Tuesday, Samsara announced two new features for its Driver App: Workflow Builder and App Designer.
Samsara says the features increase productivity, simplify administration and customize operations. The Workflow Builder and App Designer features are available for all Samsara customers starting Tuesday, according to a release.
The new features “enable the latest in smartphone and tablet technology without needing the technical expertise, proprietary hardware or complex code,” Samsara Product Manager Joel Davis told FreightWaves. “These features make it possible for fleets of any size or industry to customize the Driver App to uniquely suit their needs.”
Workflow Builder
Workflow Builder allows companies to drag and drop tasks in the order they want drivers to complete them. Samsara’s Driver App includes task management including hours-of-service and pre-trip inspection compliance, inventory management, and custom document completion tools. Companies can prioritize the order for their drivers using Workflow Builder.
“With Workflow Builder, we can be more confident that our drivers are completing the right tasks in the right sequence, even now that we’re working remote,” said Carol Heinz, fleet administrative assistant at Western Concrete Pumping (WPC). She said they used to travel to each branch to train operators in person before the COVID-19 pandemic. Davis said these features can reduce the amount of in-person training and onboarding needed for drivers.
“While these new Driver App features were not designed in response to COVID-19, they can certainly be used to streamline processes as fleets adapt to new, entirely remote environments,” Davis said.
App Designer
App Designer lets companies simplify what drivers see when they open the app. The App Designer gives companies the ability to add and remove features easily. Samsara said this tool should improve driver satisfaction, minimize driver error and decrease driver confusion.
“The new layout is intuitive, so drivers do not need additional training,” said Nancy Flowers, collections administrative assistant in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. After customizing the Driver App interface to remove unnecessary information, she said that driver satisfaction has improved.
COVID-19 and increased demand for e-commerce have impacted the driver shortage this year, making driver satisfaction and retention more relevant than ever. Jim Hoss, vice president of operations at Cash-Wa Distributing, said in a case study, “Drivers universally talk about how Corporate doesn’t communicate enough with them.” Hoss said the Driver App makes it easy for Cash-Wa to communicate with its drivers, and “better communication improves driver retention.”
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