PeopleNet Executives Brief Customers, Outline Updated Back-Office Package

BOCA RATON, Fla. — PeopleNet’s short-term plans for new products, services and upgrades are not likely to change as a result of its recent acquisition by Trimble Navigation Ltd., executives told customers.

“We’re going to be able to continue to run PeopleNet as PeopleNet,” Brian McLaughlin, chief operating officer, said at the cab communication firm’s annual user conference, “but we’re going to be able to access resources from Trimble.”

PeopleNet will stick to the plans it had developed before the July announcement of Trimble’s acquisition of the firm, focusing upon an update to its back-office fleet management application and small improvements to its main in-cab communications products, Matt Voda, vice president of product management, said in a session about the company’s “product road map.”

PeopleNet planned to roll out a complete revamp of its fleet management product, known as PeopleNet Fleet Manager, shortly after the Aug. 16-17 conference, Voda said.

“There’s a lot that’s new with PFM,” he said. “This is an exciting evolution for us.”

The new product, called “New PFM,” will be released to current customers throughout this and next year, he said.

New PFM, which took about $9 million and several years to develop, is a complete rewrite of PeopleNet’s hosted back-office software. Among the improvements is a new system for alerting fleet managers to problems such as drivers’ exceeding their allowable hours of service or traveling an incorrect route.

“It’s got internationalization; it’s got more frequent updates; it’s got better scalability,” McLaughlin said.

PeopleNet soon will add a Web-browsing capability to its Tablet platform, a portable in-cab device that it introduced last year, Voda said. Fleets will be able to control what websites drivers can access, he added.

Tablet also will get improvements to its application that leads drivers through the pre-trip inspection process, including requiring drivers to take photos of certain parts of the truck.

“Today, the driver can sometimes miss steps in the inspection, and for those of you who want to ensure that that driver is compliant, every time they log in with that special process, we’ve got a new workflow,” he said.

“It’s a great way to ensure compliance, and it helps the maintenance shop,” he added.

Tablet and Blu.2, PeopleNet’s main in-cab computing product, will update with a streamlined login process soon, Voda said.

“It takes several steps for the driver to actually complete the login. We’ve reduced that now to three steps,” he said. The new login process is part of a “usability overhaul,” designed to make using the products easier for drivers.

In the next two to three years, PeopleNet will focus on regulatory compliance, controlling fuel costs and driver retention, Voda said.

The company will explore driver alerts for speeding, in which a computer would compare a database of posted speed limits to the vehicle’s speed “and let the driver know in-cab that they’re going over the posted speed,” he said.

“We’ve been asked by one fleet actually to control the speed based on the posted speed limit,” Voda said. “Not sure if the [truck manufacturers] will let us get there . . . it’s a little Buck Rogers, but it’s an idea; it’s a concept.”

PeopleNet also might develop a system for driver “scorecards” for each trip.

“They’d then have that feedback, and they would know how they rank against the other drivers in their group. . . . You’re not coaching monthly; you’re coaching with every trip.”

Driver coaching opens other possibilities, and PeopleNet products might be able to coach drivers in real time when they detect improper shifting, cruise control use or other behaviors, Voda said.