GUELPH, Ont. — MacKinnon Transport has inked a three-year extension with PeopleNet, which provides its mobile communications and fleet management systems.

The 250-truck operation said it has realized significant savings since partnering with PeopleNet in 2000.

“We have been a PeopleNet customer since 2000, and everything that PeopleNet promised has always come through,” said Rick Miller, vice-president of operations for MacKinnon. “We have re-signed for another three years.”

Miller said MacKinnon was able to save $200,000 in fuel costs by using PeopleNet’s systems to monitor and reduce fleet idling time. The company also tracks driver performance using PeopleNet’s PerformX and then shares the data with them to help them reduce their fuel consumption.

“We give them the ground rules first, and we don’t try to be Big Brother. We give them the benchmark, and they see in their truck if they are meeting the goal,” Miller said.

MacKinnon is now upgrading to the G3 system and it will deploy in-cab driver navigation systems to reduce out-of-route miles, Miller said. Meanwhile, it is also moving towards in-cab scanning, which it hopes will take four days off the traditional billing cycle to help with cash flow.

“When our trucks are spread out across the country it takes them an average of five days to get the paperwork back to us,” he explained. “Our fleet was a beta tester for PeopleNet In-Cab Scanning. We’ve seen it, we’ve used it, and it works,” Miller added.