As a fleet manager, you know that keeping your vehicles both in good condition and on the road are two of the most important keys to success. When your vehicles are working at optimal levels, your team is less likely to have accidents, and you’re more likely to meet shipping deadlines.
One way to ensure your vehicles are always operating in the best condition possible is by using Whip Around DVIR software for your pre-trip inspections. Read on to learn how this software is changing the game for CDL drivers, fleet managers, and business owners.
What is Whip Around?
Whip Around is a post, during, and pre-trip vehicle inspection software (DVIR) that streamlines your fleet inspection process. Your drivers can perform their inspections using the mobile app available for Android and iOS systems, and then submit their paperless forms wirelessly to the web-based dashboard giving you all the information you need in real time.
Get Whip Around for Android via the Google Play Store, or for iOS in the iTunes store.
Who needs Whip Around
Fleet managers, owners, and their drivers need Whip Around. In your role as manager, you’re responsible for making sure that your vehicles and hence your drivers are safe before they get on the road, and that they are in compliance with all Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations. The best way you ensure your vehicles are good to go, is for your drivers to complete a pre-trip inspection.
Whip Around is the modern solution to PTIS
Using the traditional, outdated, paper based systems is time-consuming and open to inaccuracies. What’s worse is that when your drivers have to complete paper-based forms, a lot of time is wasted bringing the paperwork to the administrative team, and then reading the forms, evaluating them, and finally scheduling maintenance and repairs for any faults that are found during the inspection. Heaven forbid they get interupted while transporting the paperwork — those precious minutes can add up to hours off the road!
Whip Around helps you to minimize downtime by allowing your drivers to quickly fill out their form from their mobile device, take images and make notes on vehicle faults, and then automatically send the report to you upon completion.
Let’s face it — It’s far too easy to miss something on a paper report and chalk it up to simple forgetfulness. With Whip Around you can’t miss something in your pre-trip vehicle inspection because you have to physically check off an item before you can move onto the next one.
Then, after they have completed their form, within mere moments you’ll receive an alert that the form is ready to review, and as a result you’ll be able to get the vehicle over to a mechanic faster as well.
What does that mean? Well, in dollars and sense, it means your driver will have a road ready vehicle in a fraction of the time, and be back on the road to boost your bottom line.
The Whip Around app comes preloaded with a 12 step form to make your pre-trip inspection a breeze
Pretty much everyone has a smart phone these days. And, the Whip Around app can be downloaded to any Android or iOS system almost instantly, giving your drivers the ability to start doing their inspections without a pen and paper in just moments only using pre-trip vehicle inspection software.
The app features a pre-loaded 12 step form that has your drivers check for things like:
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Windshield, wipers, sun visors and mirrors
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Lights and indicators
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Wheels and tires
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Fluid leaks
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Reflectors, indicators and air hoses
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Doors and seat belts
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Horn and speedometer
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Steering for excessive free movement
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Switches and even whether or not you have enough fuel to complete the trip
The form also features a space to enter mileage and add the signature of the driver. If you don’t like the way the form looks in the free account, you can upgrade to a premium or enterprise account to add customized entries for inspection, or rearrange the order that your checklist appears in.
One of the best parts about the app is that the prompts are easy to follow, and there’s no guesswork involved for any of the items on the checklist. Your drivers can give you the exact data you need, and if there are any discrepancies, they will be prompted to take a photo and explain them so you’ll never be in the dark as to what’s going on with the trucks in your fleet.
Whip Around saves your business time and money
By using Whip Around, your drivers will be less likely to face:
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Accidents
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Fines
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Serious repairs
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Large amounts of downtime off the road
The reporting system within Whip Around also puts you in a position to take advantage of lower insurance premiums and governments levies. Since the system is designed to allow your drivers to undertake quick and easy daily inspection of their vehicles and keep a thorough history of records, you will have a record of safe practices at the ready for any potential audits by external authorities, upper management, and/or clients.
Your company will enjoy a reduction in accidents on the road
Many of the accidents that occur on the road, happen due to things that were completely preventable. And, those precious moments spent doing a pre-trip inspection can often reveal minor things that could ultimately lead to much more serious and costly accidents or incidents.
For example, a tire coming loose from a truck and hitting another motorist is in most cases preventable if your driver:
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Completes a pre-trip vehicle inspection,
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Therefor notices the tire isn’t on securely, and subsequently
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Secures it before departure
Did you know that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a study that stated ‘“Tires” was the most frequently coded vehicle-related factor for passenger vehicles in fatal crashes?” In fact, faulty issues with vehicles and tires were found to be the most common vehicle-related factors for large trucks in fatal crashes.
