The Straight Talk on Fleet

In this 38th episode of the Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin hosts Matt Vesey, Director of Professional Services at Wise Systems. Wise Systems, a partner to IntelliShift, is an Autonomous Dispatching and Routing solution that empowers operations teams and drivers to improve fleet efficiency and customer service, seamlessly adapting to the everyday challenges they encounter. Matt and Erin dig i...

In this new episode of the Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin breaks down the what, why and how of using ROI analyses to improve project management and ongoing success measurement. She talks about the key components of a fleet safety technology ROI analysis and how the tool can and should be used as a living, breathing document. Erin shares what fleet, safety and operations leader should expect...

In this 36th episode of the Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin hosts a guest, Matt Glaser who is the VP of Product Management at Car IQ. Car IQ is a partner in IntelliShift’s partner network. At Car IQ, they have created a payment solution developed specifically for vehicles and fleets. Their platform enables vehicles to autonomously initiate, validate and complete payments for services such as...

In this 35th episode of the Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin celebrates how far she’s come in being a new podcaster and influencer in the fleet and safety industry! She shares the mission and pillars of the podcast, recaps some of the hot topics covered so far, and the three themes that tie all of her content together. Erin calls the fleet community to action as well by asking for more engagem...

Join Erin for the 34th episode of Straight Talk on Fleet. In this special episode, Erin hosts Steve Kiefer, Founder and President of The Kiefer Foundation, founded in honor of the legacy of Mitchel Kiefer, Steve’s son. Mitchel lost his life in a distracted driving crash on September 19, 2016. Steve spent his career in the automotive industry before retiring from GM to manage his foundation full ti...

As a fleet leader, a top concern is fighting distracted driving. You have all the right things in place, but it’s still an issue. You’re not alone. National numbers of distracted driving-related events are still rising despite the laws, technology, and campaigns. What is it we’re not seeing? What if we are unintentionally encouraging distracted driving by: Understating policy and training Lacking...

Join Erin for the 32nd episode of Straight Talk on Fleet. In this special episode, Erin hosts Shelley Forney. Shelley is a Motivational Distracted Driving Awareness Safety Speaker who lost her 9-year-old daughter Erica to a distracted driving crash. In this episode, Shelley and Erin will talk about distracted driving, Shelley’s loss story, the science behind the problem and much more! Learn about...

Join Erin for the recorded version of her latest Straight Talk Live podcast episode! She interviews Kimberly Fisher, a longtime friend and fleet industry expert and recent finalist for AFLA’s Fleet Manager of the Year Award. Kimberly will share her journey in fleet management and provide insights on how to build and execute a winning fleet program. Most importantly, they will dig into that KPIs fl...

In this podcast short, Erin records live from the NAFA I & E in Baltimore as a guest on the Fleet Safety Geeks podcast. Erin gives a short keynote on all-things fleet safety. You can expect to hear about the critical aspects of a successful fleet safety program to include tools, technology, processes, data and more. All shared in a fun and interactive environment at the fleet industry’s top fl...

In this 29th episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin interviewed her long-time friend and fleet industry colleague David Hayward, live from the Wheels, Inc. coffee lounge at the 2023 NAFA I&E in Baltimore. NAFA I&E is one of the industry’s top learning and networking events. David is the Global Fleet Manager at ABM Industries, a global facilities services company. Erin and Davi...

In this 28th episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin interviewed her long-time friend and fleet industry colleague Laura Jozwiak, live from the Wheels, Inc. coffee lounge at the 2023 NAFA I&E in Baltimore. NAFA I&E is one of the industry’s top learning and networking events. Laura is the SVP of Client Relations and Sales at Wheels, Inc. and comes with many years of fleet indust...

In this episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet, Erin hosted Straight Talk Live with an audience of fleet professionals coming together on the topic of fleet maintenance. In this recording from the live podcast, Erin shares the present and future states of fleet maintenance. With her extensive experience in the field, you can expect valuable insights and real-world examples. In this podcast, you wil...

