Frequently Asked Questions

TRUCKAST is for ready mix concrete contractors and producers, anyone at the project site or in the office who needs immediate access to real-time ‘order to job’ information to improve efficiency and profitability. Users of the app include:
– Project Engineers
– Project Superintendents
– Project Managers
– Estimators
– Logistics Specialists
– Safety Specialists
– Accounting
– Accounts Payable
– Procurement Specialists
– Operational Specialists
– Small Contractors

If you are a …

– Project Engineer: Monitor change orders from concrete subcontractors. Verify correct materials are being used prior to each pour. Compare theoretical progress with actual progress (budgeting).

– Project Superintendent: Track QC test results from each pour. Monitoring activity of subcontractors, ready mix providers, material providers. Verify correct materials are going to be delivered at the right time. Monitor on site crews as they perform work in real time. Benchmark contractors, suppliers and material providers using.

– Project Manager: Research past jobs for timing of pours and materials delivery history. Retain detailed audit logs to assist in resolving and reducing disputes.

– Estimator: Compare theoretical performance with actual to refine estimation. Track quantity of materials. Validate labor requirements based on past and current orders in progress.

– Logistics Specialist: Monitor the delivery of equipment and materials from a single app. Track on-time or late deliveries with log history to determine cause for delays.

– Safety Specialist: Post safety specific messages in each order. Post info about safety incidents on-site which are logged and archived.

– Accounting & Accounts Payable: Verify subcontractor material usage and invoices. Validate project milestones. Monitor schedule of projects for cost tracking purposes. Forecast earnings and profitability using real data.

– Procurement Specialist: Benchmark materials suppliers by monitoring their performance on site.

– Operational Specialist: Monitor orders placed and delivery schedules past and current.

– Small Contractor: Delivery and order transparency. Personalized attention for the “little guy”. Increased knowledge of supplier product offerings.

We are passionate about construction, economic development, productivity tools and technology innovation. When cloud, mobile and other open source software tools came together, we realized we could develop cost effective solutions for complex logistics problems. Because ready mix concrete is a perishable product used in all types of construction, this seemed like a good place to focus. We met with both contractors and suppliers and both sides agreed that this is a high impact/high value problem to solve.

– Access transparent and trustworthy information instantaneously

– Decreased down-time, delays and job site stress

– Improved planning with accurate truck arrival information

– Mutual, clear accountability established for delivered orders

– Improved crew utilization and job management

– Resulting in increased efficiency and profitability

– Reduce calls to dispatch

– Reduce errors and order disputes

– Increase will-call-to-firm order conversions

– Clear and mutual accountability established for delivered orders

– Resulting in increased efficiency and profitability

Apple iPhone / iPad, Android phones / tablets and any device (phone, tablet, PC) that has a browser that supports web content. You can download app from Apple’s AppStore and Google play. You can also demo the app in an emulator on the TRUCKAST website https://www.truckast.com/demoapp/.

Yes. Once the contractor and producer are both on the platform, and the supplier enables the “Order” feature on the app, the contractor can place orders through the app.

We have contractors and suppliers on the platform in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Toronto, Canada.

“When I’m doing my cost reporting, I can easily check how much concrete was delivered to a specific job site. Before the TRUCKAST app, I would often have to track down the final quantity of concrete delivered from my accounting department. Not only does TRUCKAST help me manage the day-to-day concrete delivers at job sites across Indianapolis, it has also sped up my cost reporting workflow.” Tim Brogan, Sr. Project Manager, Shiel Sexton

“Foremen used to have to go to a pay phone to call the concrete supplier. Mobile phones changed that. Foremen could call the supplier and complain. Now TRUCKAST has completely changed how we manage our concrete orders.” Tim Brogan, Sr. Project Manager, Shiel Sexton

“I check TRUCKAST when I get up, throughout the day, and when I get home from work.” Tim Brogan, Sr. Project Manager, Shiel Sexton

“TRUCKAST is helping us communicate better with our customers… it creates new level of mutual performance and trust.” Henry Batten, President of Concrete Supply Co.

“With the mutual performance data we are simultaneous viewing in TRUCKAST, conversations with our customers are more valuable.” Henry Batten, President of Concrete Supply Co.

