Driving a culture of safety: How Knight-Swift transforms fleet operations with Netradyne

Company

Knight-Swift Transportation, a leader in the freight industry, is committed to fostering a safety-first culture among its vast fleet of drivers. David Tillman, Senior Vice President of Safety and Driver Health, leads this charge, overseeing a fleet of roughly 29,000 drivers. His role involves ensuring safety, compliance, and driver development.

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Having worked with video telematics for over eight years, David and his team have witnessed significant technological advancements. One such innovation is the introduction of the Netradyne Driver•i® video safety system. Here's how Knight-Swift is gaining a competitive edge with this technology.

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Building a safety culture through positive recognition

One of the most significant shifts Knight-Swift has experienced with Netradyne's technology is the focus on positive reinforcement. Previously, video telematics were mostly used to flag safety incidents or violations. However, with Netradyne’s AI and machine vision capabilities, 100% of drive time is captured and analyzed so drivers are now recognized for good behaviors like maintaining safe following distances and defensive driving.

This approach has helped foster a culture of safety, encouraging and recognizing the pride drivers take in their performance. The feedback from drivers has been overwhelmingly positive, as they feel recognized for the efforts they put into their daily work. This culture of coaching through positive feedback has proven more effective than relying solely on traditional corrective measures.

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Trusting the technology: AI & machine vision

David highlighted the importance of trust in technology, particularly in how Netradyne’s AI-powered cameras create a comprehensive profile of a driver’s performance by analyzing 100% of the driving day. Unlike traditional systems that might focus on isolated incidents, Netradyne analyzes the total risk profile of a driver’s day. This allows for a more holistic view of performance, which helps create more effective coaching moments. of a driver’s day. This allows for a more holistic view of performance, which helps create more effective coaching moments.

With Netradyne’s AI, Knight-Swift can now monitor multiple aspects of a driver’s behavior including speed, following distance, and reaction times, while also understanding the context when incidents occur. This comprehensive data enables David’s team to focus on the entire journey, not just isolated incidents, ensuring more accurate and impactful coaching.

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Empowering drivers with self-coaching & alerts

Another breakthrough has been the automation of coaching. With in-cabin alerts, drivers receive real-time feedback on their positive and negative performance. For example, if a driver’s speed exceeds the limit, they get an audible reminder to slow down. This proactive feedback is crucial in ensuring safety, while also empowering drivers to adjust and correct in the moment.  

This form of self-coaching not only helps drivers improve but also reduces the need for constant intervention from safety managers, allowing them to focus on more critical areas of training.

Additionally, when drivers demonstrate positive behaviors, such as maintaining safe following distances or executing smooth stops, they receive instant recognition through in-cabin alerts and DriverStars. This immediate acknowledgment reinforces good habits, and motivates drivers to consistently perform at their best. By shining a spotlight on what drivers are doing right, Knight-Swift is building a culture where safety is recognized and rewarded every mile of the journey.

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Simplifying coaching with data-driven insights

With traditional telematics systems, coaching could sometimes feel like a reactive process. However, with Netradyne, Knight-Swift has moved to a proactive coaching model. The technology quantifies driver behaviors, making it easy to identify areas for improvement. By analyzing specific behaviors, like excessive speed or improper following distances, safety managers can pinpoint exactly where a driver needs to improve.

The data-driven approach has also led to better insights on fleet-wide safety performance. This technology quantifies driver behaviors, ultimately generating the GreenZone® score, the industry's first driver score that publishes both safe and risky driving behaviors, making it easy to identify areas for improvement. For example, a driver might be told that improving their following distance could increase their safety score by 200 points. These clear metrics make the coaching process more impactful and help drivers see tangible improvements in their safety performance.

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Real-time feedback & transparent reporting

One of the standout features of Netradyne is its real-time feedback and transparent reporting. Drivers can see their performance data and GreenZone score data in real-time, allowing them to adjust their behavior accordingly. Knight-Swift has embraced this transparency, as it helps build trust between drivers and safety managers. When drivers can clearly see how their actions impact their safety score, and compare their scores with other drivers via the Driver•i app, it creates a sense of ownership over their performance.

Also, Netradyne’s robust reporting tools have made it easier for Knight-Swift to track safety metrics across their fleet. The ability to capture data from different systems and present a comprehensive view of performance in a single platform has helped Knight-Swift better manage risk and focus on what matters most: safety.

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Looking toward the future: Expanding technology for better results

Despite the early success, Knight-Swift is only beginning to explore the full potential of Netradyne’s offerings. The fleet is currently rolling out 500 units, with plans to expand to over 16,000. The flexibility of Netradyne’s system, combined with the ongoing feedback loop between Knight-Swift and Netradyne’s development team, positions the company to continue improving their safety practices.

David noted that Netradyne’s responsiveness to customer feedback has been remarkable. The company’s engineers quickly implemented changes based on user requests, such as adding specific speed alerts based on road conditions, further proving Netradyne’s commitment to innovation and customer success.

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Conclusion: A safety-first approach powered by Netradyne

Knight-Swift’s partnership with Netradyne represents a major step forward in the integration of advanced technology with safety culture. By embracing AI, real-time feedback, and a more transparent and automated coaching process, Knight-Swift is setting new standards for driver safety in the trucking industry.

As they continue to expand their use of Netradyne’s technology, Knight-Swift is paving the way for other fleets to adopt smarter, more efficient, and safer fleet management solutions that prioritize the well-being of drivers and the success of the business.

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