KRP Rentals & Trucking improves safety with GPS tracking

Providing excellent customer service is the mission of KRP Rentals and Trucking. Working in an increasingly competitive landscape while pivoting to a more technology-focused company has been a challenge. But with the help of Verizon Connect, KRP was able to implement a GPS fleet tracking system to help improve productivity and efficiency with their operations, track driver safety, and prepare detailed invoices for their customers using system reports.

The challenge

Kris Poole, the HSE Director at KRP, knows how important safety is in the oil and gas industry. Vehicles are heavy and can carry deadly chemicals, so their company emphasizes safety for their own employees and those who are renting their equipment. Part of that safety protocol is knowing how drivers are driving, how far they are going and being able to locate them in remote areas. Their previous provider couldn’t do that, so they turned to Verizon Connect and realized even more benefits than they were hoping for in cost savings, efficiency and productivity.

The solution

Kris needed a way to track vehicles and drivers. With Verizon Connect, they can know the driver's speed, location and duration of their stops. By tracking that data, they can have conversations with their drivers and coach them, as Kris explains: “We have some driver incentives, no accidents, no speeding violations, no hard braking, lower idle times. We try to incentivize our employees to be better and more efficient with their driving.” They have spotted when drivers are taking too long on breaks or going places they shouldn’t: “Having the real-time data to know where they are, we give them an opportunity to correct those bad behaviors.”

Along with driver speed and location, they’ve been able to identify areas for reducing expenses by monitoring idling and fuel consumption. Kris knows that drivers sometimes forget to shut the truck off or idle for other reasons, but “with the new system, we're able to track those, and so we've had a lot fewer problems with the idle times. We've saved money on fuel costs.”

Plus, their productivity has improved. Due to the nature of their work, drivers can go an average of 60 miles to one job. Having the live map allows Kris to track where vehicles are and reroute them to other jobs nearby instead of trekking 60 miles back to the yard: “The supervisors have real-time, accurate data on where their vehicles are so it's better for our dispatch to send vehicles where they need to go.” They’ve also been able to lower insurance costs by showing their insurance company they have a GPS tracking system.

The results

Kris acknowledges that times have been hard with the pandemic, supply chain delays and labor shortages. To combat those challenges, they try to retain their employees by treating them well and “by having a safe company that provides quality equipment, quality service, and that's backing them in that representation.” Verizon Connect helps them do that by providing proof of vehicle location in the event of a false vehicle claim and locating their vehicle in remote locations if there is trouble.

They’ve also been able to provide detailed invoices to their clients for their vehicle mileage. Kris explains: “I download the detailed report, and it's a complete breakdown of everything on that day…And then we can back up and prove that our invoice is a correct invoice.” This builds trust with their customers and provides the quality service that is part of their company mission.

Kris knows that as technology continues to move faster and customers expect more, Verizon Connect will be a critical part of their operations. Having the data to make decisions rather than guesswork or manual methods is critical. As he sees it, “You either get with it or you're going to get left behind.”