BIRMINGHAM, AL -- McLeod Software launched a “customer-branded” mobile app, the Carrier Driver App, which lets drivers interact with the carrier’s McLeod LoadMaster transportation management system to get information on their next load and their settlements, scan documents, capture signatures, report accidents and more.

Announced at the company's annual user conference, the app is available for iOS and Android Devices and can be “branded” using the carrier’s own logo. Drivers can download the app in the Apple or Android app store. They can access information using a secure login and password from the carrier.

The Carrier Driver App is designed to complement in-cab systems. It will provide the most important capabilities of the LoadMaster Symphony Mobile Communications System even when the driver is out of the cab. For example, load assignment is sent simultaneously to the in-cab unit and the phone, so the driver doesn’t have to keep checking the in-cab unit for his next load assignment. Drivers can view and respond to mobile communications messages, interact with forms or macros, and send free form messages on their device when they are away from the truck.

The built-in document capture feature of the Carrier Driver App lets the driver capture trip documents with the device’s camera, saving trips to fax machines or the expense of in-cab scanning equipment. The driver specifies document types as they are scanned, and they are recorded against the appropriate movement record. Trip documents will flow more quickly through the carrier’s system expedite both the billing cycle and the driver’s settlement.

Another feature of the Document Capture function of the Driver App allows drivers to use their mobile device to electronically capture signatures for proof of delivery at the consignee.

Integration with the LoadMaster Safety Module allows drivers to report accidents and begin the record keeping process in LoadMaster from their mobile device. The driver’s interaction creates a standard LoadMaster Safety Report, and gives the driver the ability to record photos, data, and the police report against that record directly from the Mobile App. This transaction by the driver can also be configured to kick off a Rapid Alert message with the LoadMaster system, which will notify the appropriate people immediately.

If the carrier chooses, prospective driver recruits can download the carrier’s Driver App and complete the on-line application process, using the Driver App to complete the online forms configured by the carrier for that purpose. Prospective drivers can use the carrier’s mobile app to begin the process, and it will be immediately recorded as a prospective driver application in the LoadMaster system.

This is the first of McLeod’s customer-branded apps, according to the company.

Although the company has offered an app for operations and executive personnel for several years, McLeod Anywhere, President and CEO Tom McLeod told reporters at the conference that the company held back a bit on developing a driver app because it didn’t want to encroach on the mobile communications space held by its partners.

There is more that can be done with the app down the road, he said, such as being able to initiate cargo claims and MVR reports from the driver’s phone.

Carriers must run LoadMaster Enterprise in order to be able to use the app, which will involve both a start-up charge and a monthly subscription fee. Fleets as small as 25 to 30 trucks are using LoadMaster Enterprise.