inthinc expands into Canada, announces major supply deal

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CALGARY, Alta. — Telematics company inthinc, best known for its in-cab driver mentoring system, has announced it is opening a Canadian office.

The company also announced a major supply deal with Barrick Gold Corp., which is investing $16 million to deploy inthinc’s waySmart system across its global fleet of 3,000 vehicles.

The company’s Canadian office will be based in Calgary and there are plans to open a second location in Toronto, inthinc CEO Todd Follmer announced.

“Our Calgary office represents our support and commitment to current and future clients in Canada,” he said. “This location will enable us to provide closer contact with our rapidly expanding client base in the Canadian market. We feel an investment in this market is an investment in our future.”

inthinc’s waySmart system has proven popular in the oil patch. The system provides real-time driving advice, which aims to instantly correct driver behaviour. The system can inform a driver when he’s speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or engaging in other risky driving behaviour. The company claims its system has proven to: improve seatbelt usage by 73%; reduce speeding violations by 86%; and reduce aggressive driving by 89%.

A lighter-duty tiwi version is also available, with much of the same functionality with some limitations. The tiwi product gained prominence last year when inthinc launched a joint initiative with Valvoline called the Guaranteed Fuel Savings Program. That program combines inthinc’s tiwi driver mentoring system with Valvoline lubricants to deliver a 4% fuel savings. In an interview with Trucknews.com, Follmer said the program is proving to be successful and is ongoing.

The Barrick Gold deal marks a milestone for the company, and follows a pilot project that was conducted at Barrick sites in 2009. Barrick is planning to roll the waySmart system out across its 3,000 vehicles by December, the company says. The system warns drivers, through audible alerts in real-time, when they are exhibiting unsafe driving behaviour. If the warnings are ignored, a fleet manager or supervisor receives an alert.

“From our first meeting with Barrick, we knew safety was one of the company’s highest priorities,” Follmer said. “Our system will help the company make its current safety policies even more effective with in-cab driver mentoring, real-time alerts and driver performance reporting to help reduce vehicle incidents.”

“The waySmart system clearly identifies which drivers are performing well and which drivers need more training,” added Bruce Huber, senior director of safety and health at Barrick. “It is a useful tool to coach drivers, encourage safe and cost-effective driving behaviours and prevent vehicle incidents.”

For more info, visit www.inthinc.com. For more in inthinc’s solutions, check out the November issues of Truck News and Truck West.

 

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Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


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