Can you imagine the legal and financial implications your company could face in the event a fatal crash occurs all because your driver didn’t ensure that their tires were secure on their vehicle before getting on the road? This is the kind of thing money hungry accident attorneys salivate over, and that honestly can break a trucking company’s business.
What about your windshield wipers and windshield wiper fluid? If you’re not checking that those are in good condition before your departure, you run the risk of not being able to see while driving down the road. Impaired vision is just asking for an accident — and yes, it would be a preventable one!
Checking the brakes is critical too!
Another type of accident that is sometimes preventable is a rear-ending. While it is true that in many cases the driver of a CDL vehicle is not found at fault when the person they rear-ended cut them off or weather conditions prevented them from avoiding the crash, if it is found the driver didn’t check their brakes in their pre-trip inspection, they can:
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Be found at fault for the crash due to faulty equipment alone
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Get a ticket
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Be held liable for any damage to the vehicle
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Be on the hook for any injury claims
The company can also be held liable for damage to the vehicle and the costs associated with injury claims.
Rear endings are the number one type of crash involving a CDL driver according to the FMCSA. That’s why it’s even more important to make sure that your driver’s brakes, and brake fluid are in optimal condition before the driver takes to the road.
Whip Around can also help you save money on repair bills
A small problem left unchecked can lead to costly repair bills. An example would be not checking for fluid leaks that ultimately result in bigger problems such as radiator fluid leaks.
Common things that “break down” due to radiator fluid leaks are the thermostat, the water pump and the heater core. If your driver had just checked for leaks, the faulty radiator hose could have been found sooner, and all those subsequent failures and repairs could have been avoided.
Whip Around will reveal trends in faults and repairs
Because the app provides you with real time data, you will always be able to notice when there is a sudden uptick in repair needs, and be able to prepare your budgets and game plan accordingly.
It could be something as simple as noticing there has been a significant increase in the number of drivers needing the same part replaced. This might point to an issue with the model of truck that your drivers are driving cluing you into the fact that you might want to take it up with the manufacturer or avoid purchases from them in the future.
When you have 10, 50, 100, or more drivers in your fleet dealing with the same issue over and over, it can add up. Therefore, having data to back up your claim that something is off, or not quite right, could help you find a way to correct the situation in some way, shape or form. After all, it’s difficult to argue with hard data and real time numbers!
Less time with the mechanic means more time on the road
Smaller repairs are not only cheaper, but they also take less time to perform as well. Every moment your drivers are not on the road could be costing your company significant amounts of money. Think about it. If vehicle down time can cost more than $1,000 per truck per day, wouldn’t it be better to spend as little time as possible in the mechanic’s station?
Downtime costs your company more than you may realize
Your fleet’s ability to get their deliveries to the intended destination is one way your company builds its reputation. Spending a lot of added time dealing with extensive repairs can make you look bad to your clients, and could cost you their future business if it becomes too much of a problem. Yet another reason those pre-trip inspections are so critical, and making them easy to do makes things better for everyone.
What’s the cost of Whip Around, and what do you get for the money?
We get it, as with all business expenses, you want to the brass tax so you know exactly what you’re getting into.
There are currently three account tiers with Whip Around:
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Basic: Free to sign up and includes 1 vehicle and 1 user with limited access.
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Standard: $6 per asset per month and includes all inspection, compliance and fuel management features.
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Pro: $11 per asset per month and includes all Standard features plus a complete fleet maintenance solution.
There are no contracts to sign, and you can cancel any time. Whip Around is a monthly subscription service charged on a per truck, per month basis. As your needs change you can upgrade or downgrade your account to meet those needs.
When you sign up your get instant access to:
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The latest technology: Whip Around is constantly being improved to keep up with the latest advancements in the field. As the technology evolves there are no extra costs to your business, you can simply update the app, and keep on trucking.
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Our cloud based storage system: You don’t have to keep lots of records on your own servers, so there is no hardware/storage cost on your end. The Whip Around technology is built in the cloud and relies on smart phones to collect the information. Because of this you are able to access the information from your account on any device, at any location, at any time around the world.
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Each account features a web based dashboard, but the Standard and Pro plans include:
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Unlimited dashboard users
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Unlimited drivers
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Unlimited customized pre-trip inspection forms – you can add inspection items not found in the freemium account
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Email and chat support (priority for premium, unlimited for enterprise accounts, and enterprise also includes phone support)
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Mobile App Access and Access to application program interface (API)
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You can start today for free!
If you’re not quite ready to try a premium or enterprise account, that’s okay! You can get started with Whip Around for free. Create a free account today by clicking here. You’ll soon see how much faster your pre-trip inspections can be completed, and get on the fast track to reducing costs and increasing your bottom line.
