ability to grow, scale, and serve customers.

Duncan Oil needed a reliable vehicle tracking system to deter theft. Additionally, they were looking for a dependable method to dispatch technicians promptly to job sites. Other areas the company was looking to improve were driver safety, complying with rigorous regulations for transporting hazardous materials, optimizing fuel expenditure, and minimizing truck downtime.

The company’s previous fleet management provider, Omnitracs, only added higher costs and wasn’t solving the challenges Duncan Oil was facing. Omnitracs required a certified installer to drill hardware into their vehicles, causing significant downtime and vehicle damage. Costs were even higher for Duncan’s many leased vehicles, for which they would have to foot the bill for repairs to vehicle dashboards when leases expired. 

When Omnitracs required their customers to upgrade from 3G- to 4G-enabled devices, Duncan Oil would’ve needed to cover the cost to replace all the new equipment. For these reasons, Duncan Oil searched for an alternative solution provider and found Motive.

Solution

Motive’s simple plug-and-play installation was a key factor in Duncan Oil’s decision to switch solutions. 

According to Marc Vanco, Safety Manager at Duncan, “Installation is so easy. I don’t have to hire a tech to come do it. I can install everything, from the dash camera to the Vehicle Gateway, and have them reporting to the portal within 45 minutes.” 

Along with the swift deployment of Motive devices, Duncan avoided extra expenses on technician installs or vehicle repairs due to the hardware’s non-invasive attachment. By allowing drivers to use their own devices to connect to the Vehicle Gateways, Motive also saved Duncan money on 4G network upgrade costs, due to the Driver App operating on the driver’s own mobile devices instead of having to buy additional hardware. 

Marc notes, “Motive’s technology uses mobile data, cutting down costs because our drivers already have their own mobile phone or tablet inside the vehicle. We saved $100,000 over our previous provider simply because we didn’t need to add new hardware.”

Motive has since provided Duncan Oil with a range of solutions addressing their challenges. Using Motive’s AI Dashcams has enabled the company to download HD video footage that provided evidence to exonerate the company in multiple cases. 

“After one particular, very large accident we had, my owners brought me in and expressed that they wanted the cameras in every vehicle,” Marc shares. “Now, we have them in everything from our sales vehicles, our service vehicles, and propane vehicles.” The video coverage has also allowed managers to have productive coaching conversations with drivers to quickly improve their behaviors, often eliminating repeat instances of unsafe driving. 

The platform also allows Duncan Oil to capture fuel and engine data, helping the company proactively reduce costs while improving vehicle utilization and reducing its carbon footprint. “What we do can cause not only a serious safety hazard, but an environmental hazard, so we want to be conscientious,” Marc adds. “You can use the Motive portal to monitor fuel consumption, and your carbon emissions.”

Results

Duncan Oil’s commitment to excellence combined with Motive’s automated fleet management platform has led to lower operational costs and enhanced vehicle utilization. Motive’s dash cams have saved the company up to $4 million in litigation costs after exonerating their drivers in four different critical accidents. 

By leveraging Motive’s preventative maintenance scheduling feature, the company slashed vehicle downtime by 50 percent through proactive identification of necessary repairs prior to them escalating into critical issues. “If you’re taking your vehicle in for a service and you’re letting them know ahead of time what the fault codes are, then that limits the downtime because they already have the parts on hand. Motive’s preventative maintenance has reduced our average vehicle downtime from two days to one day, very easily,” Marc says.

The testimonials, statements, and opinions presented on this webpage reflect the real-life experiences of individuals and/or companies who have used our products and/or services. Individual results may vary and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. The testimonials presented on this webpage were voluntarily provided and not paid.