ACV Enviro decreased accident rates by 60% by improving driver safety with AI Dash Cams

Key takeaways

ACV Enviro uses Samsara’s AI Dash Cams, Asset Gateways, and Connected Operations platform to improve driver safety and asset utilization at scale.

• AI Dash Cams lowered accident rates by 60% and improved key safety metrics.

• Driver Safety Scores and gamification enabled high adoption of AI Dash Cams for more than 500 drivers in just a few months.

• Unpowered Asset Gateways (AGs) prevent lost or stolen assets, provide asset utilization data, and reduce costs associated with underutilized equipment.

“Samsara gives us more visibility into our safety than we could have anticipated.”

DONNA MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY

Meet ACV Enviro 

• ACV Enviro is one of the largest environmental, industrial, and waste management companies in the United States with more than 600 vehicles, 500 drivers, and 1,000+ unpowered assets. They provide services ranging from environmental emergency response to hazardous waste management, including lab pack services. 

• In business since 1976, ACV Enviro offers top-tier services for hundreds of customers across the eastern United States.

Better safety data and visibility from AI Dash Cams help win more business

ACV Enviro's customers place a lot of weight on safety when selecting service providers. “In our industry, customers are less focused on low prices and care more about our safety metrics. This means that the safer we are, the more enticing we are during the bidding process,” said Director of Transportation Compliance, Kellie Case.

At ACV Enviro, the primary use of trucks and vehicles is to get equipment and materials to and from customer sites. Since many of their job sites are in large metro areas, drivers spend most of their time driving on congested roads through places such as New York City or Washington DC. 

Before Samsara, ACV Enviro did not have a dash cam solution that provided visibility into driver safety. This made it difficult to report on the key safety metrics most important to their customers, such as recordable incident rates and CSA scores. “We needed a better way to track our leading and lagging safety indicators and we wanted a way to share safety data with our customers,” said Donna Miller, Vice President of Environmental, Health & Safety.

“In-cab alerts are incredibly helpful because our drivers receive coaching before we have to step in.”

With Samsara dual facing AI Dash Cams, ACV Enviro now has the ability to view driving conditions on the road as well as driver behavior inside the cab in order to benchmark driver safety. AI features such as real-time incident detection and in-cab coaching alerts help protect drivers and improve unsafe driving behaviors. “In-cab alerts are incredibly helpful because our drivers receive coaching before we have to step in,” said Case. If an accident does take place, Case also has the ability to review collision footage or distracted driving events within minutes to use in coaching conversations. 

So far, the results have been astounding. ACV Enviro has seen a 60% decrease in accident rates and the data continues to get better month over month. “The AI is unbelievable and we’ve seen huge drops in harsh events,” said Miller. “It gives us more visibility than we could have anticipated.” 

With Samsara AI Dash Cams, ACV Enviro now has the safety data they need to set benchmarks and demonstrate their fleet safety performance to their existing and prospective customers.

Clear communication secured driver buy-in on AI Dash Cams

To maximize their investment in dash cams, ACV Enviro knew that communication and driver buy-in was key. Case, who managed the rollout, offered the following advice:

1. Nail down your timeline: Communicate the rollout timeline in advance and give drivers and staff plenty of notice before you begin installing.

2. Focus on why: Tell the drivers why you invested in dash cams. Share specific goals or behaviors you're targeting if you have them.

3. Explain the benefits: Provide details on how dash cams will help keep drivers safe.  

4. Be clear on the use: Reiterate who has access to the footage and what it will be used for (coaching and driver exonerations).

5. Solidify procedures: Make the disciplinary program very clear so drivers know what to expect if they get caught doing something wrong more than once.  

“When it was clear to our drivers that we were using the dash cams to keep everyone safe, there was no argument or push back,” said Case. Case also explained to drivers that dash cams would help detect illegal behaviors—such as cell phone usage or seatbelt violations—before law enforcement could cite them. This meant drivers could correct their behavior before it affected their driving record. “Our drivers are focused on improvement, so I made sure to communicate how dash cams would improve their driving,” said Case. 

“The main concern from some drivers was around their privacy. Drivers didn’t want to feel like their privacy was being invaded,” said Yaritza DeJesus, Lab Pack Supervisor and driver for ACV Enviro.

