Baker Roofing: Reducing theft, improving safety and managing costs to drive fleet performance

Baker Roofing, a leading roofing contractor established in 1915, has always been at the forefront of adopting innovative solutions to streamline operations, manage costs and improve safety. 

With over 1,500 assets — including a fleet primarily made up of pickup trucks — Baker Roofing was ready to take the next step in its evolution to elevate efficiency and safety across its business.

“We use GPS and telematics to help our drivers be better drivers. We hold them accountable for how they drive — whether it’s speeding, harsh cornering, harsh braking, or seatbelt usage.”

_{— Toby Boyles, Vice President, Baker Roofing}

The Challenges

Initially, Baker Roofing used GPS tracking to manage its mobile workforce. But with technology improvements, they saw how telematics could also impact driver safety. So, with the intent to improve areas like cost management, productivity and safety, Baker Roofing had some unique operational challenges. 

Safety concerns

Unsafe driving behaviors, like speeding, not only raised safety issues but also led to steeper insurance costs. They wanted to track and monitor driver behavior to implement measures that would help mitigate and reduce risks.

Cost and asset tracking

Moreover, rampant equipment theft posed dual problems – a direct blow to financial health and a decrease in workforce productivity from unforeseen delays and inefficiencies. 

For example, employees arriving at job sites would often find equipment missing. Adding to the cost of theft, having multiple employees unable to work meant the cost of labor and lost productivity could easily surpass the cost of equipment. 

These mounting expenses and looming threats of theft also highlighted the need for both tracking and optimal use of all assets.

“Some of our roofing equipment is high-value — eight or ten thousand dollars and it’s the size of a vacuum cleaner. It’s pretty easy to walk away with it… with Digital Matter asset trackers, we know where each piece of equipment is.”

_{— Toby Boyles, Vice President, Baker Roofing}

Together, these challenges were a driving force for Baker Roofing’s evolution and growth. They were about to transform their operations, mitigate these risks and reduce their operating costs.

The Solution: Geotab and BlueArrow Telematics

The ability to monitor driver behavior and see more engine data was a big reason Baker Roofing chose to switch to Geotab. As a long-time partner of Baker Roofing, BlueArrow Telematics — consultative fleet experts — introduced Geotab as an upgrade to their basic tracking solution.

With Geotab, Baker Roofing could monitor driver behavior to improve safety and capture more engine data for a full diagnostic picture of their vehicle's engine health.

Elevating productivity and safety

Initially, the focus was on managing mobile workforce productivity — tracking arrival times, total job time, unauthorized stops and ensuring accurate timecards. 

But as these productivity issues began to improve, Baker Roofing shifted focus to driver safety and maintenance management — specifically the ability to capture engine oil levels from their vehicles.

Working in tandem with BlueArrow, Baker Roofing developed custom reports that enabled better tracking of driver performance. The company launched a driver rewards program, which immediately improved driving habits, shown by a significant uptick in the results of their driver scorecards.

“We work in a very dangerous environment in roofing, but we feel our biggest risk to the public is on the highway because we drive an average of 250,000 miles per week.”

_{— Toby Boyles, Vice President, Baker Roofing}

Along with the quality in reporting and gains on driver scorecards, Baker had already been using a distracted driving solution, LifeSaver Mobile, which prevented drivers from using cell phones while the vehicle was in motion.

Now, Baker had a holistic system set up to help improve and promote safety and productivity across their fleet. 

Leveraging automation and integration

BlueArrow also helped Baker Roofing integrate its ERP software, Viewpoint, into the Geotab system to streamline data entry and improve reporting.

Like many service companies, Baker Roofing uses various software to manage its business. The integration with Viewpoint helps them manage the assignment of new hires and drivers to their vehicles. And because Viewpoint seamlessly integrates with Geotab, the entire process is automated.

Now, Baker Roofing can keep drivers accountable for unsafe behaviors, resulting in safer roads and reducing the number of hours spent on administrative work.

Because of the success of the Viewpoint integration — and how it works with Geotab — Baker Roofing and BlueArrow are planning for more integrations in the future.

Seamless, easy asset security

BlueArrow made the onboarding of all asset trackers a seamless and easy process. Baker Roofing chose Digital Matter Asset Trackers because of hardware reliability, durability and the availability of various sizes for different equipment types. Digital Matter was able to fulfill all of Baker Roofing’s asset tracking needs.

“We wanted a tool that easily integrated into our Geotab platform and not have a separate application to log into… we wanted a one-stop shop and one pane of glass.”

_{— Toby Boyles, Vice President, Baker Roofing}

Finally, a fuel management solution that works

Baker Roofing is very proactive in managing fuel usage and theft. After trying several fuel card integrations, the lack of quality data wasn’t giving Baker Roofing the information it needed.

BlueArrow's development team, collaborating with Baker Roofing, created BlueArrow Fuel, now the only Premier solution for fuel card integration on Geotab’s Marketplace.

As a solution developed directly with the customer, BlueArrow Fuel provides a workflow process along with several algorithms that significantly reduce false positives.

With BlueArrow Fuel and Geotab, Baker Roofing has a comprehensive view of fueling operations. They get meaningful insights that significantly improve fuel management and employee time spent at the pump.

The Benefits: A turnaround for Baker Roofing

With Geotab and BlueArrow, Baker Roofing has made significant strides in driver safety, cost management and asset security. The partnership has also resulted in a substantial reduction in fuel costs and theft, with better asset utilization and visibility.

Summary of benefits:

• Reduction in speeding and unsafe driving behaviors 
• Positive reinforcement of safe driver behaviors (some drivers now go a full year without an unsafe driving occurrence)
• Reduction in insurance costs and driver incident rate
• Substantial reduction in fuel costs and fuel theft 
• Reduced equipment theft, resulting in higher productivity

An evolution through expert partnerships

The Geotab telematics and BlueArrow partnership have equipped Baker Roofing with the tools needed to manage all assets more effectively and safely. 

The combination of innovative technology, expert solutions and top-notch support from BlueArrow has not only addressed Baker Roofing’s initial challenges but has also positioned the company for continued success and growth.