Last month in this column I described the current SmartWay scoring system and indicated that it is being replaced by one based on fleet performance instead of operational strategies.
The new program, called SmartWay 2.0, will be collecting information from all modes of transport-
ation instead of data predominantly from the trucking industry. Matt Paine is a manager in the SmartWay Transport Partnership and has been assigned as the lead engineer designing the SmartWay 2.0. He says, “Now we will be gathering information from the trucking sector, the air freight sector, the maritime sector and the rail sector. It will cover all modes of transport throughout the entire supply chain.”
Different data is being sought from fleets to allow SmartWay to present meaningful operational benchmarks to its Partners. Paine says, “If you’re hauling very light loads, then grams per mile would be the most appropriate measurement. If you’re hauling predominantly heavy loads, then a measurement of grams per average payload ton-mile would be most appropriate because ton-mile deals with a weight-based metric.”
SmartWay is asking each Partner to submit data on each of its individual divisions to include descriptive information about those divisions. Based on such information, SmartWay will be able to segment the industry in many ways: for-hire versus private versus dedicated carriers, TL versus LTL versus P&D versus expedited, dry-van versus reefer versus flat-bed versus tanker. It will also be asking about the class and model of vehicles operated.
Paine says, “Such descriptive information will allow us to make apples-to-apples comparisons. Carriers will have their own data, but they will also be able to access industry average data on our web page. For example, a dry-van operator will able to see average dry-van fleet performance along with the best and the worst. The benchmarking capabilities that SmartWay will provide the industry just haven’t been seen before. This will be a great way for fleets to benchmark themselves and see just how they’re performing compared to their peers.”
Because of a redesign of its web-based model, SmartWay managers expect that the time required of fleets to submit their data is going to be reduced. Paine says, “For most fleets, there will be a significantly decreased burden in terms of time in reporting their data. For fleets, however, with many different operating divisions, they’re going to have to run models for each division. I believe the results will be well worth the efforts because fleets will have good benchmarks available to use.”
SmartWay 2.0 will cover all classes of trucks from Class 2b to 8b but will still be geared to the freight transport instead of the vocational sector of the industry.
The new model, in Microsoft Excel format, is currently posted and available for fleets on the SmartWay website. Partners are being asked to complete their annual reports this year by the end of November. This deadline will allow SmartWay to analyze the data and present results to its Partners early next year. Paine suggests that this might well coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Partnership in February 2010.
