Automated weather warnings save Fleet Leaders time, keep drivers and cargo safe and improve fleet utilization
Princeton, N.J. – March 31, 2015 – ALK, a Trimble Company and global leader in GeoLogistics® solutions and navigation software, announced that Transport America has implemented its ALK® Maps platform with the Weather Alerts module. This implementation fully automates Transport America’s process for curating potentially hazardous weather events, alerting Fleet Leaders and drivers of weather alerts and identifying future undispatched loads and projected routes that might also be affected. As a result, Transport America will be able to produce more accurate weather alerts that can empower its team to make educated decisions to help keep drivers and freight safe and optimize fleet utilization in the face of weather disruptions.
“After last year’s harsh winter, we were looking for a tool to keep our trucks safer and moving in bad weather,” said Tom Benusa, CIO of Transport America. “We were stuck manually and intermittently reviewing weather information and eyeballing what trucks it might affect. ALK was able to provide us the tools to build exactly what we needed. Weather information is now systematically automated to meet our three goals: to keep drivers safe, to keep their cargo safe and to ensure that our assets are optimally utilized. We’ve been very impressed with the functionality so far and know that we’ll be able to expand our capabilities as we continue to use the platform.”
ALK Maps Weather Alerts pulls in severe weather alert information directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Transport America has integrated this module with its internal alert system. The system runs across Transport America’s entire fleet every 20 minutes and offers Fleet Leaders the real-time data they need to identify new weather related issues for their specific trucks. This information enables them to confidently make critical safety decisions based on where their drivers are and where they are headed. Transport America’s Customer Service team is provided weather-related insight for their projected routes up to three times daily so they can easily assess the impact and decide if a load should be re-routed or held.
“Fleet Leaders can now proactively contact their drivers and make sure they are aware of the weather situation and ensure their safe passage,” continued Mr. Benusa. “In addition, we can look further ahead into future routes and project which might be affected by weather. We now have the information far enough in advance to make the decision to re-route ahead of storms or, if needed, reach out to clients to schedule earlier or later pickups and deliveries. It’s a significant enhancement to our customer service as well our fleet logistics.”
“The Transport America team has pioneered a new approach to solving an ever-present challenge the entire transportation industry faces, and we’re pleased the Weather Alerts module has enabled them to so,” said Dan Popkin, senior vice president of enterprise solutions at ALK. “We’re looking forward to continued collaboration and innovation with Transport America as they utilize the ALK Maps platform to drive their fleet’s efficiency.”
Weather Alerts is available to purchase as an additional module for the ALK Maps or PC*MILER Web Services platforms.
For more information about ALK Maps, visit: www.alkmaps.com.
About Transport America
Transport America is a leading provider of truckload transportation and logistics services throughout much of the US, Mexico and Canada. Transport America has been in business since 1984 and is headquartered in Eagan, MN. The company's broad portfolio of services, which includes Solo and Team over-the-road, Dedicated, Regional, Intermodal and Brokerage, executed by talented professionals with state-of-the-art technology, caters to Fortune 1000 shippers who value Transport America's customer service focus.
About ALK
ALK, a Trimble Company and global leader in GeoLogistics solutions and navigation software, is focused on developing innovative solutions for transportation, logistics, mobile workforces and consumers. Product lines include award-winning CoPilot, a leading source of GPS navigation software for fleets, mobile operators, hardware OEMs, systems integrators, professional drivers and consumers. ALK’s PC*MILER is widely recognized as a transportation industry standard for routing, mileage and mapping. ALK Maps is a development platform designed for the transportation industry and provides commercial routing, geocoding and mapping visualization for enterprise applications.
For more information on ALK, visit: www.alk.com or follow us at: www.twitter.com/ALKTech.