“ACV did a great job at communicating to drivers and employees what the system was being used for,” said Ryota Hirata, Maintenance Technician and driver for ACV Enviro. “Drivers had a lot of comfort knowing that the system wasn't about disciplining drivers but making them safer drivers.” In fact, the first few times dash cam footage helped exonerate drivers, tensions eased and drivers became appreciative of the system. 

“I feel more confident when there’s a dash cam in my vehicle. I know I’m a safe driver and dash cams help me prove that.” 

“Samsara dash cams helped exonerate me from an incident in New York City,” said DeJesus. “I feel more confident when there’s a dash cam in my vehicle. I know I’m a safe driver and dash cams help me prove that.” 

In the five months since rolling out dash cams to their 500 drivers, ACV Enviro achieved a high adoption rate and continues to see an increase in adoption. 

Increasing driver engagement with gamification and driver Safety Scores

To increase engagement in the ACV Enviro safety program, Case set up weekly, monthly, and quarterly driver rewards. The program uses Samsara Safety Scores to recognize the safest drivers by region, as well as across the entire organization. Within the Samsara dashboard, Case can segment drivers by region using tags so that drivers can compare their performance to their peers.

Each Friday, Case shares the results and announces the top drivers during a company-wide meeting. Prizes include limited-edition t-shirts and hats which are exclusive to winners and highly-coveted.

Soon after announcing this program, engagement among drivers soared. “My team has become very competitive. We all want to become better drivers and be on top of the leaderboard,” said DeJesus. 

Since leveraging driver Safety Scores, ACV Enviro has noticed a week over week improvement in Safety Scores across every region. “Safety Scores continue to go up. The more the drivers understand what the system is looking for, the more they improve their behaviors,” said Case. In addition, accident rates continue to decline and Case has noticed that drivers pay more attention to how they’re driving because they are motivated to outperform their peers. 

“I use the Driver App to check the Safety Score leaderboards every day—sometimes every hour,” said Miguel Mercado, Regional Dispatch Specialist and occasional driver for ACV Enviro. “It’s a great system for our drivers.” 

Asset Gateways provide tracking data to bill customers accurately and reduce costs

ACV Enviro has an extensive inventory of more than 1,000 assets, ranging in cost from $3,000 to more than $500,000. Their most common asset is roll-off containers, specialized for their hazardous waste work, but they also own assets such as generators, tankers, light towers, and even boats. 

Previous to Samsara, ACV Enviro tracked their asset inventory on paper and in spreadsheets. This system made it challenging and labor intensive to properly track their assets whereabouts. 

The challenging logistics of asset management meant ACV Enviro had to supplement resources with renting from third party companies which could add significant cost to the business. “Logistics become much more efficient when you can track utilization and asset locations so easily across all of our service centers,” said Case. Miller added, “Samsara makes it easy to inventory assets when we have projects that span multiple months and large geographic areas.”

In addition to understanding where their assets are, ACV Enviro wanted a system that went beyond just location tracking. They wanted to know if they were the maximum value out of their equipment.

To do this, ACV Enviro installed Samsara Asset Trackers (AGs) on all of their powered and unpowered assets. “Now, we not only know where our assets are, but we know how long they’ve been sitting in one location and logistically we can move these assets throughout our organization with great efficiency,” said Miller.  

By using Samsara Time on Site reports and geofences, Case and his team are able to show customers exactly how long equipment was at their job site. This has helped them improve their billing and increase their revenue. 

With Samsara Utilization Reports, ACV Enviro can evaluate their inventory and make better budget planning decisions for future years. “We want to ensure that our assets are working enough to justify their costs,” said Case. 

Case anticipates ACV Enviro’s insurance premiums to go down now that they have Samsara's theft-prevention solution in place.

As an added benefit, Case anticipates ACV Enviro’s insurance premiums to go down now that they have Samsara's theft-prevention solution in place. Not only will they reduce asset theft, but with Samsara, they will be able to track down assets to avoid replacement costs.

At the end of the day, ACV's clients choose them because of the great, safe service they provide. With Samsara, we are now able to track utilization, build an improved safety culture, and more efficiently track our equipment.

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