Drivers are turning to good tech to make life simpler

Over the previous few months, the UK authorities and the haulage business have stepped up efforts to enhance the continuing driver scarcity. From investments in on-line assets and studying supplies, to funds for coaching veterans, it’s clear that steps are being taken to beat the issue at hand.

However what can fleet organisations do themselves to assist to retain and entice prime expertise to the frontline? The reply — partly, a minimum of — lies within the adoption of good expertise a few of which is powered by synthetic intelligence (AI).

Regardless of its considerably futuristic title, AI is actually when a machine mimics human cognitive capabilities, akin to recognising patterns, drawback fixing and studying. It’s utilized in every part from banking apps and on-line retailing to cyber safety and navigation.

Or to place it one other method, AI helps on a regular basis expertise that little bit smarter.

So, whereas we’re not going to see drivers changed by AI or autonomous vans coming into power any time quickly, we must always count on to see AI augmenting the roles of our frontline employees.

This might be so simple as putting in dashcams into autos to enhance driver security or adopting digital processes to take away hours of time spent on administrative duties, like processing supply notes or job varieties.

Good expertise isn’t the one answer to overcoming the motive force scarcity. However it’s making an impression.

Automating time-consuming duties 

For example, whereas expertise has modernised the worker expertise in lots of sectors, drivers in fleet-related industries have been largely underserved in the case of tech innovation. That’s till lately.

In distinction to office-based workers, drivers are always on the go. And this implies they want to have the ability to depend on expertise that works alongside their distinctive working setting.

By automating workflows, firms can take away the burden of handbook and paper-based processes from day-to-day duties. In follow, this implies drivers can present updates on profitable deliveries or buyer visits in real-time, course of documentation of their automobile (whereas stationary) and streamline communication between the street and the workplace.

Actual-time communication additionally makes it doable to allow SMS notifications or alerts when drivers want to vary a route or keep away from site visitors, making the time spent on the street as environment friendly as doable.

Onboarding new drivers at pace

On the similar time, by eradicating among the extra laborious duties, the job turns into extra interesting not simply to current drivers, however to new recruits as effectively. And once more, expertise can play its half by creating an interesting onboarding expertise that lasts past the primary few days.

In reality, wherever you look, the digital transformation of fleet-based operations permits firms to simplify typically tiresome, however vital duties, with the introduction of superior, easy-to-use applied sciences which have the appear and feel of expertise we use in our on a regular basis lives.

By modernising the office — whether or not that’s within the depot, workplace or driver’s cab — fleet firms can take away the executive headache that always ends in excessive turnover charges.

Samsara’s current Connected Operations Report exhibits that 54% of operations leaders agree that easy-to-use expertise is a key issue to recruiting and retaining staff. By simplifying the onboarding course of and delivering a contemporary method to work, fleet managers can go a way to make sure that drivers spend their time on what they signed as much as do: drive.

Enhancing driver security

Naturally, any worker trying to enter a driving function is more likely to recognize an employer with an excellent security monitor document. Having documented proof on this space may also help fleet organisations showcase simply how severely they take the protection and wellbeing of their staff.

In reality, in line with Samsara’s report, half (51%) of operational leaders mentioned enhancing office security was probably the most influential consider recruiting and retaining drivers.

And one of the crucial seen areas this may be do in the usage of dual-facing AI-enabled dashcams that may detect potential security dangers whereas on the street and immediately alerting the motive force. Ought to an incident happen, real-time footage may be immediately accessed and reviewed, and used to assist exonerate drivers from false claims.

Rewarding nice efficiency

All of this stuff — and extra — are doable as a result of an increasing number of corporations are introducing expertise into the office. This isn’t simply expertise for the sake of it. It’s about utilizing good expertise correctly and making finest use of tech to make life less complicated.

In some instances, tech is used to interchange paper-based processes that want folks to signal dockets and chits earlier than they’re returned to an workplace to be manually processed and filed. In different instances, expertise can take away among the trouble out of driving by planning routes or adjusting journeys within the occasion of last-minute supply scheduling.

And in the case of security — arguably, one of many largest variations expertise could make to the working lifetime of drivers — there may be loads of scope to make a distinction. Certainly, some corporations even base reward and recognition schemes on the info collected by in-cab security techniques.

Wherever you look, expertise is making an impression on fleet managers and their drivers taking part in a significant function in serving to to recruit and retain these folks accountable for conserving enterprise shifting.

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Creator: Philip van der Wilt, VP EMEA, at Samsara