Market Express Centralizes Accident and Claims Data with Descartes Fleet Safety™
Market Express is a truckload and intermodal carrier operating a fleet of 360 drivers across key freight corridors.
Based in Portland, Oregon, the company handles a mix of regional and drayage operations. With a lean safety team that was juggling spreadsheets and data entry, Denise Rugh, Director of Safety, and her team sought a more efficient way to manage their accidents and claims.
What began as a search for a streamlined system quickly evolved into a broader safety transformation—driven by their commitment to improvement and backed by the right tools.
At a Glance
The Challenge
Following multiple acquisitions, the Market Express safety team found themselves managing a patchwork of systems, relying heavily on spreadsheets to track accidents, log claims, and organize driver data. Denise and her team were determined to shift from reactive safety to a truly proactive approach. But with more than three hours a day spent on manual logging and reporting, they were left with little time to get ahead.
The Solution
To free up time and reduce friction, the team implemented Descartes Fleet Safety™ as a cost-effective platform for centralizing accident and claims data. From there, they began layering on tools to further strengthen their program—automated coaching workflows, predictive risk analytics, and integrated reporting that put real-time insights at their fingertips.
The Results
- 15 hours saved weekly on data entry and manual reporting
- All accident and claims records centralized and reportable by driver
- Improved driver onboarding
- Laid the groundwork for organization-wide safety ownership
The Full Story
A Need for Change
For years, Market Express tracked accidents and claims data across four massive spreadsheets. It worked, until the team began to outgrow it following several acquisitions.
“We were running out of columns and space,” said Director of Safety, Denise Rugh. “We couldn’t add in enough formulas or charts to really identify trends in a meaningful way. Everyone dreaded trying to pull reports.”
As the company expanded, so did the need for a more effective way to manage safety data. The team evaluated several Risk Management Information System (RMIS) platforms but found them to be overly complex, expensive, and not well suited to the day-to-day needs of a lean safety team.
That's when they found Descartes Fleet Safety™. The solution gave them the functionality they needed without unnecessary complexity, and the team was willing to work with them to support their specific requirements. The solution provided:
- A centralized location for all accident and claims records
- Seamless integration with Samsara ELDs
- An intuitive interface that required minimal implementation effort
Discovering More Than Expected
While they came to Descartes Fleet Safety for accidents and claims tracking, the team quickly realized the platform offered far more value.
Professional Development Plans (PDPs) became a vital part of their onboarding and performance improvement processes. The team built structure around onboarding and performance management. Automated assignments, follow-ups at 30, 60, and 180 days, and documented training helped ensure that no driver slipped through the cracks.
With the Driver Watch List, the team gained an always-on tool that compares their drivers’ behavior against 40 billion miles of driving data and 400,000 accidents, helping them proactively identify risky trends and prioritize where to focus their attention each day.
SafeView reporting transformed how they report and identify trends. What once took a minimum of 15 hours each week, sifting through spreadsheets and pulling paper files, now takes seconds.
“Reporting alone has saved us several hours each day,” Rugh explained. “We can drill right into a trend or driver record with one click, and we can pull our data so that we have hard numbers to get other departments on board.”
What’s Next: Making Safety a Shared Responsibility
Today, Denise and her team are channeling the time and clarity they’ve earned into a broader mission: making safety a shared responsibility across the organization.
“We’re working to get everyone involved in safety, especially our terminal and driver managers,” said Rugh. “It’s more than the role of the safety department; it has to be a commitment across the fleet. Having easily accessible data has laid the groundwork for those conversations and we’re looking forward to what’s next.”
The team is exploring new dashboard views and supervisor-based reporting to help managers take ownership and identify coaching opportunities on their teams.
What started as a search for a better system of record has become a testament to the determination and vision of a safety team that refuses to settle.
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