Paul Bugar Trucking Inc. Increases Efficiency with Motorola’s Mobile Radios

The trucking industry today is faced with a multitude of challenges with fuel cost increases placed firmly at the top of the list. However, according to the American Transportation Research Institute’s report (“Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry—2008”), that’s just one of the top ten issues with which the industry must cope. Other challenges include slumping demand due to the economy; growing traffic congestion; increasing toll fees; and governmental regulations.

“It’s harder to make money these days,” says Paul Bugar, Jr., president of Paul Bugar Trucking Inc. “You just have to keep making adjustments.”

Lack of coverage and inadequate communications hinder productivity. One of those adjustments is ensuring that the operation has the tools required to run more efficiently and cost effectively. Several years ago, Paul Bugar purchased a two-way mixed radio system to enable better communications between dispatch and the drivers, as well as among the drivers themselves.

“The radio system had a little bit of everything but it served our purpose at the time,” says Paul.

As the business continued to grow and the coverage area expanded, the radios no longer provided adequate range and the company eventually began to rely more heavily on cell phone usage. However, this strategy had its own problems with spotty cell coverage in some rural areas, cell phone bills that reached thousands of dollars per month, and the danger of drivers diverting attention away from the road while they placed a call or answered the phone.

“We were unable to consistently communicate,” Paul says. “And when we could talk, many times there was interference from a local bus company.”

The radios had also been installed incorrectly so Motorola was called in to correct the situation. However the radios still didn’t get the coverage or performance Paul required. It was time to consider migrating to newer technology.

Quick return on investment and operational cost reduction
Motorola proposed a cost-effective migration achieved through ‘as needed’ replacement of Paul Bugar’s existing radios with the Motorola CM200 Mobile Two-Way Radios. Designed specifically for businesses like Paul Bugar Trucking Inc., the ergonomic control panel of the CM200 radios offered ease of use, even for drivers wearing heavy gloves. In addition, the durable radios can withstand harsh environments including rain, blowing dust, vibration and exposure to salt, fog and extreme temperatures.

Today, Paul has completed the phase-out of the old radios and the new system consists entirely of Motorola CM200s. The radios enable the company’s drivers to communicate throughout the entire coverage area of up to 40 miles and have already saved the company money.

“What they’ve spent on the radios, they’ve already saved in fuel costs,” says Schwede. “They have also been able to decrease the number of cell phones they needed to fill the gaps in communications from 40 to six, which reduces that monthly expense as well.”

Paul Bugar Trucking hauls countless loads of gravel to townships and villages for road maintenance. The ability to quickly reprioritize and reroute significantly increases efficiency and productivity throughout the organization. For example, if a driver is en route with a load committed to a specific customer and the dispatcher finds that the customer is not yet ready, dispatch can contact the driver and reroute that load to another location where the road machinery is in place and ready. The driver can then return to the granite pit and reload for delivery to the original location or move on to the next delivery.

This not only dramatically increases productivity; it also substantially reduces wasted trips and fuel consumption.

Time is Money: Better communications, greater productivity, enhanced safety
In the short-haul transportation industry, truckers are in their vehicles from sunrise to sundown, rarely returning to the office until their day is done, making the ability to instantly and reliably communicate via two-way radios a critical need. With the Motorola CM200 radios, dispatch can call the drivers and receive immediate response, rather than waiting until the drivers return or try to catch them as they are driving through a cell phone coverage area.

“That time savings represents perhaps the greatest value of the radios,” says Paul.

In addition to cost and time savings, the CM200 radios also provide:

• Clear Audio: With powerful four-watt speakers, the radios offer exceptional sound quality that helps transmissions to be heard, even in noisy environments.
• Rugged Reliability: Motorola radios meet key U.S. military specs for durability.
• Ease of Use: Radio controls are simple and straightforward for new radio users, requiring minimal training; large controls allow for easy gripping; audio indicator tones sound for every button pushed, so users can keep their eyes on the road and direct user’s attention to the radio when action is required.
• Greater Flexibility: High/Low Power adjusts transmit power to accommodate user environment.

With ever increasing challenges facing the trucking industry, operators must look for ways to enhance operations. The Motorola CM200 mobile radios significantly improve communications, helping companies reduce costs and increase end-to-end efficiency.

“The Motorola radios help us keep order throughout our operation,” says Paul. “It’s just something we can’t be without.”