Schneider Rolls Out In-Cab Technology

Schneider National, a provider of truckload, logistics and intermodal services, has equipped 25% of its fleet with driver in-cab technology, and is on pace to convert all of its existing in-cab technology to a new system by this fall. The technology revamp delivers a variety of electronic tools to improve truck driver safety, productivity and e-mail connectivity.

Schneider is currently installing Qualcomm’s Mobile Computing Platform 200 Series (MCP 200) units in all company-owned and owner-operator tractors. Schneider began installing the new technology in October 2009 and currently has 3,000 company trucks with the new system.

Features of the new system include text-to-voice functionality (allowing drivers to hear messages and directions while driving, eliminating the need to stop and read messages and new work assignments); navigation (turn-by-turn directions that can be previewed pre-trip and via audio en-route, comparable to an automobile GPS system); Internet and personal e-mail account access; electronic logging and on-demand in-cab training (for specialized hauling requirements like bulk and chemical loads and ongoing, semi-annual training—eliminating the need for drivers to be routed to an operating center for training).

“This technology is comparable to a smart device,” says Rich Hardt, vice president of technical services at Schneider. “It changes the way our entire organization works and interfaces with drivers, how we share information on work assignments, customer delivery details, company news and even updates on pay and benefits.”

The device includes a color screen and slide-out keyboard, and is similar to a personal computer. However, unlike a common laptop computer, many of the unit’s features cannot be accessed when the truck is moving.

Electronic logging simplifies the job for drivers because it eliminates manual logging while continually providing updated hours of service (hours driven/hours available to drive, legally) information. The system alerts drivers when work hours are about to expire. Schneider drivers who have tested the electronic logging technology immediately recognized an impact on their daily productivity, saving on average 20 minutes a day when not required to fill out paper logs.

The new technology, it is hoped, should help improve driver safety. Fewer accidents and decreased cargo claims occurred during the pilot as drivers drove with greater confidence because of the improved directional and navigational aspects of the GPS system. “Drivers can visually preview their trip on-screen, get a mental image of where they’re going, and then use the audio directions to navigate them in,” says Don Osterberg, senior vice president of safety and driver training for Schneider National. “The result is a driver who is more focused on the road and the conditions around them. The audio directions provided by the system eliminate distractions in the cab.”

Approximately 100 drivers helped Schneider pilot and test the technology.