How Do I Increase Oil and Gas Safety for Truckers? Rastrac Team | Jul 2, 2018 12:32:00 PM

Although the safety of oil and gas workers, in general, is viewed as increasing over the past two decades, that isn't the case in all areas. According to The State of Safety industry outlook 2018 report, DNV-GL states that "close to half (46%) of senior industry professionals believe that too little has been invested in safety in recent years — yet less than a third (28%) will increase safety spending in 2018."

This realization is concerning considering that in some areas of the shale oil & gas industry, truck accidents have jumped by as much as 400% in the past few years. While much of the blame concerning truck safety has been placed on personal vehicles, driver distraction played a significant role in the majority of these cases. When drivers are in a new area or are assigned to deliver to a new well site or facility, much of their attention is on getting to the right destination and not necessarily what is going on around them.

Oil and gas drivers frequently depend on county tax maps or other resources to find their destination in rural areas due to a lack of road name signs. As such, drivers spend a lot of their time with their heads on a swivel, continuously looking around to find any marker indicating their turns and their final destination.

This process is dangerous because they may inadvertently enter roadways with restricted weight limits, low clearance overpasses, or weight-restricted bridges. 

Implementing an affordable and cost-effective GPS tracking technology solution is a must for many oil and gas fleet managers. Thankfully, technology is available that can meet the budgets of even small and mid-size oil and gas fleets.

Portable Navigation Devices Improve Trucker Safety

Garmin manufacturers a variety of portable navigation devices (PNDs) that are compatible with a Rastrac fleet management system and offer many features that truly benefit a driver and their company. With the tap of the screen, drivers can access a variety of instructions, including detailed turn-by-turn, text-to-speech, and voice-prompted directions. These devices are designed to optimize fleet resources, improve customer service, and reduce operational costs. 

Some of the key features of the affordable Garmin portable navigation devices include:

• An attractive, thin design that features a touchscreen
• A "Where am I?" feature
• Text messaging capabilities
• Lane assist technology
• Pre-loaded street maps for North America
• Optional FM lifetime traffic
• Optional MSN Direct

While most of the operations are autonomous and run daily without operator intervention, when situations arise, you may need to reach a trucker who is in the field. This process is simplified by two-way messaging, which allows truckers to correspond, update, or change destinations, and receive notifications in the cab. This helps to improve oil and gas safety for drivers in the field.

With the versatility of choosing telematics devices from more than 60 manufacturers systems, you can decide how much data you want to monitor. The simplest systems will provide the truck’s location, track, speed, direction, and ignition state. Reports from this system also can include daily/weekly stop records, idle time, fuel usage, general trip reports, and many more. Different trucks may be better served by using specific units, and they may be installed differently within that group dependent upon the age, needs, and usage of that truck.

For oil and gas fleets, many of your fuel costs and other expenses come from pickup trucks and cars. Similar systems exist for each including onboard diagnostics (OBDII) and, of course, navigation. For 25 years, our customers have told us that their return on investment (ROI) sometimes exceeds 100% of the system cost the very first year or two. Prior to integrating GPS tracking and PNDs into their operations, they frequently had no idea where their assets were (we also monitor heavy equipment, fixed pumps, gensets, etc.), or how efficiently their vehicles or equipment were deployed and managed until they began monitoring.

In Addition to Safety, Cost Is Also a Factor

Consider trucks equipped with Particulate Filters that may seriously damage an engine if the driver does not re-gen the system (to burn out the soot that can build up in the system due to idling) on a regular schedule. Imagine the lost time and expenses when a driver can’t find his destination. How much fuel is burned when your truck's engine runs during lunch or waiting to load or unload? You will be surprised. With a reliable GPS tracking device, you can monitor and access engine idling reports on each vehicle. Do you have expensive tools on some of your trucks? We also can help you monitor their whereabouts in the field or yard. Do you need to provide emissions reports to regulators? We've got you covered.

There are so many pertinent questions you can ask yourself:

• How many trucks or trailers do you have?
• Do you know where they are at any given moment?
• Do you know where they are once they leave your yard? Or, where are they overnight?
• More importantly, do you know where are they when you need them?

GPS tracking systems enable you to locate all of your GPS tracking device-equipped vehicles and equipment at any time. Some customers check every night with an inventory report or map while others may only use it to find special equipment when needed, no matter where it is stored. Trailers, in particular, frequently end up in holding yards or sitting on job sites after they've been emptied, making these types of equipment virtually useless to your organization when you can't find them. Some GPS tracking devices will send an alert whenever your trailer is moved, notifying you that it may be ready for pickup or is on the move. 

Monitoring stations provide real-time maps, reports, and notifications. These types of data can be observed on any desktop or laptop computer workstation, smartphone, iPad, or another tablet. Imagine being out of the office and being able to monitor any piece of equipment, telling you customer exactly where his load is and when it will be delivered, or tracking the status of field repairs when you are notified of equipment failure. All of these things are possible with GPS tracking for fleet management.