By: Steve McGough
C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. of Marietta, Ga., is a heavy-highway contractor and asphalt manufacturer with over $200 million in business every year. Like most contractors, they have felt the burden of rising fuel costs. C.W. Matthews turned to HCSS’ resource management software, The Dispatcher , for a unique solution to this growing problem.
The Dispatcher , integrated with the latest GPS technology, has allowed C.W. Matthews to increase fuel efficiency of their mechanic trucks. When a piece of equipment breaks down, they can now compare which mechanic is closer to the breakdown and see where the resources are geographically in The Dispatcher’s map view.
“Being able to dispatch resources based on real current locations has improved our efficiency in planning routes, allocating drivers and most notably fuel consumption,” said Kent Robbins, IT project manager for C.W. Matthews.
Kent also has found he can reduce fuel consumption by monitoring idle time of vehicles. Review of the GPS data pinpointed excessive idle time that has since been eliminated. Kent believes this savings will pay for the cost of the GPS units.
“We initially approached GPS technology with skepticism on how it could add value to our business,” said Kent. “Now we see The Dispatcher with GPS integration as a tool we can’t live without.”