In this episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet, Erin comes to you from NTEA’s Work Truck Week 2023 in Indianapolis, one of the industry’s largest fleet expos. The interview takes place in Knapheide’s booth on the show floor where they were celebrating 175 years in business. Congratulations and thank you to our friends at Knapheide for hosting this episode. Erin interviews friend & colleague, Mi...

Customer experience or “CX” as we like to call it these days, is crucial to successful relationships and partnerships in business. Statistics show that 70 percent of customers say they have made purchase decisions based on the quality of the customer experience. In this 25th episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin shares her philosophies and learnings on customer experience and her vis...

No matter what your current tech stack is, pairing and surfacing the right data is essential to improving operational efficiency. In this recording from her live podcast episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet, Erin sheds light on why fleet/operations/safety leaders need to consolidate safety, maintenance, inspection, and fuel data, by branch and by location, to surface the data you need right now,...

In this episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet, Erin hosts esteemed guest Ryan Wilkins, CMO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio and the Founder and Manager of RMHC’s National Vehicle Donation Program. Ryan is a longtime colleague and friend who inspires Erin to be a better human! Erin serves on the board of RMHC of Central Ohio and chairs the Vehicle Donation Program Committee alongs...

Join the conversation and bring your best practices around safety culture. Changing hearts and minds around safety in organizations can be complicated and building a culture of safety can be even harder because it means something different. It means that safety is part of the very fiber of being for your organization. In this live version of The Straight Talk on Fleet Podcast, Erin will provoke th...

On today’s episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet podcast, Erin interviews IntelliShift customer Tommy Parker. Tommy is the operations manager and a charismatic people leader at Fox Electric out of Arlington, Texas. Fox Electric was established in 1960 and has built a solid reputation for reliability and performance as electrical contractors throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Erin and Tomm...

Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts. Also, connect with Erin on LinkedIn. You’ll join a community of like-minded fleet leaders, have a voice in the conversation, and be part of an industry-leading initiative to elevate the role of fleet operations and break down the barriers to change. Host: Erin Gilchrist LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-gilchrist-rugg/ Faceb...

In episode 20 of The Straight Talk on Fleet, we have the privilege of hosting industry expert Bob Martinez, Deputy Chief of the Support Services Bureau of the NYPD. He started out in 1986 as an auto mechanic and has held several positions over his 36+ year career at the NYPD. The Support Services Bureau provides logistical and technical support to all commands within the New York City Police Depar...

Our macro-economic conditions are an opportunity to reassess our people, processes, and technology to mitigate the pain. In this episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet Podcast, we broadcast Erin’s webinar on how to control the uncontrollable. She digs into sound methods by which to mitigate the pain and pressure of a volatile market and succeed in the areas of people, fleet, operations and safety m...

In episode 17 of The Straight Talk on Fleet, we have the privilege of hosting award-wining and experienced corporate fleet professional Jonathan Kamanns. Jonathan is the Associate Director, Fleet and Safety for Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading research-driven global pharmaceutical company that creates value through innovation in areas of high unmet medical need and has over 52,000 employees in 130...

In episode 16 we have a wonderful guest Danielle Wyres, Director of Fleet and Logistics at Titan Solar Power out of Mesa, Arizona. Titan Solar Power is a people-forward organization with a healthy culture. They specialize in residential rooftop solar solutions and handle all aspects of their solar module installations. In this episode, we touch upon a lot of key industry topics during this episode...

In today’s podcast, Erin brings it full circle, digging into data stewardship by way of a single connected, integrated, powerful, easy-to-use fleet intelligence platform. The main 3 tiebacks or themes that really resonate within each episode is; having a well-developed and adopted safety program for your fleet is foundational and will drive success, a modern tech stack to include telematics, AI vi...

Keeping our finger on the pulse of safe and efficient fleet operations takes a village. In this episode of The Straight Talk on Fleet, Erin digs into key metrics and KPIs that all fleet operations and safety leaders should consider and socialize within their organizations. The overarching theme around KPIs in this podcast is that KPIs should demonstrate to your organization how effective you are a...