SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Blood Systems, a nationwide blood services provider, has added a new driver monitoring system to its fleet to improve driver safety. The company also found the system improved driver productivity in its fleet of more than 500 vans, pick-up trucks, minivans, and buses. Blood Systems services 500 hospitals in 18 states.

Shane Whitten, Corporate Safety and Fleet Manager at Blood Systems, decided to test a system from inthinc, called the tiwiPro, in 35 of its vehicles. Whitten initially deployed tiwiPro across his fleet in the Louisiana region. He wanted to ‘test’ a specific area as a benchmark where he could set objectives and track progress before rolling it out to the rest of the fleet systemwide.

During the test the devices were set to “silent mode,” which means the device would track speeding violations, compile trip reports, and monitor driver safety without turning on the verbal, in-cab driver mentoring feature.

All the data was displayed in real time through the inthinc Portal, a Web-based dashboard which enabled the managers to track where the vehicles were at any given moment, where they had been, how fast they were going, and any other safety-related issue. Reports were then made available for individual drivers and for the entire fleet so managers could track progress at a glance.

“We had been looking for a system that would help improve fleet management and vehicle safety,” said Whitten. “We saw a solid reduction in fuel consumption and miles driven, while at the same time improving the life of the vehicles. Because drivers were immediately notified if they inadvertently exceeded the speed limit, and then given a grace period to correct their behavior, we experienced an unexpected savings in fuel costs.”

Blood Systems also found that driver productivity improved. “We found that our vehicles were being used much more appropriately across the board,” Whitten said.