Helping BMC focus on safety and service

"We service our customers better than anyone in the industry," says Dan Daly, director of operations support at BMC.

It is this mantra that has helped BMC grow rapidly to become one of the leading suppliers of building componentry in the country, and it's a driving motivation for BMC's more than 10,000 employees.

But delivering on both their promise of superior service and the customer's order is not without its challenges.

BMC manages over 4,500 tracked assets, ranging from pickup trucks to flatbed semis and box trucks, that deliver across 17 states. With that many moving pieces, it's critical to have reliable mobile workforce solutions.

Verizon Connect helped BMC progress from knowing what was happening in their fleet to understanding how and why - an important change that allowed them to become more strategic in managing their mobile workforce.

"We chose the Verizon Connect platform because of its end-to-end enterprise system. Most companies just offer one thing a telematics solution. Verizon Connect offers a lot more."

Dan Daly, director of operations support, BMC

"We knew what was happening … we just didn't know how it was happening," says Dan Daly, director of operations support at BMC. "The Verizon Connect applications really narrow[ed] that down."

Improving safety is important for everyone

Making your work environment safer - whether it's behind the wheel, unloading a truck or working at a job site - is good for both employees and customers, which makes it a high priority for BMC.

"What we're trying to solve is really understanding our drivers' behavior," says Daly. "Safety is our No. 1 concern, for our associates and for our customers. We can monitor things like engine idle time, speeding, hard braking, and things that cost the company money like fuel and vehicle maintenance."

One of the keys to making vast improvements in their fleet safety program was a clearer picture of how different types of drivers were performing. This was possible with the Verizon Connect standard platform, which not only allowed all vehicles - from a Dodge to a Kenworth - to be reported on together but also detailed segmentation that could highlight safety trends by license type, location, vehicle or department.

"With the Verizon Connect platform, it really doesn’t matter what you drive. We are able to get that real-time data immediately on any vehicle."

Dan Daly, director of operations support, BMC

That makes fleet safety initiatives far more targeted and effective, and shows the power of using a common platform across the entire fleet.

"We can understand that now, where in the past we didn't have visibility into that," Daly explains. This enlightened view of fleet performance is also helping BMC improve profitability, with a notable reduction in fuel costs and excessive idling.

ELD hours of service compliance made easier

The Verizon Connect platform offers automated, digital compliance solutions, and with the deadline for electronic logging looming, it was the perfect time for BMC to go paperless.

"Any time you're getting rid of paperwork it's a good thing," says Daly. "And December 2017 (Electronic Logging Device (ELD) and HOS mandates) is coming quick. It's going to be thoroughly mandated. We wanted to get ahead of it. I don't want to be one of those companies that are two months out trying to figure out what to do."

While some ELD solutions are essentially just an independent mobile app, the Verizon Connect ELD solution is tied to the vehicle's engine, making it a compliance solution companies can rely on.

"A lot of the HOS platforms are not tied to a truck. They're tied to the driver's phone, and that's a big deal. Sometimes if a driver's truck is stopped and they're out sitting at lunch and the truck is shut off, Verizon Connect picks that up. You're in sync with the truck, and that is where your hours of service are derived," says Daly.

A full end-to-end MRM solution

Most mobile enterprises are not static - both they and their environment are constantly changing. A business doesn't always know what solution it needs right now - but it does need to know the MRM solution it chooses can scale and adapt to meet future challenges.

And that's why BMC feel they have made the right choice choosing Verizon Connect.

"The Verizon Connect platform, it's not just a fleet telematics platform, it's an end-to-end enterprise platform," concludes Daly. "Where can we go? Really, it's where can't we go? We can go anywhere we want."