The economy remains a top concern for the trucking industry, ranking as the number one issue in the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual report for the second year in a row. For fleets, cutting costs and improving efficiency is more critical than ever. As a core part of operations, trailers offer opportunities to reduce expenses, boost efficiency, and enhance safety and compliance.
Samsara now offers a range of Smart Trailer features designed to give insights into trailer data to improve the efficiency, compliance, and safety of trailer operations. New features that include enhanced tire and power monitoring as well as tractor-trailer mismatch alerts have been added to the company's existing trailer offering to create a comprehensive solution that allows organizations to improve trailer utilization and dispatch, driver productivity, revenue management, and more.
At the heart of the Smart Trailer solution is the Samsara Asset Gateway, a device that installs in under five minutes for rapid, scalable deployment. Its discreet design allows it to be mounted on trailer undercarriages, minimizing the risk of tampering or theft.
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Samsara said that customers are already realizing a range of benefits using its Smart Trailer solution.
DHL is using Smart Trailers to improve tracking.
"Samsara’s trailer mismatch alerts help ensure the right driver is using the right equipment,” Jennifer Miller, DHL’s VP of integrated supply chain, said. “By integrating Samsara with Ortec, we can automatically verify tractor and trailer assignments. Ortec assigns the correct tractor and trailer, then pings Samsara every five minutes to confirm location and compliance. If a mismatch occurs, it alerts us immediately, helping to prevent errors and improve tracking."
In another example, Daylight Transport uses Samsara Smart Trailers to improve trailer utilization by 48% and save $250,000 annually.
"With Smart Trailers, we ensure all of our trailers are regularly used, improving efficiency by 48%,” Hayley Jarvis, director of linehaul and maintenance for Daylight Transport, said. “We can also easily identify what trailers we should phase out and what our new purchase needs are." She added: "With Samsara, we save an average of $250,000 a year by reallocating underutilized trailers."
BCP Transportation is also using Smart Trailer features to save time and proactively address trailer issues.
"Smart Trailer ATIS and ABS features allow our technicians to proactively manage alerts and plan equipment maintenance far more effectively,” Tim Lewer, facility and systems manager for BCP Transportation, said. “We've been able to pinpoint issues and codes much faster without additional software, helping us to reduce diagnostic time by at least one hour per incident."
Lewer added: "The trailer mismatch feature helps our dispatchers ensure the accuracy of trailer assignments. Dispatchers can alert drivers as mismatch issues pop up throughout the day, helping to keep our operations running smoothly."
