Gana Trucking & Excavating

Two company divisions now operate as one efficient fleet.

Family-owned Gana Trucking & Excavating (GT&E) started with a single dump truck in 1995. Since then, the company has grown and now features a mixed fleet with 100 commercial trucks and 200 pieces of heavy equipment. All of which are used to provide material handling, grading and excavation services across Nebraska and surrounding states—with a single source: GT&E.

The fleet’s existing telematics solution was limited to tracking commercial trucks. When the time came to evaluate new providers, GT&E Director of Risk Management Brandon Gunther knew they needed a well-developed solution that supported trucking and vocational assets, together.

Zonar smart fleet management solutions brought both divisions onto a single platform.

And offered more.

• Fleet monitoring on a single map
• Real-time GPS locations for each vehicle and asset
• Support for mixed assets, almost regardless of type, make and manufacturer
• Digital inspection tools and records
• Driver performance and vehicle data for exoneration
• Insight into fleetwide idling and asset utilization

One platform, fleetwide visibility.

First and foremost, GT&E needs the real-time GPS location of every fleet truck and piece of heavy equipment on one map. Additionally, the fleet needs to maximize fuel efficiency and ensure proper inspections.

Gunther emphasizes the need for mixed-fleet support, stating that “whether it be a Freightliner truck or John Deere bulldozer,” they need to know its location and fuel efficiency, and verify its inspections.

Zonar solutions support the fleet’s mix of commercial trucks and vocational equipment seamlessly.

Authorized GT&E personnel log on to the secure web portal, Zonar Ground Traffic Control, to view real-time trucking and vocational fleet asset location. They also run Zonar EVIR electronic inspection and Zonar ZFuel reports.

All with a clutter-free view of the information.

Flexible filters help focus on the data.
Filters within Ground Traffic Control enable GT&E to view the data without distraction.

• Zonar GPS Track & Trace to show location per each vehicle and asset
• EVIR records to verify required inspections
• Fuel usage to identify opportunities for efficiencies

Underutilized assets became capital.

If an asset isn’t working, it isn’t earning. GT&E personnel look at fleet vehicle and asset idle times shown in Ground Traffic Control to enhance utilization. By seeing how long an asset is used (if it’s used), they make certain the right equipment is operating on its intended job.

GT&E discovered instances in which the idle times showed enough lack of use to reevaluate if an asset was needed. As a result, the fleet sold underutilized equipment and redeployed the capital to other parts of the company.

Digital does what pencil and paper can’t.

EVIR is our electronically verified inspection solution that requires drivers to visit each inspection zone of the vehicle or asset.

When they’re done, drivers digitally sign and upload the inspection results to Ground Traffic Control. Authorized GT&E personnel review the results online and prioritize repairs.

Replacing paper-based inspections with EVIR ensured that pre- and post-trip inspections are done properly, faster. Defects are prioritized sooner because personnel no longer rifle through paper files or wait for drivers to turn in forms.

• Inspection times are cut by at least a third.
• Defects are reported and addressed.
• Maintenance request workflows are streamlined.
• OOS vehicle downtime is reduced.

Data protects the company and its drivers.

Accidents happen. But when a company driver isn’t at fault, untangling conflicting testimony may result in the shouldering the blame anyway.

To exonerate drivers, GT&E now uses the data available in Ground Traffic Control.

• Trip history to prove the vehicle’s precise location
• Activity and behavior, including speed
• Geofencing to confirm when, where and if the vehicle traveled through a specific area

All of which can be downloaded and provided to relevant parties, including GT&E’s insurance carrier.

Stolen equipment is recovered, not replaced.

At first, GT&E hesitated to install the Zonar ZTrak on accessories and equipment. The ZTrak is a compact, discreet tracking device built to withstand harsh conditions. But much of the fleet’s heavy equipment shake, vibrate and endure intense jarring as part of the job.

First, they tracked a few assets.
“Placing it in heavy equipment seemed like a risk,” says Gunther. “Because the ZTrak would get rattled around and beat up a lot.” Still, GT&E attached one of the tracking devices to select pieces of equipment as a test.

Then a hand tamper went missing.
Shortly thereafter, a hand tamper couldn’t be located on one of the sizable, busier job sites. However, this piece of portable equipment happened to be one of those equipped with a ZTrak.

And was soon recovered.
GT&E looked at the ZTrak’s location in Ground Traffic Control and confirmed that the hand tamper had been removed over the weekend, when no work was scheduled.

Conclusion: Someone most likely stole it. And, according to Gunther, “The ZTrak itself is so small that he never knew it was there.”

GT&E shared the ZTrak location data, including date and time the equipment was removed, with law enforcement, who viewed security footage for the timeframe. Officers identified the suspect and recovered the stolen equipment.

Many fleets expect some items to go missing, especially on massive jobsites. Whether they’re lost or stolen, replacing these assets still costs money. Attaching a ZTrak to more GT&E fleet assets has raised the rates of recovery—and ZTrak’s ROI.

Shaken and still tracking.

The ZTrak is built for harsh conditions and it shows. According to Gunther, “A hand tamper is, by its nature, something that vibrates and rattles incessantly. It’s been almost a year and the ZTrak and its batteries are holding up just fine.”

The ZTrak’s proven durability in the field, plus its role in recovering assets, convinced GT&E to deploy more of them, including for higher-value assets.