Company overview
Tranco Logistics, a dry van carrier headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, runs around 125 trucks and employs around 130 drivers. Loads include both over-the-road long hauls and shorter dedicated runs.
The company is a full service, asset-based logistics provider offering 2 million square feet of warehousing space, as well as distribution, supply chain management and real estate services.
Benefits recap
Life is now easier for both drivers and dispatchers at Tranco Logistics thanks to:
- Seamless integration of ISAAC’s solution with McLeod Software’s LoadMaster TMS
- Better leveraging of imaging capabilities and a faster time to bill
- An empowered LoadMaster Driver Feasibility feature to ensure on-time deliveries
- A versatile tablet that holds the documentation required to streamline operations
- Word-class training and support
Challenge
Changing cellular network technology
Tranco recently faced the business challenge of being forced to upgrade an aging telematics system.
Changes in cellular networking technology meant that Tranco would need to replace their in-cab devices. “This was no fault of our provider, but it meant a huge outlay of cash,” says Byron Trantham, co-owner of Tranco Logistics, “so we decided to see what else was out there. What we learned was that there were products available that had much better features than our current provider was offering us.”
Leveraging the market offer
Tranco discovered that they could get an ELD and telematics system that addressed multiple business challenges. First and foremost, they learned that they could dramatically improve the ease of use for their drivers. Choosing a driver-friendly system not only would make life better for their current drivers; it would also simplify the work of onboarding new drivers. In addition to ease of use, Tranco wanted dispatchers to be able to help drivers quickly when any difficulties with the system arose. They wanted a system fully integrated with McLeod so that they could use the telematics data in LoadMaster. And they wanted to work with a provider who offered world-class levels of support.
Solution benefits
Integration of ISAAC and McLeod Software
Tranco Logistics chose to implement the ISAAC Instruments ELD and telematics solution, and they upgraded to the latest version of LoadMaster to allow the two systems to be integrated. This combination gave them access to a range of software features that empowered them to solve their business challenges.
Drivers gain unprecedented ease of use
When using the ISAAC tablet, drivers are guided by ISAAC’s predictive workflow that always prompts the next step and much of the information is already pre-populated. This makes life easier for current drivers and reduces the training needed when onboarding new drivers.
- ISAAC is driver-friendly—“The driver interface is one big advantage of making the move to ISAAC,” Byron Trantham says. “It’s obvious that the product engineers at ISAAC talked to drivers when they were designing their product, and they paid attention to what the drivers told them. They understand what drivers see, how drivers interact, and how day-to-day life goes with the device that’s in the truck. ISAAC has done an excellent job of getting everything on one screen for the drivers. When there is an activity, the screen prompts the drivers to take action from the main screen. The driver doesn’t have to think.”
- Driver onboarding is easy—Trantham also stresses how easy driver onboarding is. “We’ve found that it’s now easy to onboard a new driver, because the ISAAC system is so intuitive,” he says. “We have an in-house training unit. When we hire a new driver, there are all kinds of things to explain—company benefits, rules and regulations, where the bathroom is, where the coffeemaker is, and more. One thing that’s included is ELD training. This will cover all of the simple things and how to use the ISAAC tablet—how to log in and how to handle all of the workflows. ISAAC’s ease of use meant that we were able to cut the ELD training from 90 minutes to around 30 minutes.”
Web portal makes life easier for dispatchers
With the ISAAC InRealTime portal, dispatchers can exchange messages with drivers, view the locations of every truck in the fleet, manage hours of service (HOS), gain remote access to driver tablets as needed to assist drivers, track trailer locations, and more.
- Dispatchers can see driver locations and HOS data at a glance—“Our dispatchers keep their ISAAC InRealTime portal open on one of their computer monitors at most times,” Trantham says. “The portal map shows driver locations and how many hours of drive time remain for each driver. This sort of quick access to fleet information boosts efficiency in all kinds of ways.”
- ISAAC helps us track trailer locations—“When a driver hooks to a trailer, ISAAC prompts the driver to enter the trailer number,” Trantham says. “As long as the trailer number gets entered correctly, ISAAC will keep track of that trailer’s location. A dispatcher can view the location on the portal. This is a big help to us. Our previous system didn’t offer this capability. It also helps that ISAAC doesn’t allow incorrect trailer numbers to be entered. Our previous system would not detect errors with the trailer number, but now drivers know immediately if they are about to mistakenly hook up to another company’s trailer.”
- We can help drivers at any time by remotely accessing the driver’s tablet—“If a driver out on the road is having difficulty operating the tablet, we can use the ISAAC portal to see the tablet screen in real time,” Trantham says. “The manager can go to the ISAAC portal, find the truck in question, click on that truck, and remotely access that truck’s tablet. This makes troubleshooting so simple.”
