Construction

Fence & Deck Connection saves $30K on insurance premiums with Samsara

With Samsara, Fence & Deck Connection replaced paper logs, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems with one platform to save time and lower costs.

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Meet Fence & Deck Connection

200+ ASSETS

230+ EMPLOYEES

6 STATES SERVED

The Challenge

Manual processes left the fleet without reliable data

Since 1991, Fence & Deck Connection has built fences, decks, screened porches, and railings for homeowners, builders, and commercial clients across Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Georgia. With about 230 employees and 30 subcontractors, the company manages roughly 110 on-road vehicles, as well as forklifts, containers, dumpsters, trailers, and hundreds of power tools across its four core divisions.

When John "AJ" Blanchette, Jr. became fleet manager, that footprint was managed largely by hand. "We had a system of paper forms to manage equipment check out, and often equipment wouldn't get checked back in," he said. Fence & Deck Connection was using dash cams, but finding footage was a long, cumbersome process. "Our previous system would only allow you to download a 20-second clip at a time, which made finding video footage when we needed it difficult," Blanchette said. Moreover, telematics, electronic logging, inspections, and driver training were spread across separate systems with no way to connect them.

These gaps carried real operational costs. Without reliable video or data, suspected fuel theft and unsafe driving could not be substantiated. "We had gut feelings that risky, prohibited behaviors were happening, but there was no way to prove it," Blanchette said. In addition, the company didn't have evidence to settle customer disputes over deliveries and returns, and maintenance was reactive. Fence & Deck Connection needed a unified view of fuel, safety, and maintenance costs to improve their operations.

"Samsara helps us stay on top of our maintenance so we can keep equipment in better shape, and report our costs to executives so they can make better decisions."

John "AJ" Blanchette, Jr.

Fleet Manager

The Solution

One platform for safety, assets, and maintenance, deployed in-house within months

Fence & Deck Connection needed a single source of information to replace a patchwork of tools. As a former mechanic himself, Blanchette valued Samsara's simplicity. "What stood out was that Samsara is a one-click source of information, " he said. "We needed one system that could connect our operations across our four core divisions."

The breadth of Samsara's platform reinforced the company's decision. "Originally, we chose Samsara for dash cams and telematics, but each product demo I saw opened up new uses for us," Blanchette said. After its initial rollout, Fence & Deck Connection has expanded to AI Multicam, Asset Gateways and Asset Tags, and Smart Trailers. For the Fence & Deck Connection team, deployment was fast and straightforward. "Our small team of three mechanics did 80% of the installations on-site at the different locations and job sites, and handled the other 20% during routine oil changes," Blanchette said. "We were up and running in a matter of weeks."

Samsara's AI and ease of use has also extended to the company's non-technical users. "If anyone has a question about how to do something in Samsara, like pull a report, I tell them to click on Samsara Assistant," Blanchette said. "It's just like having a conversation, so it's very easy for our teams to learn and use."

Cameras & Video

Saving $30K on insurance premiums with video evidence

Fence & Deck Connection uses AI Dash Cams and AI Multicam for complete visibility around their vehicles. With Samsara cameras and video, the company can now see risky driver behavior, such as cell phone use, distracted driving, and following distance, as well as prohibited activities, including fuel theft. With improved visibility into risk, Fence & Deck Connection has saved $30,000 on its insurance premiums, avoiding an annual premium increase of about 8%.

Equipment Monitoring

Tracking equipment and trailers to prevent losses and keep trailers in service

With Asset Gateways and Asset Tag, Fence & Deck Connection now has real-time visibility into the tools, trailers, and equipment that move between yards and job sites, replacing a paper sign-out process where items regularly went missing. That visibility has helped the company recover valuable assets, such as a $3,000 post driver left at a job site, and a concrete saw that sat unused on a truck for three months while another crew rented a replacement. The company also uses Smart Trailers to spot trailer ABS faults early and fix them before they take a truck out of service, which not only keeps trailers safer, but also provides a documented condition record if an incident occurs.

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Vehicle Telematics

Dependable vehicle data that improves uptime, compliance, and fuel accountability

Samsara Vehicle Gateways give Fence & Deck Connection a dependable, real-time view of each on-road vehicle's health, inspections, and fuel use, replacing unreliable OEM telematics and legacy GPS reports. Fault codes now surface as they occur, open inspection defects no longer sit unaddressed, and division managers and executives receive monthly fuel and idling reports for the first time.

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Connected Workflows

From reactive repairs to scheduled preventive maintenance

With Samsara, Fence & Deck Connection has created maintenance workflows that have allowed them to move from responding to check engine lights to proactively servicing vehicles based on time, mileage, and engine hours. Crews can avoid breakdowns in the field, helping to save money on expensive repairs. In addition, executives can see fuel and maintenance costs—as well as vehicle downtime—on their own without waiting for a fleet manager to pull numbers for them, providing better visibility and control.

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