PeopleNet System Very Disappointing

Michael Ludwig

Michael Ludwig

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2009
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Not sure how the rest of you are making out using PeopleNet, but here, especially since we switched over from AOBRD to ELD the experience has been very disappointing. Nothing but niggling little problems day after day after day. I'm at the point that I am seriously considering disposing of PeopleNet and purchasing another system. I'm especially interested in Isaac and Geotab. If anyone has experience with either, I would appreciate hearing about it.

PS ... Don't bother telling me how "great" OmniTracs, Keep Trucking, and Big Road are ... I am not interested in the least how any of those work.
 
Michael Ludwig said:
Not sure how the rest of you are making out using PeopleNet, but here, especially since we switched over from AOBRD to ELD the experience has been very disappointing. Nothing but niggling little problems day after day after day. I'm at the point that I am seriously considering disposing of PeopleNet and purchasing another system. I'm especially interested in Isaac and Geotab. If anyone has experience with either, I would appreciate hearing about it.

PS ... Don't bother telling me how "great" OmniTracs, Keep Trucking, and Big Road are ... I am not interested in the least how any of those work.
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Agreed. People-net now a full time job looking after all the non-sense both during the day and after-hours. Not only ELD related, but also having an issue where the RAM is filling up and the truck won't receive messages. I miss the AOBRD!!
 
Geotab and Isaac should not be in the same comparison range, at least put Samsara or Keep trucking in the mix, Isaac is super expensive service and hardware, I would add unjustifiably so for 2020, geotab is plug and play, super cheap and easy to use, works fine for ELOG but doesnt provide same level of detail Isaac does for driver performance, integrations into TMS etc. which you can do on your own with some custom work - api is free to use.
Omnitracs should not be an option to consider - same as peoplenet too many issues and no people to resolve them with
 
We let people net go 2 years ago . They are terrible. One time I was proud to have this system in my trucks. I felt I was ahead of the game with this technology but then, it got very bad . All systems have problems but people net service just got very very bad fast . They lied and lied . I was about to sue them just like impolito did. They lied to me about how everything will be fixed only if I get new upgrades then once I got them, they did nothing but more problems. RAM was bad also . Not one good thing I can remember. So we got all Isaac system and we had to pay for people net and Isaac at the same time. Cost us allot of money because basically we had 2 systems per truck. had to pay till people net contract ran out. Isaac, is amazing! Very simple technology and it works great.
 
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I had an Isaac sales webinar on Friday. Took about 90 minutes in total ... of which 85 minutes was a complete waste of time ... I decided in the first 5 minutes I was switching to Isaac ... LOL.

Anyone have any luck disposing of their old PeopleNet hardware? We're using PCTs and PMGs.
 
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We had a sales pitch this week with Isaac , lots of great features . Will see what they come back for costs . Currently running onmi tracs, they seem to have lost their way for innovation
 
UPDATE ...
I/we have made the decision to kick PeopleNet to the curb.This was not a decision made lightly or half-heartedly. I already had a fair amount of information on competitive systems like OmniTracs, GeoTab, Isaac, and Samsara to name a few.

OmniTracs ... I don't think they have lost their way. I do think they have stalled on their innovation side, but are making a renewed effort on their R&D side. In fact a recent article in CCJ even says that. However, they're not where I need them to be right now.

GeoTab ... Is a BYOD (bring your own device) solution. I don't want to be in the hardware business. Additionally, everything you want out of GeoTab you need to build an API for which means you need to either be a programmer, or you need to hire one. I don't want to be in the software business either. However, if you want to be able to completely customize your solution on your own, GeoTab is a great option.

Samsara ... Just a carbon copy of GeoTab, only younger.

Keep Trucking ... and others like it are probably great for the individual operator with one or two trucks, but if you're going to be serious about trucking, your customers (and your insurance company) are going to demand better.

Isaac Instruments ... That was our choice. It's more money than my PeopleNet both in terms of hardware, and monthly operating costs. However, it is a drop-in solution that will work as advertised, right out of the box. Frankly, when you are replacing a system, that's exactly what you need. You need to be up and running from day one, hour one, minute one.

We went ahead and purchased Isaac's system that comes complete with cameras. Price-wise they're practically giving the camera away, so that part was a win-win. We should be able to realize a discount in insurance premium that will help mitigate part of the cost, in addition to being able to add to our driver coaching and training program that will also realize insurance premium decreases.

Our go-live date is May 11th. I'll try and remember to keep you all posted on how the process goes. I am sure there will be a few challenges ... there always are ... but Isaac seems to be committed, and we certainly are, so I am not anticipating anything that is unsurmountable to get in the way of a successful launch.

Having said that, come June 1st I'll have some peopleNet hardware for sale for anyone staying with their system that needs hardware. They are PCTs and PMGs.

Lastly, I just wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to those who helped me with information, contacts, and insights into various systems that helped me make this decision ... you know who you are, and thank you very much.
 
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LOADED MILES said:
we are a truckmate tmw user , what is your platform and is it totally integrated.
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So are we ... something like customer # 4 back in the Maddocks days ... LOL
The answer to your question is YES it is definitely integrated with TruckMate. You will need to be in possession of the TruckMate Web API license which is license number 41000. Like every TruckMate license, the cost is $5k, but if you already have the trailer tracking API (41100) then make sure to ask for a discount because the 41000 license includes the 41100 license.
 
Michael Ludwig said:
So are we ... something like customer # 4 back in the Maddocks days ... LOL
The answer to your question is YES it is definitely integrated with TruckMate. You will need to be in possession of the TruckMate Web API license which is license number 41000. Like every TruckMate license, the cost is $5k, but if you already have the trailer tracking API (41100) then make sure to ask for a discount because the 41000 license includes the 41100 license.
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Please keep me posted on this transition as well. The complaints that I've heard in regards to Isaac have been from drivers and it sounds like it's the particular way that the company has set up the system to integrate with the back office and not Isaac itself.
 
bellcitytransport said:
Please keep me posted on this transition as well. The complaints that I've heard in regards to Isaac have been from drivers and it sounds like it's the particular way that the company has set up the system to integrate with the back office and not Isaac itself.
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I'm interested in what particular driver feedback you've heard ?
 
thebluffs1 said:
I'm interested in what particular driver feedback you've heard ?
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The drivers whom I've spoken to don't like the way information is provided to them from Isaac without them sending information. I honestly have no experience with it so I don't know how it functions, however the drivers whom I've dealt with leaving companies with Isaac say for example, they don't get reload information until they send a depart or delivered message. They don't get pick up numbers till they arrive at a shipper. If they fail to "close" a trip, they aren't paid. Again, this could be particular to the way a carrier has the system set up. These could be drivers that simply don't understand how to use it. There are so many unknowns for me, hence the reason I've asked Mike to let us know about his experience rolling this product out.
 
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