“With TRUCKAST, we can pinpoint – how many yards of concrete are on the road, how many yards we’ve poured, and the rate that the trucks are coming.” Casey Harvey of Custom Concrete

“TRUCKAST continuously provides me a real time and trending view of both our supplier’s performance and our performance.” Casey Harvey of Custom Concrete

“We never knew where those trucks were or when they’d get there. If they got 5-10 minutes late, we’d have to call dispatch, or we’d call our sales person and they’d call the plant or dispatch to check on our concrete. The issue is knowing where you’re at on yardage. It’s critical that we don’t have four extra trucks sitting there and you can’t use their concrete. That’s thousands of dollars extra.” Casey Harvey of Custom Concrete

“I no longer spend time calling dispatch or my sales person, instead I look at TRUCKAST and have my questions answered immediately.” Casey Harvey of Custom Concrete

“With TRUCKAST, we can pinpoint-how many yards of concrete are on the road, how many yards we’ve already poured, the rate that the trucks are coming, etc.” Casey Harvey of Custom Concrete

“When we have several different jobs going at one time or if I’m one of those big industrial warehouse pours, I’ve got TRUCKAST running all day.” Casey Harvey of Custom Concrete

“I need to know if we’re being efficient with our concrete orders, and TRUCKAST gives me the information to figure that out.” Scott Beaty of W.E. Beaty

“They (the supplier) would have to look through 30 different W.E. Beaty orders in their system, and try to figure out the right order number for that foreman’s site.” Ricky Pryor, W.E. Beaty Field Operations.

“If they do have to call, our foremen can now look on the TRUCKAST app on the phone and get their order numbers.” Said Scott Beaty of W.E. Beaty

“I look at TRUCKAST numerous times throughout the day. I can tell the number of trucks a site is supposed to have.” Ricky Pryor, W.E. Beaty Field Operations

With TRUCKAST, having both producer and contractor simultaneously see the same data results in improved conversations and mutual, clear accountability for delivered orders.

First step is to contact your supplier sales rep and tell them you want to be invited to join TRUCKAST. Your producer will invite you and you will get an email with your username and password. If you want to get the app for your mobile device, you can download the app from Google play or Apple’s AppStore.

The first time you login, you will be asked to reset your password and then you can access your project data. Assuming you get a quick turnaround from your producer, the process can take as little as 15 minutes. Call your producer if you are not getting a timely response.

If your producer is not on the platform, call them and tell them that you want them to use TRUCKAST. They should be happy to learn about an industry innovation that helps them add value to their customers. You can also send us an email with your supplier’s contact info and we will contact them to discuss how to fast track their set up.

We usually start with a GoToMeeting conference call that includes the supplier’s executives, business and IT reps. We demo the product, address business and technical questions.

If there is a decision to move forward, and the contractual details are behind us, the supplier provisions a server as specified by TRUCKAST so that we can securely remote into and set up the software link that pulls the data out securely. Once TRUCKAST has remote access to the local or virtual machine, we can implement the service remotely. From a technical perspective, the time it takes TRUCKAST to be up and running is half a day (approximately 4 hours).

Pricing for ready mix suppliers is based on several factors, including number of plants, annual CY poured, number of contractor customers and types of projects. In addition we have to factor in the number of integration points, remote access capability, custom data fields. We use this information to calculate data transfer rates, data storage, data processing, and state of readiness.

Talk to a sales representative: (866) 767-1676

If you are a contractor, you can be set up in 10 minutes. See FAQ, “How do I get TRUCKAST?”

If you are a producer, once the contract with TRUCKAST is signed, and the producer provisions a server per the TRUCKAST technical specification, TRUCKAST can remote into the server and install the TRUCKAST software. Assuming no major obstacles, this can be completed in less than half a day. Our average install time is 4 hours.

Yes. Contractors get a 30-day free trial. We set up a countdown clock in the app so when time expires, or anytime before, the contractor can convert to a paying customer using the in-app eCommerce functionality.

You can also demo the app in a smartphone emulator at https://www.truckast.com/demoapp/. This tool will help you learn how the app functions using “canned” data. In the demo app emulator we provide a guided tour and tool tips. The functionality is exactly the same as the real app, the only difference is that it isn’t your actual order data.

Yes. See “Can I try before I buy?”

