MDR Construction
CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
Giving Power to Those in Need
Giving Power to Those in Need
MDR Construction is a diversified utility construction provider that contracts with rural cooperatives across most of the country, providing powerline and electrical service upgrades, repairs, and installation. The company has a fleet of over 1,200 mobile assets of heavy and medium-duty trucks, boom lifts, trailers, and other off-road equipment often used during natural disasters and inclement weather to provide power to those in need.
In just a couple of years, the fleet expanded from around 200 pieces of equipment, to over 1,200 currently. The rapid expansion made it extremely difficult for fleet managers to keep pace with each mobile asset effectively.
MDR Construction used to rely on a series of spreadsheets and manual paperwork that made it difficult to communicate immediate needs for maintenance, the location of a given vehicle at any given moment and information associated with mobile assets, such as tags, insurance, and documents.
MDR Construction is a diversified utility construction provider that contracts with rural cooperatives across most of the country, providing powerline and electrical service upgrades, repairs, and installation. The company has a fleet of over 1,200 mobile assets of heavy and medium-duty trucks, boom lifts, trailers, and other off-road equipment often used during natural disasters and inclement weather to provide power to those in need.
In just a couple of years, the fleet expanded from around 200 pieces of equipment, to over 1,200 currently. The rapid expansion made it extremely difficult for fleet managers to keep pace with each mobile asset effectively.
MDR Construction used to rely on a series of spreadsheets and manual paperwork that made it difficult to communicate immediate needs for maintenance, the location of a given vehicle at any given moment and information associated with mobile assets, such as tags, insurance, and documents.
“The largest struggle was communicating that information. To the driver of the vehicle. The crew foreman is responsible for the vehicle. And then also the field mechanics that were sent to repair and service that vehicle, those three groups of people had no access without a phone call to that data.”
— Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
“The largest struggle was communicating that information. To the driver of the vehicle. The crew foreman is responsible for the vehicle. And then also the field mechanics that were sent to repair and service that vehicle, those three groups of people had no access without a phone call to that data.”
— Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
Tracking Assets and Consolidating Fleet Data
Tracking Assets and Consolidating Fleet Data
The company’s rapid expansion to serve the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest added pressure to keep track of the entire fleet. Azuga’s telematics solutions and direct integration with AUTOsist gave fleet managers the ability to track mobile asset’s locations, mileage and odometer readings.
“Azuga was attractive based on its footprint and coverage area, the type of customers and clients it assisted. It’s just a great platform for the telematic solutions based on the number of units that we have,” said Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction.
Staying up to date on vehicle and equipment maintenance is a focal point for MDR Powerline’s maintenance staff. Since equipment is needed in the field at a given time and location, service repairs must be scheduled and completed as efficiently as possible.
Using insight from odometer vehicle readings and hourly equipment tracking with Azuga, MDR Construction automatically feeds that data into AUTOsist, to develop a preventive fleet maintenance program, schedules and work order assignments service needs.
The company’s rapid expansion to serve the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest added pressure to keep track of the entire fleet. Azuga’s telematics solutions and direct integration with AUTOsist gave fleet managers the ability to track mobile asset’s locations, mileage and odometer readings.
“Azuga was attractive based on its footprint and coverage area, the type of customers and clients it assisted. It’s just a great platform for the telematic solutions based on the number of units that we have,” said Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction.
Staying up to date on vehicle and equipment maintenance is a focal point for MDR Powerline’s maintenance staff. Since equipment is needed in the field at a given time and location, service repairs must be scheduled and completed as efficiently as possible.
Using insight from odometer vehicle readings and hourly equipment tracking with Azuga, MDR Construction automatically feeds that data into AUTOsist, to develop a preventive fleet maintenance program, schedules and work order assignments service needs.
“Hours and odometer tracking allows us to set up our maintenance schedule reminders. It takes the distribution and workload assignment away from the fleet manager and puts it in the hands of the mechanic. When a mechanic approaches a worksite or work area, he can easily pull up the reminders.”
— Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
“Hours and odometer tracking allows us to set up our maintenance schedule reminders. It takes the distribution and workload assignment away from the fleet manager and puts it in the hands of the mechanic. When a mechanic approaches a worksite or work area, he can easily pull up the reminders.”
— Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
Since pieces of heavy equipment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, MDR Construction needed a solution to track its equipment, while keeping it well maintained and achieving optimal productivity.
The combination of Azuga and AUTOsist was the perfect blend of fleet tracking and maintenance management systems saving the company thousands of dollars and added peace of mind that the lifespan of its scarce equipment is prolonged.
Since pieces of heavy equipment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, MDR Construction needed a solution to track its equipment, while keeping it well maintained and achieving optimal productivity.
The combination of Azuga and AUTOsist was the perfect blend of fleet tracking and maintenance management systems saving the company thousands of dollars and added peace of mind that the lifespan of its scarce equipment is prolonged.
The Need For Efficient Fleet Maintenance Management
The Need For Efficient Fleet Maintenance Management
In the past, MDR Construction’s fleet manager had to delegate specific duties individually to each mechanic throughout the day, which tied up capacity and required a lot of time and communication efforts on telephone calls. AUTOsist completely streamlined the entire fleet maintenance process with inspection results flagging issues, maintenance schedules and notifications alerting the mechanic immediately.
When servicing a mobile asset, the mechanic can pull up the service history of the equipment or vehicle to gain a better understanding of what they are dealing with. The proactive approach helps maintenance staff plan their workload every day and service repairs accordingly.
“If a driver notices anything out of order in the vehicle, low tires, mirrors, anything like that, he creates a work order in AUTOsist that is assigned to a specific mechanic,” said Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction. “Then once that mechanic receives that work order, he understands what his job duties are for the day and it just makes everything more efficient. It saves time and money.”
In the past, MDR Construction’s fleet manager had to delegate specific duties individually to each mechanic throughout the day, which tied up capacity and required a lot of time and communication efforts on telephone calls. AUTOsist completely streamlined the entire fleet maintenance process with inspection results flagging issues, maintenance schedules and notifications alerting the mechanic immediately.
When servicing a mobile asset, the mechanic can pull up the service history of the equipment or vehicle to gain a better understanding of what they are dealing with. The proactive approach helps maintenance staff plan their workload every day and service repairs accordingly.
“If a driver notices anything out of order in the vehicle, low tires, mirrors, anything like that, he creates a work order in AUTOsist that is assigned to a specific mechanic,” said Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction. “Then once that mechanic receives that work order, he understands what his job duties are for the day and it just makes everything more efficient. It saves time and money.”
There’s a critical expense management component to MDR Construction’s fleet that requires a software system like AUTOsist. The company’s assets are always on the move, traveling from jobsite to jobsite, and it wasn’t uncommon for the field team and truck drivers to forget to communicate the need to pick up a piece of heavy-duty equipment. There were even cases where equipment was left at electric cooperatives service areas for over 12 months before being flagged as missing to pick up.
MDR Powerline required a variety of users to work with the maintenance software and mobile app, so it needed a flexible option that would streamline communication across different departments, provide a means to customize the system as needed, and was simple enough for everyone to use. AUTOsist checked all of the boxes and the fleet is operating on all cylinders as it continues to expand.
There’s a critical expense management component to MDR Construction’s fleet that requires a software system like AUTOsist. The company’s assets are always on the move, traveling from jobsite to jobsite, and it wasn’t uncommon for the field team and truck drivers to forget to communicate the need to pick up a piece of heavy-duty equipment. There were even cases where equipment was left at electric cooperatives service areas for over 12 months before being flagged as missing to pick up.
MDR Powerline required a variety of users to work with the maintenance software and mobile app, so it needed a flexible option that would streamline communication across different departments, provide a means to customize the system as needed, and was simple enough for everyone to use. AUTOsist checked all of the boxes and the fleet is operating on all cylinders as it continues to expand.
“The AUTOsist interface was simple to understand and easy to navigate. Some of these gaps that we have, especially with our field mechanics, their view on technology is that it is a necessity, not necessarily that it is enjoyable to interact with. So we needed something that was streamlined and efficient and could handle their interaction in a productive manner.”
— Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
“The AUTOsist interface was simple to understand and easy to navigate. Some of these gaps that we have, especially with our field mechanics, their view on technology is that it is a necessity, not necessarily that it is enjoyable to interact with. So we needed something that was streamlined and efficient and could handle their interaction in a productive manner.”
— Tommy Pennington, CIO/CTO, MDR Construction
