Hired hauling is a large line item for contractors, most contractors we talk to say that hired hauling accounts for 30% of a project’s total cost. That is because the work that dump truck drivers perform is so essential to the overall project. Not much happens on civil construction sites or on paving projects without dump trucks. Considering the importance of getting material to job sites, it is surprising that there has been little innovation in the way that contractors source dump trucks, pay dump trucks, or account for productivity.
Whether you are a hauler or a contractor, you will likely agree there are major drawbacks to the current model. So, how can technology step in to help? With new tools, contractors are controlling their hired hauling costs and improving workflow on job sites. Let’s take a look at how these changes are beneficial to both contractors and haulers.
Improve Job Site Communication
Benefits to contractors:
- Change the way you communicate. Move beyond group text messages to more sophisticated in-app messaging and standardized, reusable job details.
- Communicate changes on the job site to 1 or 100 haulers with the click of a button.
- Using technology helps to communicate mitigates haulers accidentally showing up to a closed job site.
Benefits to haulers:
- No more simultaneous lengthy text chains for jobs and annoying responses from people you don’t even know.
- No back and forth with dispatchers to get all the information you need for a job
- No need to gas up your truck, drive out to a worksite only to find everything shut down, and have to drive back home.
- Gain control of your schedule. You can’t prevent work from getting canceled but now you can instantly see changes to your schedule and find other work in your area.
Accurate & Weekly Hauler Pay
Benefits to contractors:
- Digital punch-in and punch-out tracking create accurate work durations, instead of relying on rounded numbers or estimation.
- Pay by the minute, instead of by the hour or quarter hour.
- See who has started work and ended their day, in real-time.
Benefits to haulers:
- Get paid for every minute you work.
- No more getting second-guessed on where you were and what time you got there, digital verification means no one has to doubt where you were.
- Get paid on time with weekly payments always, no matter the project.
Eliminate Individual Hauler Invoices
Benefits to contractors:
- Never process your hired hauler invoices again.
- No need to worry about closing a PO or cost code and then having a hauler submit an invoice weeks later.
- You receive one invoice per week with cost codes and job IDs for easy job costing and project accounting.
Benefits to haulers:
- No more tracking down all drivers, load slips and timesheets. Everything is logged digitally for you as you complete work.
- No more wasting hours processing invoices to get paid.
- Digital records can help you verify you are getting paid the right amount for the hours worked. Oh, and did we mention, get paid weekly!
TRUX is bringing contractors and haulers communication to a new level. Controlling hired hauling costs doesn’t mean that someone needs to lose. There are strong benefits to both contractors and the hired haulers they work with. However, these benefits aren’t possible without a solid technology partner, like Trux's trucking logistics platform. If you think your business could benefit from controlling the costs associated with hired hauling, reach out to us today. You can schedule a call with one of our local experts.