If your producer is not on the platform, call them and tell them that you want them to use TRUCKAST. They should be happy to learn about an innovation that helps them add value to their customers. You can also send us an email with your producer’s contact info and we will contact them to discuss how to fast track their set up.

Call them, send them an email with a link to the TRUCKAST website. TRUCKAST has a robust digital marketing solution along with a content strategy that makes education and adoption as frictionless as possible. Go to www.truckast.com to review videos, case studies and demo the app. Send these links out to anyone you think would benefit from knowing about TRUCKAST. You can also participate in conversations on our blog and LinkedIn page. If you have content you think would benefit the Concrete industry, send it to us and we will help promote it.

TRUCKAST takes the protection of your data seriously. This short paper will document several key features of our cloud platform’s security system, illustrating the consistent focus on leveraging the best technologies and practices available to protect your important business information.

Virtual Private Cloud
Think about a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) as a secure, carved out section of the Internet, protected by the technological equivalent of high walls, guards and a moat. While many things on the Internet are publicly accessible, the TRUCKAST Cloud is not. Instead, it sits within a highly secured environment that requires several levels of authorization to gain access. Even within the protective walls, each resource—such as your dedicated database—is protected by yet another layer of security.

Secure Standards
The premises where your data physically resides, as well as the networking infrastructure that encompasses it, have been ISO 27001 certified. This level of certification is required to meet the strict compliance requirements of HIPAA, and we expect nothing less for the storage and maintenance of your critical business data. ISO 27001, an internationally recognized standard, is audited by an accredited third party and demonstrates an ongoing commitment to protecting your data at every level. In addition to ISO 27001, other certifications and standards include: PCI DSS Level 1, FISMA Moderate, and SOC 1/SSAE 16/ISAE 3402.

Advanced Encryption
For sensitive information, the TRUCKAST platform implements the same advanced encryption used by the U.S. Government for their top secret data. To protect data in transit, the TRUCKAST platform will utilize Transport Layer Security (TLS), a protocol that uses both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography for authentication and confidentiality.

Data Isolation
Many multitenant SaaS systems store customer information together. In other words, your critical business data are placed in the same databases with your competitors. This does not happen in the TRUCKAST Cloud. Your data is completely isolated, both logically and physically, ensuring complete privacy and eliminating the risk of your business information being mistakenly presented to other users.

Role Model
With the data securely protected at both the physical and logical levels, the next concern moves outside of the platform to unauthorized usage. TRUCKAST provides your administrators granular control over the data visibility for each user through a simple but effective roles/privileges model. Using these controls, users are restricted to only seeing the information they have been permitted to see. Data related to other users, as well as your corporate wide information, cannot be accessed or shared without clearance specifically granted by your organization.

Secure by Design
The TRUCKAST cloud protects your data from where it resides all the way through to delivery. In addition, TRUCKAST adopts design practices that emphasize the importance of security. For example, with user self- registrations, all new account requests are queued and must be approved by your organization before given access. Rest assured that no user will have access to your data without your express consent.

In Summary
TRUCKAST has invested significant resources and research into security at every level: the physical level, where your data resides; the network infrastructure level (gateway to your information); and at the authentication level, through the implementation of an authorization system that provides you with granular control over the visibility of your important business information.

https://www.truckast.com/privacy

https://www.truckast.com/terms

TRUCKAST takes the protection of your data seriously. For eCommerce processing TRUCKAST uses a PayPal owned company. This 3rd party service handles the transactions and TRUCKAST follows the necessary steps and rules to ensure that we are PCI compliant. For more information about PCI security standards that we follow you can go to  https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/.

Yes. TRUCKAST is a SaaS business. For more information about Software as a service, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service
Software as a service is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. It is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software”.

TRUCKAST is a cloud platform and is designed to scale as a platform. TRUCKAST creates value by reducing search costs and transaction costs. Using the platform increases efficiencies and productivity for everyone on platform.  Multisided platforms create value by enabling interactions between two or more groups (i.e. contractors and suppliers) and the value of the platform increases as more suppliers and contractors are on it. This is especially valuable for the many suppliers and contractors operating in multiple locations with multiple projects (e.g. commercial, DOT and residential).

Send an email to support@truckast.com and describe your suggestions. Be sure to provide to us your full contact info, let us know if you are a supplier or contractor (or other), and whatever other information you think will be helpful. We appreciate your suggestions.

