Case Study
doForms Puts HUB Truck into Overdrive
HUB Truck is one of the largest full-service truck leasing, sales and service companies in the northeast, with nearly 1,800 HUB-owned trucks in operation by its customers at any given time.
Being responsible for such a large fleet brings with it a litany of paperwork and logistics. HUB branch managers, service managers and foremen need to keep track of facility conditions, lease agreements, truck inspections, check-ins/checkouts, and service requests on a continuous basis. Federal and state requirements also mandate that all trucks and their cargo undergo a thorough safety inspection before and after each trip with logs kept on file for a minimum of 90 days. This places responsibility for some of the documentation outside of HUBâs control, in the hands of their customersâ drivers.
Prior to using doForms, HUB was documenting this voluminous information on paper, accompanied by a good deal of manual faxing, mailing and phone calls to keep the wheels turning. HUB employees found it cumbersome and time consuming to fill out paper forms and take Poloroid pictures to document truck conditions; particularly outdoors in the northeast where weather can be a factor.
HUB COO Ken Tirone recalls that it was taking too long to get the information into the right hands, and that many customers werenât sending in their pre- or post-trip inspections or acknowledging receipt of the leased trucks from HUB in the first place. âWe were chasing after information and in reactive mode much of the time,â he says.
doForms Delivers
Tirone knew that the company needed to go digital to improve efficiencies, and engaged doForms in 2014 to streamline their workflow. The mobile solutions consultants at doForms converted several internal HUB inspection, delivery and lease forms to mobile forms, enabling HUB staff to tap checkboxes, write notes and embed pictures digitally from their smartphones and tablets.
The difference was stark, according to Tirone, with information coming in more reliably, thoroughly and consistently. âWe donât have any problem getting people to do their safety inspections anymore,â he says. âBecause theyâre on a tablet, itâs almost like playing a video game. Itâs more fun. You donât have to get a pen and have the pen not work because itâs raining and the paper is wet. Now thereâs no paper, no faxes, no delays.â
When a response on a mobile form signifies a maintenance issue with a particular truck, a request is instantly routed to the service department upon form submission. No longer needing to wait two or three days for physical paperwork to be routed allows HUB to service vehicles and get them back out on the road more quickly.
Seeing what doForms has done to refine and improve HUBâs processes, Tirone has recommended doForms to other truck leasing operations. Based on Tironeâs recommendation, over a half dozen truck leasing companies in the area have successfully implemented doForms to modernize their inspections.
Enabling Customer Automation
With doForms fully proven within the trucking industry, doForms and HUB have now partnered to build a new app called the Driver Utilities Pack as a value-added offering for HUB customers.
Built on the doForms platform, this app will give HUB customers one-touch access to digital versions of the forms that they regularly use. This includes pre- and post-trip inspections, trailer inspections, seal validation and service requests. The app will also allow drivers and their managers to more easily track fuel consumption, add location and time stamps and collect digital signatures when cargo is delivered.
The ease-of-use of doForms is expected to improve driver inspection completion rates and accuracy, and will allow them to instantly notify HUB when an issue arises with one of their trucks. Being kept in the loop more regularly by customers in the field will enable the HUB maintenance teams to perform preventative maintenance in order to keep more trucks on the road and running smoothly.