BOISE, Idaho – Rand McNally has rolled out its Practical AI framework within its SafetyDirect solution that uses machine learning to analyze vast amounts of driver and vehicle performance data.
“Data is only as valuable as it is actionable,” said Andre Tokman, global head of data science for Rand McNally. “The idea is to take big data and make it feel smaller and more useful—not just overwhelm our customers with more of it.”
According to a company press release, This new approach surfaces the most important insights for fleet managers and safety directors, helping them focus on what truly matters.
The first new feature enabled by Practical AI is Automated Event Ranking (AER) that automatically classifies and prioritizes safety events. AER allows fleet managers to concentrate on critical incidents while reducing the time spent reviewing non-essential data. In testing, Rand McNally demonstrated a 70-percent reduction in the number of safety events requiring manual review, which enables managers to focus on high-priority incidents and make faster decisions that improve fleet safety and operational efficiency.
According to the release, AER leverages data collected from proprietary onboard ADAS systems, ranking safety events—such as sudden braking, lane departures, and other driving behaviors—based on their severity. By minimizing false positives and delivering actionable insights, AER empowers fleet managers to make quicker, more informed decisions that lead to safer driving outcomes.
Bill Woolsey, Safety Director at Freymiller, highlighted the real-world impact of Practical AI.
“We coach our drivers directly from the SafetyDirect data, which enables us to quickly and easily separate key signals from ‘noise’ in the data,” Woolsey said. “That saves us time and makes our coaching more precise and effective.”
AER is the first of many ways Rand McNally is enhancing fleet technology with practical, real-world applications of AI, according to the release. Rand McNally plans to expand its use beyond safety management.
“Leveraging its access to proprietary data from onboard sensors and telematics systems, Rand McNally will apply AI-powered insights to areas such as predictive maintenance and vehicle health monitoring,” the company said in the release. “This will allow fleet managers to not only improve driver performance but also enhance overall fleet efficiency by anticipating and addressing maintenance issues before they become critical.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
Not much has changed. Someone sitting at a desk, who never made a living driving, telling a trucker what they are doing wrong. There should be much better use for this technology. Maybe use it to tell the administrative staff where cuts could be made on white collar jobs.
Well, if it Ai. We don’t even know if it’s true or not. I do not want some Artificial Idiot telling me what happened when the where not there. Cameras only capture a small scope of what happened. Just my 2 cents worth