We are prototyping concepts now. Each business vertical has unique characteristics. If you are a supplier or contractor who is interested in having a TRUCKAST app for these verticals and wants to participate in product and customer development, please contact us through support@truckast.com and your email will be routed to the product development and business strategy team.

There are in-app context help and tour ability available at anytime to help answer any questions you may have. You can also view videos, guides and other information on the TRUCKAST website.

We have a demo app placed in a smartphone emulator which includes a guided tour and tool tips. https://www.truckast.com/demoapp/

If you have questions beyond this scope, feel free to contact us through support@truckast.com and your email will be routed to the customer support and/or product development team. We may use your question and add it to our posts so that others may benefit from it.

The link Forgot Password should be your first step. Go to http://d3.truckast.com/dv/v1/d3/accounts/login? This is an automatic method to reset your password. This will also be the fastest way to reset your password. You can also call (866) 767-1676 (Calling will take longer).

Please contact us through support@truckast.com and your email will be routed to the product development and business strategy team. We’ll need your full name, company name, and best phone number to call you. You can also call (866) 767-1676 (Calling will take longer).

Please contact us through support@truckast.com and your email will be routed to the product development and business strategy team. We’ll need your full name, company name, and best phone number to call you. You can also call (866) 767-1676 (Calling will take longer).

Projects gives the contractor the ability to give project access to end users. The end users will only see the data and receive communications from the projects that they are assign.

Invite a new user from the contractor’s company or invite a sub-contractor user to a project.

Select the Projects menu item

Click on the COMPANY button

Search for the company name

Select the Company tile – In this example: NIBBI BROS INC

Fill out the new user information and click on the SUBMIT button.

An invite to the project email will be sent to the user.

Add the user to the project.

Check the box to add a user and click on the SUBMIT button.

User has been added to the project. When the user logs in, the user will see this project.

If turned on in settings, the user will receive notifications for this project.

Invite a new user from the contractor’s company or invite a sub-contractor user to the project.

Select the Projects menu item

Select the PROJECT button

Select the Project that you would like to invite the user.

Select the INVITE NEW USER tile

Fill out the new user information and click on the SUBMIT button.

An invite to the project email will be sent to the user.

Add a user to a project

Check the box to add a user and click on the SUBMIT button.

User has been added to the project. When the user logs in, the user will see this project.

If turned on in settings, the user will receive notifications for this project.

Add or remove a user from a project.

Select the PROJECTS menu item.

Select the PROJECT button

Pick the Project that you would like to add the user.

The projects in the drop down list are the projects that the logged in user is assigned.

Check the box to add a user and click on the SUBMIT button.

User has been added to the project. When the user logs in, the user will see this project.

If turned on in settings, the user will receive notifications for this project.

Remove a user from a project

Check the box next to the user that you would like to remove and click on the SUBMIT button.

User has been removed from the project. The user will no longer see this project when logged in, nor will the user receive any notifications from this project.

If more that one contractor needs visibility into a project, the general contractor can add the sub-contractor to the project.

Select PROJECT from the menu.

Select the PROJECT button

Select the project to add the sub-contractor.

Click on the Company button.

Search for the company name. If you leave the search field blank, the search will return all of the contractors that are associated with the Ready Mix provider.

As an example, A J W CONSTRUCTION will be added to the Hunter’s project. Click on the tile of the contractor tile that you would like to add.

Verify the information regarding A J W CONSTRUCTION and click the SUBMIT button

A J W Construction has been added to the Hunter project, but the A J W Construction users have not been added to the project.

To add A J W Construction users to the Hunter’s project, check the box next to their name and click on the SUBMIT button.

Jesus from A J W Construction was added to the project.

To remove A J W Construction users from the Hunter’s project, check the box next to their name and click on the SUBMIT button

Jesus was removed from the project

Invite users from A J Construction to the project if they do not exist in the USERS TO ADD to Project table

Please refer to the “Projects – Invite a user within a Project” FAQ

Removing a company from a project.

Click on the company tile.

Select the INACTIVE choice from the Active drop down list and click on the SUBMIT button

A J W Construction now has been removed from the project.

Select SETTINGS from the menu

Select PROJECT from the Market Summary View drop down list.

Select PROJECT and click on the Save button