Fully integrated imaging capabilities
McLeod’s DocumentPower and Symphony Mobile Communications module enable the transfer of data and images. The seamless integration between LoadMaster and ISAAC allows drivers to receive load information automatically in pre-populated fields on the tablet. They can also use the tablet to capture images of load documents and to transmit the images to LoadMaster. Dispatchers can view HOS data for driver planning and receive automatic notifications of arrivals and departures. Workflows can be customized for multiple business lines and the transfer of data between the two systems enables master file synchronization.
- The imaging capability is a step up—“We use the ISAAC tablet for imaging, which is built into our workflow,” Trantham says. “Our previous system didn’t offer this at all. Their tablet was attached to the dash, not removable, and didn’t have a camera. The ISAAC tablet has a camera, and we’ve designed the workflow to require electronic capture of documents. When a driver delivers a load, they receive a signed bill of lading. They come back out to the truck and the tablet leads them through the tasks. When they click on “Empty at receiver”, the screen prompts them to scan the BOL. They can’t get their next load assignment until they complete that task. If they have any scale receipts or lumper receipts, they can take pictures of those and submit them as well. This means that if we wanted to push it, the people on our back end could be invoicing the customer within an hour of when the load delivered.”
- We’ve reduced our time to bill—“Having ISAAC has reduced our days of sales outstanding,” Trantham says. “The accounting folks on the back end love the scanning piece. It’s not just the fact that they can get the paperwork quicker. It’s also that they don’t need to spend time chasing the drivers down to get the hard copies.”
ISAAC ELD empowers LoadMaster Driver Feasibility
LoadMaster uses current location data of drivers, the estimated times of completion for current loads, and HOS data received from the ISAAC ELD to determine if a driver can take a specific load and deliver it on time. This calculation includes estimates of detention based on historical averages, any additional appointments or stops that will be required, and the driver’s availability within the HOS constraints.
- We can ensure that drivers can make their deliveries on time—“We don’t want to give a load to a driver who doesn’t have enough hours to get it delivered on time,” Trantham says, “and LoadMaster’s Driver Feasibility feature helps us handle this. Dispatchers can view HOS data on the LoadMaster Order Planning screen and make sure the driver will be okay to deliver on time. If we give drivers pre-assigned loads and the HOS make the delivery questionable, LoadMaster will alert us by highlighting the load in yellow. If it’s in red, there’s no way the driver can make it.”
ISAAC tablet is versatile and easy to install
Drivers can use the ISAAC tablet to access regulatory documentation as well as instructions specific to their loads, and technicians find the tablet easy to install.
- The ISAAC tablet holds copies of permit book documents—“We keep hard copies of regulatory documentation in a permit book in the cab,” Trantham says. “This includes registration, insurance information, and all the paperwork that trucks need to carry with them to be compliant. We can scan those electronically, and they can be available inside the ISAAC tablet also. The hard copy might have an expired registration, but the copies in the ISAAC device are up to date. The driver can pull that up and show it to the officer. This has been very helpful at times.”
- We keep copies of shipper and receiver instructions in the ISAAC tablet—“The ISAAC tablet can also be used to store instructions for different shippers or receivers,” Trantham says. “This might include maps or layouts that show the drop yards being used. We have the option of assigning instructions to the entire fleet, which ensures that every truck has the same information, or providing different instructions to specific trucks. We can assign a document to a specific driver’s profile in ISAAC, so it doesn’t matter which truck that driver logs into, those instructions can be pulled up.”
- Installing the ISAAC hardware was straightforward—“We have our own shop, so once our crew had seen the ISAAC technicians install some of the units and understood what went where, it was routine,” Trantham says. “Our technicians reported that getting the units up and running was less cumbersome than installing the hardware for our previous telematics provider.”
World-class training and support
Both ISAAC and McLeod offer the highest level of training and support to ensure success with the software products.
- ISAAC customer support is fantastic—“ISAAC customer support has been excellent,” Trantham says. “We’ve been fully integrated with ISAAC for a year now and we’re very happy with the response we get when we need assistance. They respond much quicker than our previous provider did. When technicians in our shop have any questions, we’re getting resolutions promptly.”
ISAAC and McLeod Work Together Seamlessly to Simplify Fleet Management
ISAAC’s solution gives drivers unprecedented ease of use. Through the integration with McLeod Software, the entire enterprise is empowered to reach new levels of operational efficiency. The overall result of this industry-leading technology is simplified fleet management. Drivers are happier and the bottom line is improved.
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