Fleet management that gives you confidence and peace of mind.

Family-owned to nationally known.

A design-build construction company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Big-D started in 1967 as a family-owned construction business built on the founding values of “Respect, People, Truth.”

Over the last few decades, Big-D has grown into a multi-billion-dollar company with some impressive stats: 16 offices across the United States, listed in the Engineering News-Record “Top 400” for over 30 years, ranked as a top workplace locally, regionally, and nationally, and 90% repeat client relationships.

The ultimate goal of Big-D is to be “the most sought-after construction company in the industry,” and it’s clear that the business has found plenty of success in the design-build space, working on projects as varied as airports, resorts, universities, convention halls, and even sports arenas.

The challenges of paper-based fleet management.

While Big-D is always seeking out ways to innovate and grow, they were old-school when it came to fleet management, relying on physical media. Not surprisingly, this made data collection and analysis a difficult task.

“We needed some sort of enterprise system to manage our rental and leasing system, including maintenance, registrations, fuel tracking, and telematics,” says Conner Nelson, Big-D’s Fleet and Assets Manager. “We were using paper receipts, Excel spreadsheets, and carbon copies to track everything, and it took considerable time and effort—and a fair amount of frustration—to combine all that data into one place.”

Big-D also needed help growing its fleet in a manner that didn’t break the bank. For years, the company added only 25 vehicles per year, unsure how to overcome the financial and management issues of adding more.

The company also faced issues related to implementing new technologies within its fleet. Big-D was interested in adding GPS tracking to its vehicles and equipment, which included in-cab cameras. Unfortunately, drivers weren’t so keen on the idea, leading to pushback and a drop in morale.

Nelson realized he needed help. After evaluating his options, he turned to Mike Albert Fleet Solutions.

A collaborative approach makes all the difference.

Big-D has a rule when it comes to acquisitions and partnerships: these other companies must align with Big-D’s core values of “Respect, People, Truth.” According to Nelson, Mike Albert passed that test and impressed Big-D with its attentiveness, homegrown nature, and straightforward way of conducting business.

“We wanted a true partnership, not just a name on the ledger,” Nelson says. “Mike Albert took the time to understand where we were, where we’re going, and, just as importantly, what we could do to manage our fleet better now.”

Mike Albert and Big-D’s partnership began with a deliberate, step-by-step approach, starting with a holistic understanding of the company’s current operations to identify areas of improvement. Not surprisingly, suggested improvements included integrating new technologies.

“The Mike Albert team didn’t just propose solutions from on high,” says Nelson. “They involved our leadership team, branch management, and, critically, drivers. Everyone was kept in the loop as new solutions and technologies were rolled out, which made for a smooth transition.”

Nelson says this collaborative approach was particularly helpful in helping his drivers appreciate the benefits of the technologies they were initially reluctant to embrace. “Mike Albert knows how to communicate to drivers in a way that makes them more comfortable with in-cab cameras and other tracking technologies,” says Nelson.

While Big-D familiarized itself with telematics, tracking, and maintenance management, the two companies worked together to determine what was working, what wasn’t, and what Big-D wanted to avoid.

“While leasing is a common option in the fleet management industry, it wasn’t the right fit for us,” said Nelson. “Mike Albert understood our perspective, and worked with us to offer an alternative solution. This unique approach allowed us to optimize our fleet without the constraints of traditional leasing.”

The results. With guidance from Mike Albert, Big-D made some big changes to its fleet, and it paid off—big time.

Improved driver morale.

With drivers initially unhappy at the prospect of being tracked, Mike Albert helped Big-D devise a plan to reframe the situation. Driver education and transparency helped drivers understand that tracking is beneficial to not just the fleet owner, but drivers, too.

Now the top ten safest drivers in each Big-D division are rewarded with gift cards of their choosing. What was once seen as a negative has now been spun into a positive, and there’s now a competitive spirit among the drivers as they each seek to achieve the best safety scores.

Big-D also reviews the data to coach drivers exhibiting dangerous driving behaviors and helps them become safer and more consistent.

Substantial—and manageable—vehicle growth.

As mentioned previously, it was the norm for Big-D to purchase 25 vehicles a year, limiting their growth. To remedy the situation, Mike Albert introduced Nelson to the Competitive Assistance Program, a manufacturer preorder program through fleet dealers. With Mike Albert’s assistance, Nelson pitched a palatable purchasing program to Big-D’s board, allowing the company to expand and save money on purchasing vehicles in bulk.

The program has been an incredible asset to Big-D, especially with COVID kicking the construction market into high gear with ongoing projects and a constant need to hire new employees. With this model in play, Big-D nearly doubled its fleet in one year, going from 190 to 371 vehicles, and they are on track to purchase another 120 vehicles in the upcoming year.

Boosting the bottom line.

Capturing fleet data with paper records and Excel spreadsheets is a thing of the past at Big-D. They now view maintenance records, rental information, and tracking data online through our proprietary fleet management platform, Overdrive®, allowing them to streamline and compare their data in one place.

Armed with easily accessible data, Mike Albert helped Big-D identify the costliest maintenance expenses and suggested a preventive maintenance program that’s driven costs down significantly. This maintenance data also helped Big-D identify recurring issues in certain vehicles, allowing them to retire vehicles out of their fleet instead of continuing to pour money in bottomless pits.

Big-D was also able to maximize their remarketing and reselling costs with Mike Albert’s help, bringing in additional revenue.

Looking forward.

Thanks to Mike Albert, Big-D has modernized its fleet and positioned it for continued growth, helping it get closer to its goal of becoming the most sought-after design-build company in the industry. The two companies are now focused on improving fuel management and the vehicle registration process.

“Mike Albert’s help with our general fleet management and modernization has been so valuable,” says Nelson. “They’re hyper-focused on our partnership and always ask what else they can do to make our fleet more successful, including thinking outside the box to serve our needs. We work as a team, and I know I can always reach someone at Mike Albert to fix an issue or even ask a question.”

Want a success story like Big-D Construction? Contact us today.