Company: Sanford and Hawley
Industry: Lumber and building supply
Fleet Size: Small
Contact: Bob Sanford, President

Quick Fact: Sanford and Hawley is a fourth/fifth generation family owned supplier of lumber and building materials. In 2010, they are celebrating their 125th anniversary. They have locations in Unionville, Avon and Manchester, CT, and West Springfield, MA. Sanford and Hawley’s primary customers are professional builders, although they also do business with consumers managing their own projects.

Challenge: Sanford and Hawley had multiple problems that needed to be solved, the first being the need to improve driver safety. The company needed to be able to communicate with drivers without the distraction of requiring them to talk on cell phones while on the road. They also had to find a way to let drivers access directions safely, without needing to read printed maps or directions, which forced them to take their eyes off the road.

In addition to these problems, Sanford and Hawley’s fuel expenses were far too high, and they needed to find a way to reduce their fleet’s fuel consumption. They were also aware that their drivers were idling excessively, resulting in wasted gas, but they did not have a way of monitoring and reducing idling time. Additionally, Sanford and Hawley needed to put an end to unauthorized use of vehicles. They knew that their drivers were using company vehicles to run personal errands, which cost the company money, and which also put the company at risk in the event accidents or other problems occurred when the vehicles were being used for non-business uses.

How it was solved: Sanford and Hawley chose the GPS Insight configuration that includes integration with Garmin in order to be able to exchange data messages and send directions to their driver safely, without having them distracted by phone calls. The Garmin units have enabled their drivers to send status messages, such as “assignment completed” by just tapping the touch screen display on the dashboard and to also listen to directions to their destination, without the distraction of having to read the directions.

They have also eliminated the distraction and loss of valuable time that occurred when drivers had to call for directions while on the road because they were lost.

GPS Insight’s tracking solution also enabled Sanford and Hawley to achieve significant savings by reducing fuel consumption. The company began running speeding alerts and reports, which cut back on overall speeding and saved significantly on fuel. Mr. Sanford said, “The system is set to give us notice of a truck idling after 15 minutes, and this has allowed us to substantially cut idle time.” He added that, “our average miles per gallon (MPG) increased 12% over the prior year, which I would attribute to decreased idling.” GPS Insight also helped curb unauthorized usage of Sanford and Hawley vehicles. Bob Sanford stated, “We all know that drivers may make some personal errand stops, but we were amazed at the frequency that some were stopping at their homes and how far out of their delivery run they would go to stop at home. With GPS, this has become reasonable.” With GPS Insight, Sanford and Hawley can now be sure that their trucks are staying out of areas where they are forbidden to be while on the clock.

Sanford and Hawley saw immediate Return on Investment when a stolen vehicle was recovered. Mr. Sanford reported, “We had not had the GPS units in a week when we came in one Monday morning to realize that a truck was missing and that our soda machine had been smashed into. Thanks to GPS Insight, the Police were able to immediately locate the stolen truck.” Further, they wanted to catch the thief, so they ran an activity report to see where the vehicle had been driven. He added, “The truck had made a stop at a supermarket and somebody made a purchase with $70 in change, apparently from our soda machine. The Police used surveillance video to question residents at an apartment complex near where the truck was left, which resulted in an arrest.” In this instance, the GPS Insight  system enabled Sanford and Hawley to avoid having to buy a new vehicle and replace any equipment that may have been taken. Bob Sanford finished with, “The payback is definitely there.”

How Sanford and Hawley believes GPS Insight can help companies like yours:

• GPS Insight can integrate with your current software provider
• GPS Insight’s Garmin integration can increase the productivity and safety of your fleet
• The State Fuel tax reporting saves a lot of time, and is much more accurate than doing it manually
• The system enables you to immediately locate your vehicle if it is stolen

PDF: 

GPSI_CaseStudy_Sanford-Hawley.pdf