Shaw Industries Interplant Division Implementing PeopleNet's New Onboard Computing Feature

Onboard Event Recording provides ability to capture events surrounding an accident

PITTSBURGH-NPTC ANNUAL EDUCATION MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION, April 25, 2005-In the spirit of delivering continuous innovation to transportation operations, PeopleNet announced today that the Interplant Division of Shaw Industries has begun implementing Onboard Event Recording (OER), which gives fleets second-by-second recorded data to help reconstruct accidents and review driver performance. Several other large private fleets also have begun using OER.

Available since the end of March, the new feature is being delivered to customers wirelessly through over-the-air programming and the company's web-based interface as part of the company's first quarter product update.

The Interplant Division of Shaw Industries, a key member of the PeopleNet Product Advisory Council, operates trucks in continuous round-the-clock service and has been testing the feature for the past three months. "We had been asking PeopleNet for a system that would give us more control not just in the case of an accident, but to help provide information about driver behavior that we may be able to modify before it results in that accident," says Wes Moore, Interplant Operations Manager. "PeopleNet listened to us and responded with Onboard Event Recording."

The challenge in Shaw's interplant operation was capturing the right data by truck and driver. That's because the same unit is driven by three different drivers on each 24-hour shift. "In order to be effective, we needed feedback to be accurate and timely," Moore says. "We couldn't take the time to go back and check our records to see who was driving a particular unit on a particular shift. PeopleNet gives us that ability."

"We then determined what operating parameters we wanted to collect information on," he says. "We began by collecting data on sudden stops and sudden accelerations. If we could see who was starting and stopping too fast, we then could work with that particular driver to provide the necessary training to prevent behavior that ultimately may result in a crash."

Once again, the Shaw experience provided feedback to PeopleNet that resulted in a more robust solution. Since many of the company's plants are on gravel lots, Moore says many of the units were giving false reads. "The wheels would spin making it look like the truck was accelerating too fast," he says. "Same thing when the brakes were applied."

As a result of that feedback, the new PeopleNet Onboard Event Recording was enhanced to provide fleets the ability to set operating parameters. For Shaw that meant setting 7 mph as the threshold below which no event would be collected.

Finally, Onboard Event Recording provides second-by-second analysis of driver performance before and after an accident or event. "Engine accident reconstruction data is limited and, in many cases time-consuming and difficult to retrieve," says Brian McLaughlin, Vice President of Marketing and Product Planning for PeopleNet. "Fleets determine what events are recorded and how they are recorded. Then, they can be transferred in real-time delivering details such as time of event, odometer at time of event, vehicle speed, engine speed (RPM), GPS location and direction."

OER records events up to 170 seconds before an accident and for 30 seconds following it and provides instant wireless notification of accidents or events. It also provides detailed reports and graphs including all engine and accident data necessary to recreate the events before and after an accident in greater detail than what the engine manufacturers typically provide.

The PeopleNet system has become the standard for GPS-based location tracking, two-way voice and data communications, electronic driver logs, and Internet-based fleet business tools to provide consistent, reliable communication between business owners, dispatchers, drivers and shippers.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, PeopleNet is the fastest-growing provider of Internet-based onboard computing and mobile communications systems to the transportation industry, including truckload, LTL, private, and service fleets. The company serves several Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and Canada and has signed more than 1,000 customers since its inception 11 years ago. For more information about PeopleNet, call 888-346-3486, e-mail info@peoplenetonline.com, or visit www.peoplenetonline.com.

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CONTACT:
Ellie Walradth
PeopleNet
888-346-3486 x247