International Launches Product Design Focus: DriverFirst™

New Product Focus Aims to Assist Customers Overcome Truck Driver Shortage

June 13th, 2016

The new company wide initiative from International Truck, DriverFirst™, is focused on helping customers attract and retain qualified drivers by providing vehicles that are designed with a driver in mind.

Denny Mooney, the senior Vice President of Global Product Development has this to say about the push for DriverFirst™: "Today, for our customers, uptime means more than having trucks that are built to stay on the road. Given the industry's chronic driver shortage, it's also about having enough drivers to operate those trucks. And for us, that means building trucks that will help our customers attract and retain drivers, by reflecting the driver's point of view in the way they are designed and the technologies and features they offer. Simply put, we want to build trucks that drivers want to drive."

International's push towards this new initiative was spurred by customer and driver input, driver clinics, fleet feedback, and studies of driver trends. Customers have reported that due to the driver shortage they have difficulty keeping all of their trucks operating. This feedback is confirmed by reports from the American Trucking Associations and other industry sources which report that the trucking industry is lagging somewhere between 35,000 and 40,000 behind in the number of drivers it requires.

Mooney elaborated on their reasons for pushing towards DriverFirst™ saying "The key takeaway from our research is that drivers want trucks that are designed to do the job. Drivers aren't looking for something automotive or futuristic for its own sake. They just want something comfortable and functional, with a design that helps them do their job better and more easily."

The four areas that International is focusing on to help improve driver retention are: Comfort, Safety, Productivity, and Efficiency.

To improve comfort, International has worked to enhance features like ergonomics, interior lighting, and NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness).

Driver safety is addressed by multiple facets of design, including increased visibility, improved headlights, and now established technologies such as radar, digital cameras, and other systems that are used to mitigate accidents

Productivity is approached with a focus on serviceability, and ease of maintenance.

International aims to improve efficiency with a range of adjustments, from improved fuel economy, to more intuitive information displays which helps drivers act decisively.

The DriverFirst™ philosophy has been in practice for some time, though it was only recently given an official title. International has been focused on improving these four areas of driver operation with features like Bendix® Wingman® and Fusion® safety systems which prioritize driver safety, and the Over-the-Air programming, which gives drivers more time on the road, and less time servicing their truck.

In closing Mooney expressed International's commitment to the DriverFirst™ initiative saying "The DriverFirst™ philosophy has already helped us deliver multiple innovations, and it plays an even more prominent role in the new products that we will be bringing to the market starting this fall. We are committed to helping our customers improve the total driver experience, so they can encourage their drivers to stick around for the long haul."

Hill International Trucks is excited to be a part of the DriverFirst™ initiative going forward, and we look forward to offering a broad range of driver friendly trucks to all of our customers, in order to improve the efficiency, comfort, safety, and productivity of all of our drivers on the road. Hill International Trucks proudly serves the greater Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania. Don't hesitate to ask us about DriverFirst™, and the many exciting features that it includes in the International line!