Carla Luig, president and CEO of First Choice Transport in Fort Worth, Texas, will never forget the day she started her trucking and transportation business. “It was Sept. 11, 2001,” she says, “and our first load was scheduled to be picked up at 6 a.m. Despite the tragedy and confusion of that fateful day, we still managed to complete the job.”
That perseverance has paid off for First Choice, which 10 years later has grown from two employees headquartered at Luig’s kitchen table to a full-time staff of 19. Also a decade later, the original complement of three owner-operators has risen to 85 independent contractors and a company fleet that now numbers 175 trailers.
First Choice Transport is an interstate and intrastate trucking and transportation operation that services customers in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. The company also provides brokerage service to 42 additional states, as well as cross-dock, partial load, consolidation, warehousing and multi-stop services.
“When we opened for business we didn’t have the financial backing to buy new equipment, so we began by leasing trailers and hiring owner-operators,” Luig relates. “Dedicated owner-operators still make the most sense for our operation because they eliminate the need for a heavy investment in equipment. For a time we did buy some used trailers, but now that we’re able to fund our equipment needs, we looked at our options and quickly realized that we could buy trailers at a competitive cost.”
One choice
In early 2011, Luig made a decision to replace the entire First Choice fleet of 175 trailers. “There was really only one choice,” she says. “Great Dane’s reputation for building quality products, and its stability—especially in tough economic times—told us they’ll be in business and able to support us for a long time.”
Last year, First Choice replaced 95 of its trailers with 53-ft. Great Dane P-101 Series dry freight vans built at the company’s Jonesboro, Ark., manufacturing facility. The high-cube P-101 has a nominal inside width of 101 in., giving the fleet the ability to offer its customers more carrying capacity than traditional sheet and post trailers.
Beginning in 2012, the P-101 is now the Great Dane Champion SE model. “We’re planning to replace our other 80 trailers with Great Dane Champion SE models in 2012,” Luig states. “Phasing them in makes sense because it gives us time to sell our existing units.”
Full upgrade
First Choice Transport’s decision to replace its entire trailer fleet coincided with a move to upgrade all of its dry vans with a new tracking, monitoring and fleet management system. The R:Com Dot trailer solution from Blue Tree Systems is being installed in the fleet’s new dry vans at the Great Dane plant.
The Blue Tree Systems R:Com Dot solution for dry vans offers capabilities that include vehicle tracking displays of the current location of any vehicle or group of vehicles on road, aerial and bird’s eye views, and detailed trailer movement information that can include trip, stop and time at location reports. The system also has the ability to provide live tethered trailer reports and scheduled reports on untethered units, to geo-fence locations and to provide exception-based alerts and cargo control alerts for monitoring door open and close events.
Blue Tree Systems also is providing its R:Com Fleet Management Solution to First Choice. Tractors operated by the 85 dedicated owner-operators working for the carrier are being outfitted with the R:Com systems at the fleet’s expense. Installation of the systems by a local vendor during routine maintenance intervals takes about one hour per vehicle.
Very beneficial
“We’re using these systems to monitor and control operations more efficiently and productively,” Luig states. “We’ve been using tracking and asset management systems for many years. The ability to manage assets in real-time, have access to a detailed location and tracking history, as well as monitor untethered trailers, is very beneficial.”
Integration between the Blue Tree Systems solutions and First Choice Transport’s dispatch and enterprise management system is in place. Blue Tree has also completed training of the fleet’s personnel on the R:Com systems and the carrier’s driver recruiter and safety director are training the company’s owner-operators.
Luig sees the value of investing in onboard systems for owner-operators as part of the support her company strives to provide. “We expect drivers to be ready to work and to know what we expect of them,” she says. “That means making sure their trucks are ready and they have the hours-of-service available to complete our loads.
“At the same time, we have to provide the technology and training that will enable our drivers to meet our customers’ requirements effectively and efficiently,” Luig continues. “We also need to provide for their needs. For example, our drivers are routed home every other day and on weekends. We can do that by limiting our range to 800 miles and still allow drivers to cover 3,000 miles in two trips each week.”
Passing on savings
Another way First Choice Transport works with its dedicated owner-operators is through a fuel-purchasing program that passes on the carrier’s bulk discounts to drivers. “We have rebate programs with several truckstop chains,” Luig explains. “We get daily reports on pump prices and rebates, and relay to our owner-operators where the best pricing is for that day. They buy fuel using our card and we deduct the discounted price from their earnings. In some cases, we can save driver up to 35 cents per gallon off the pump price, or as much as $400 per week.”
Recently, First Choice began an evaluation of Fuel Island Manager (F.I.M.) at Love’s Travel Centers. The software from QuikQ is a cardless solution that utilizes RFID technology currently being installed at truckstops nationwide. First Choice also is using QuikQ’s fuel purchasing system, DFConnect, to authorize each transaction initiated by F.I.M. The DFConnect solution can be integrated in the carrier’s transportation management system to use real time operational data, providing an integrated fuel purchasing process.
“We’re testing Fuel Island Manager at the Love’s truckstop in Amarillo, Texas,” Luig explains. “We have a few trucks that are equipped with the system’s RFID tags to automatically initiate fuel transactions at that location. We expect the QuikQ solution to give us better visibility and security for controlling fuel expenses, and to streamline the process of managing fuel purchases.”
Maintenance for the First Choice trailer fleet is handled in-house, including full inspections every time a vehicle is on the carrier’s property. Owner-operator tractors are also subject to inspection by the fleet’s maintenance team and its safety director.
Up-to-date
“On the road, we use national account plans for tires and rely on Great Dane’s network of branches and dealers throughout our operating area,” Luig says. “We have set rates for services and access online to our maintenance and repair records so we’re sure everything is up-to-date.
“We believe in working with suppliers that are always ready to meet our needs,” Luig states. “It’s the same approach we have toward our customers. With exceptional support, we can provide exceptional service.”
Trailer Specs
Model: Great Dane P-101 dry van; 53-ft.
Landing Gear: Great Dane Model 50
Sidewalls: Logistics posts on 16-in. centers; polyethylene lining recessed between uprights; 10-in. galvanized steel scuffband
Rear Doors: 0.50-in. Composite Swing; dual-seal gaskets; galvanized steel cover sheet; 4 hinges, 1 lock rod
Floor: 1-3/8-in. hardwood; Prolam WAXIN coating
Axles/Suspension: Hendrickson HKANT40K; tandem axle, sliding air ride; Quick Draw II Air-Assist Pin-Puller, Surelok dump valve
Oil Seals: Stemco Guardian; Kendall EBL grease
Brakes: Hendrickson Extended Service; Meritor automatic slack adjusters, Tramec valves
ABS: WABCO 2S/1M Easy Stop
Tires: 295/75R 22.5 Bridgestone R195F
Wheels: 22.5-in. steel disc, hub-piloted
Automatic Tire Monitoring and Inflation: Hendrickson TireMaxx Pro
Gladhands: Tramec
Lighting & Electrical: Great Dane Sealed System; Grote incandescent lamps
