Lytx Inc. recently recognized three companies that use technology to advance employee safety and drive improvements in their operations. While it is known as the Innovation Award, Lytx’s annual program spotlights inventive solutions specifically designed to enhance the safety of a company’s fleet.

This year, Ryder System, Inc. was selected as the 2022 Lytx Innovation Award winner, with Linde Gas & Equipment Inc. and Perdue Farms, Inc. recognized as 2022 Lytx Innovation Award finalists.

All three companies leverage video telematics and fleet management tools in fresh ways while incorporating new technologies. The result is that they are all boosting fleet safety by reducing distractions, improving driver safety, and saving lives on the roadways, notes Lytx.

Consider how Ryder amped up safety. The company manages critical fleet, transportation, and supply chain functions for more than 50,000 customers. With more than 8,600 professional drivers, a fleet of nearly 239,000 vehicles, and 4,900 trained technicians, Ryder is committed to having a scalable, adaptable, world-class safety program.

In 2017, Ryder fully deployed Lytx DriveCam Event Recorders and built a proactive safety program. The company created training and development programs for managers, coaches, and drivers with a heavy emphasis on improving “leading indicators.” Those indicators include coaching effectiveness, coachable risk, following distance/critical distance, late response, and, most recently with SF300 Event Recorders, distraction, and fatigue.

The commitment to safety has paid off. Between 2017 and 2021, Ryder successfully reduced risk and achieved high levels of operational efficiency resulting in a 78% reduction in frequency and a 77% reduction in severity.

The two finalists of the Innovation Award have utilized technology to make significant safety strides as well.

As a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, Linde Gas & Equipment Inc. wanted to add ASA Electronics wireless back-up cameras to its trailers and tractors, and it needed those cameras to work with Lytx DriveCam Event Recorders and Lytx Hub Adapters — otherwise the company would have to change over 1,000 trailers to a wired solution.

Linde worked with Lytx to develop a compatible Lytx DriveCam and Hub to test with the ASA Electronics team. Within days of receiving the Lytx equipment, the ASA team bench-tested and set up the Lytx DriveCam event recorders and Hub. After successful testing, Linde added left, right, cargo, and back-up rear cameras to more than 180 Freightliner trucks to increase visibility around their trailers and improve the company’s safety program.

Not to be outdone, Perdue Farms put technology to work to reduce distracted driving and it turned to the Lytx DriveCam Safety Program for a solution. A 102-year-old family-owned food and agricultural products company, Perdue maintains a private fleet of about 750 commercial vehicles. Perdue drafted a distracted-driving policy to cover cellphone use and worked to ensure that driver leadership was on board.

Navigating such changes in a time of critical driver labor shortage resulted in continual discussions surrounding driver retention, driver accountability, and continuous improvement. Today, Perdue is refreshing its standard operating procedures regarding cellphones in its vehicles and is combining the use of “machine vision” and “cellular-restricting” technology as an intervention strategy. The previous six months have shown roughly a 34% decrease of handheld cell phone policy violations.

All three companies have taken the initiative to make their fleets and our roadways safer, notes Lytx, a provider of machine vision- and artificial intelligence-powered video telematics, analytics, safety, and productivity solutions for commercial, public sector, and field service fleets.