Field Services

Blackwood Solutions reduces their accident rate with Samsara's safety solution

With Samsara, Blackwood Solutions digitally transformed their operations, eliminating silos and freeing up the back office. AI Multicam provides critical visibility around all sides of their specialized trucks to protect workers on the road and at the job site.

Powered by the Samsara Connected Operations Platform

Meet Blackwood Solutions

41 STATES SERVICED

100+ VEHICLE FLEET

600,000 TONS OF MATERIAL RECYCLED

The Challenge

Blackwood Solutions needed greater visibility into fleet and equipment operations

Blackwood Solutions specializes in the complete lifecycle management of utility poles for the electrical utility industry from production to recycling. Operating across 41 states, their services also include yard management and design, warehousing, and critical disaster response. With much of their workforce operating alone, visibility and communication are paramount to ensuring workers stay safe and can get help when needed. However, Blackwood's previous fleet management provider couldn't keep up with their fast-paced operations. "We pride ourselves in using and pushing the limits of new technology and software advancements. We required a partner that could work at our pace and had a similar vision to ours," said Sullivan. Operationally, they had limited visibility into the field which meant safety coaching was reactive and manual, relying on phone calls to manage drivers. Additionally, they did not have an asset tracking system in place, making it difficult to locate expensive equipment or specialized items.

Samsara's 360-degree visibility has changed how our company operates. We went from being reactive to highly proactive. We now have the ability to respond and monitor safety incidents at scale.

Dan Sullivan

Senior Vice-President of Technology and Digital Strategy

The Solution

A plug-and-play solution to connect and digitize operations

Blackwood Solutions transitioned to Samsara to gain real-time visibility and a unified platform for their complex operations. "Samsara is extremely easy to navigate and the ability to activate devices is very straightforward. Everything's pretty much plug and play," said Sullivan. "It was one of the easier technology transitions I've witnessed." For their initial rollout, Blackwood's mechanics completed a full-fleet installation of Vehicle Gateways and AI Dash Cams in less than 90 days. More recently, they rolled out AI Multicam for revenue-producing trucks to monitor high-risk boom operations. Today, the company uses the full suite of Samsara solutions, including Asset Tags for equipment tracking, Connected Training to manage driver learning, and Connected Workflows to digitize driver paperwork.

Cameras & Video

AI Multicam protects workers on the road and on site with 360-degree visibility

After seeing fleet-wide safety improvements with AI Dash Cams, such as a 72% reduction in speeding and 48% reduction in collision risk, Blackwood Solutions looked to gain additional visibility around all sides of their vehicles. Samsara AI Multicam provides 360-degree visibility around vehicles, helping ensure Blackwood's lone workers are protected at all times. In a recent incident, Blackwood used side footage from AI Multicam to provide video evidence and instantly resolve the false claim, clearing their driver's name and avoiding potential litigation.

Asset Tag

Asset Tags provide visibility for previously untracked assets

Blackwood deployed Asset Tags to track high-value items such as power tools, safety nets, and dumpsters. By implementing a tracking system with precise, real-time location data, they have effectively stopped theft while ensuring that expensive specialized equipment, such as concrete pole safety nets, are exactly where they need to be.

Workforce Management

A digital workforce solution to dramatically improve safety

Blackwood has transformed driver management by moving from manual phone calls to Samsara’s driver-first platform with Connected Training and Connected Workflows. This approach has simplified onboarding and retraining, allowing management to assign specific training modules based on driver behavior. As employees are upskilled, safety scores have greatly improved. Today, 93% of drivers maintain a score of 90 or higher, enabling Blackwood to use driver safety scores to inform their Extra Mile safety bonus.

Platform

Protecting drivers during severe weather with proactive safety controls

Blackwood Solutions operates in regions frequently impacted by severe weather, including hurricanes and major storm systems. To better protect drivers and reduce risk during these events, the company uses Samsara Weather Intelligence, which combines real‑time weather data with vehicle location and safety settings. By automatically adapting safety parameters and providing live visibility into storm conditions, Samsara enables Blackwood to move from reactive monitoring to proactive, automated safety management.

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