Watch Tower · Applied Intelligence for your Business · Trucking companies

Goals and KPIs for trucking companies, with the assumptions written down

The goal: Keep trucks loaded and legal: fewer empty miles, inspections done on time and no unit sitting in the shop without a plan.

We agree three to five goals with you, each with one KPI. Every KPI is written out: what it measures, the record it comes from, the period, where it stands today and the assumptions behind the number, plus the guardrails that mustn't get worse while you work on the goal.

Open the free demo A fictional company in your industry, opened in the Console. No card needed.

What you see

Home in the Watch Tower Console

An illustration of the Watch Tower Console's Home with sample data: the goal, three KPI cards with their trend and this week's review. — Your goal, the KPIs that show it and this week's review, on the first screen you open. An illustration with sample data. The demo opens a sample in your industry.

For owners, operations managers and safety managers at small and mid-size fleets

What it looks like for trucking companies

The KPIs, cards and questions below are examples of what we set up with you. The names and units are made up.

KPIs, with the assumption behind each

Empty miles shareMiles driven with no load as a share of all miles, per week.Assumption: Taken from TMS load records; deadhead to a fuel stop counts as empty.

Annual inspections on timeUnits whose periodic inspection is current, as a share of active units.Assumption: A unit is active if it ran a load in the last 30 days.

Out-of-service daysDays a tractor couldn't be dispatched because of a defect, per month.Assumption: Counted from the DVIR that found the defect to the repair sign-off.

Cards on the work tracker

Fix the brake defect from Tuesday's post-trip DVIR before dispatchShop lead · due Wed · Tractor 214
Book the annual inspection on the three units due this monthSafety manager · due Fri · Units 108, 131, 177
Find a backhaul for the Dallas–Laredo laneDispatcher · due Thu · Reefer 52

Records you already keep

ELD and hours-of-service exports
Driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs)
Maintenance and annual inspection records
Load and settlement sheets from your TMS

Assets in the register

Tractors
Dry van, flatbed and reefer trailers
Yards and terminals
Drivers and their qualification files

Questions your team can ask Bifrost

Which lanes ran the most empty miles last month?
Which units are due for their annual inspection in the next 30 days?
How many out-of-service days did we lose to tires this quarter?

Bifrost answers from the records in your own workspace and shows how each number was worked out.

How it runs

Goals and KPIs, step by step

Start from one goal or decision that matters this quarter.
Pick one KPI for it, from records you already keep.
Write down the definition, the period and every assumption behind the number, so anyone can check it.
Set the guardrails, then review the numbers with us every week.

The barriers this crosses

Intent: Why do I need AI at all? We start from the person's own goal, decision or task and show what changes for that goal, in their words.
Use: What exactly would I use it for? We name the specific uses by role and by industry: the decision, the calculation, the plan, the brief.

Rules and facts for trucking companies

What the records have to show

A property-carrying driver may drive at most 11 hours, within a 14-hour window, after 10 consecutive hours off duty.Source: FMCSA, Summary of Hours of Service Regulations
At the end of each day's work, a driver must prepare a written report on each vehicle driven if a defect or deficiency was found or reported, and the defect must be repaired, or certified as not needing repair, before the vehicle runs again.Source: 49 CFR 396.11, Driver vehicle inspection reports
Every commercial motor vehicle must pass a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months.Source: 49 CFR 396.17, Periodic inspection

A summary for planning work, not legal advice. Check the source for the full rule and any state requirements.

Start

See it on a sample company first

Founding 10

$2,000 for setup and the first 3 months of Watch Tower, then $250/month. Ten places. We set up your team, goals and KPIs, asset register, map and work tracker with you, then review it with you every week.

Hardware implementation is quoted separately. Start with the demo; you can order from inside it.Open the free demo

Questions

Common questions

Does Watch Tower replace our ELD or TMS?

No. It reads the exports you already have from them (hours, loads, inspections) and puts them next to your goals, assets and work, so the weekly review sees one picture.

Why write the assumptions next to each number?

Because a KPI people can't check is a KPI people stop trusting. Each number in your Console shows the record it came from and the assumptions behind it, so a manager and a dispatcher or foreman read it the same way.

We don't have clean data. Can we still set KPIs?

Yes. We start from the records you have and write down what's missing as an assumption. As the records get better, the KPI gets better, and the review tracks that too.

What does Watch Tower cost for trucking companies?

Founding 10 covers setup and the first 3 months in one payment, then a monthly price; the numbers are on this page and on the pricing page inside the demo. Hardware implementation is quoted separately.

Goals and KPIs in other industries