Miller Transportation Achieves 100% Compliance & Passes Audits with Ease

DriverHub client Miller Transportation has been providing charter bus, minibus and shuttle van transportation for over 70 years in Louisville, Ky.; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Ind. One of their busiest times of year is Kentucky Derby week. The company hires school bus drivers as well. 

In early 2020, Miller signed on with Avatar to modernize its approach to driver recruiting, compliance and training. 

Challenge Faced & The Turning Point

Prior to working with Avatar, Miller Transportation was still running on paper files. Recruiting, compliance and training were manual, time-consuming processes. 

After switching to DriverHub as its digital all-in-one platform, the company navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and came out the other side with a centralized approach to hiring drivers and keeping them on the road safely. 

Maintaining compliance and handling Department of Transportation audits is now much easier than it was in Miller’s paper era — as are employee hiring and training. 

Solutions & Strategy

DQF Managed Services

The first step to going from paper to digital driver qualification files (DQFs) was leveraging Avatar’s DQF Managed Services for onboarding. The Avatar team traveled to all of Miller’s locations to scan, upload and audit the files initially to convert Miller Transportation to a fully digital system. The team didn’t have time to tackle this big project, so it made the digital transition possible.

DOT Compliance

DriverHub’s DOT compliance software is one of the primary benefits for Miller, ensuring they’re ready for an audit at any time. 

A major time-saving feature is the fact that Miller can simply provide DOT auditors with their own DriverHub usernames and passwords, so they can access any files they need to complete the audit. There’s no need for the Miller team to find, scan, upload and send documents to auditors, saving the company many hours of administrative work every time they get audited.

“We’ve had four to six audits already since using Avatar,” says Rocky Bewley, Safety Director. “I’ve not had one compliance auditor or investigator say ‘this is wrong.’”

Driver Recruiting

DriverHub’s driver recruiting capabilities also are a boon for Miller, which hired 168 drivers over the past year — as many as 28 in one month. It’s a pace that would be difficult to keep up with if not for Avatar’s workflow features, which serve as a built-in checklist and real-time status update for Miller’s HR team. 

“Being able to put the notes in on a candidate is vital for us to all look at the candidates to know where we’re at with each person,” says Shannon Cahill, HR/Sr. Payroll Specialist, noting the benefits of having a hub to capture all recruiting and hiring information. “We look and we’re like, ‘Oh they texted us what we needed. Here’s their driver’s license.’” 

DriverHub’s new artificial intelligence-enabled medical card and driver’s license scanner are another feature that save both the Miller team and candidates. You simply scan a candidate’s license or med card, confirm the details and the data automatically populates into their driver qualification file. Alternatively, candidates can scan documents themselves. 

Outstanding Results

Taking advantage of DriverHub’s full suite of driver recruiting, compliance and training features has increased the production of each team member and saved an untold amount of man hours for Miller Transportation’s HR and safety teams. For instance: 

• Time Saved, Better Candidates: DriverHub’s Smart App prevents DOT app fatigue on the candidate side by prompting applicants to fill in any gaps in their 10-year employment history before submitting their application, which ultimately prevents the Miller HR team from having to follow up repeatedly.
• Compliance Certainty: For several years Miller has maintained 100 percent compliance thanks to DriverHub’s compliance features, including automated notifications that alert drivers when their documents are going to expire. Before Avatar, Miller was at 42 percent compliance. 
• Customized Training Platform: In addition to using Avatar’s Training Marketplace and LLLC defensive driving program, the Miller team uses DriverHub to house its own internal training courses, such as “Seven Common Accidents & How to Avoid Them,” “School Bus Safety” and “First Aid.” 

It’s hard to ignore the success of the partnership between Miller Transportation and Avatar. 

“I can’t imagine companies not going this route,” Rocky says. “We love the fact that you guys work with us and the fact that you listen to your customers and make your product better and more functional. So many companies don’t do that. We love you!” 

Ready to get similar results for your driver recruiting and compliance efforts? Learn more about Avatar’s Driver Marketing Service and Driver Recruiting Service or get in touch today.